Amazon Review
Three thirty-ish Londoners are facing up to early middle age, and finding it more daunting than they expected in Jamie Holland's
An Almost Perfect Moon. Flin is a hip film publicist who has nonetheless had enough of his egocentric world, not to mention the broken-down escalators on the Tube. Ben has won the glittering prizes--wife, home, wholesome new baby--but still finds a certain emptiness within. Meanwhile Harry is worried about his ongoing bachelor status, and yet rejects the notion of not being in control of his own fridge. So far, so so, you might say--just another London-based lad novel, right? And, yes, it's true to say that second-novelist Jamie Holland's prose and subject matter aren't the newest kids on the literary block. His style is plain, competent, deadpan and workmanlike: "'Now, where were we?' She smiled once more, pulling down his trousers and boxer shorts." But dig a little deeper and Holland's characters become less clichéd. The supposedly studly Harry thinks a woman who says the F word in bed is into "kinky sex". Media gunslinger and trendy Flin turns out to have a liking for sheep--his move to Northumberland provides much of the narrative meat of the book. And Ben might bemoan his sleepless new fatherhood but he still rushes home to bathe the baby. It's not giving too much away to say the book ends fairly happily; the book is so upfront about its upbeat message. En route to its likeable if predictable denouement
An Almost Perfect Moon is agreeable, proficient, amusing and occasionally insightful; an almost perfect holiday read, in fact.
Sean Thomas
From the Back Cover
At thirty it must be time to put away childish things and finally grow up. But for what?
Ben's life now looks pretty rosy – nice house, great job and an adoring wife, first baby on the way. But there's a lot more to fatherhood than Look Who's Talking led him to believe. Never mind 2.4 children, 1.0 seems tricky enough…
Flin is feeling increasingly frustrated by life in London. He abandons the city whirl for the idyllic country lifestyle. But his plans to become a latter day Pop Larkin falter as his new surroundings seem far removed from the rural charm of Darling Buds.
And Harry feels destined to become the eternal bachelor. The parade of utterly charming and suitable girls comes up against his search fr perfect love. Then, on the point of discarding the rose-tinted specs for good, a chance encounter renews his belief that there can only ever be one woman for him. If only she could be persuaded to feel the same way…
As each of them are fuelled by there own romantic visions of the future, they must discover that life does not always work out in quite the deal way they have planned.
Jamie Holland's portrayal of modern life is infused with warmth, humour and even optimism. 'An Almost Perfect Moon', a story about finally growing up and understanding that happiness can take many different forms.
