Monday 8th June
**Beware possible spoiler**
I’m not sure where this book came from, I don’t remember buying it, it must have been a hand on, so I came to the book with an open mind. This is not a bad book, but it is, through much of it, a sad book, and made me very reflective. The book is about the Drummond family, Dad Tom, Mum Pippa and daughter Tally, their relationship and their reactions when tragedy strikes.
Tom, has longed wished to be a writer, but is part owner of a restaurant on the south coast of England, Pippa runs a small herb growing business and Tally has just taken her GCSE’s. The family go on a well earned holiday to Italy when tragedy strikes and Pippa dies. Titchmarsh has spent time creating a happy and loving family, and they become people you care about, so when Pippa dies, it left me surprised and saddened.
The rest of the book is how Tom and Tally cope with the tragedy and learn first to live with life as it has become and then begin to find their ways to a new life without Pippa. How Tom copes with his daughter growing up, her relationship with two boys, Blip the local boy and Alex the slightly older, rich and confident university student. How Tom finally realises his dream of writing. It also goes on to explore how people move on and whether it is possible to love again after such a tragedy.
It is a well written book, goes along at a decent pace, although it isn’t in anyway spectacular. It does appear to be a more sombre book that his usual stuff, judging by other reviews of the book I have read but it does deal sympathetically with a difficult subject.
The book did move me, made me very reflective at times and also gave me lots of things to think about, Tally is 16 when she lost her Mum and I was 14 when I lost my Mum, Mona. If I had not spent the last 2 years tackling my own issues relating to that loss, I would not have been able to read the book, or would after reading it been an emotional mess for quite some time. Having done so, I felt it allowed me to explore a few things from a different perspective and did offer me some solace and comfort. In that it was an enjoyable experience to read it.
Ciao
Sue
XX
(reading challenge 1/16 - currently reading The Stone Rose by J Rayner)
SLYMI - 1/52
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