Celia - housewife, mother, wonderful cook - lives in Bedford Park, London, where the major worries are dailies, private schooling and the misplaced zeal of neighbourhood watch vigilantes. She is celebrating her 40th birthday. The armpit of the English bourgeoisie never felt snugger.
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'A very funny book - one of those rare books that make you laugh out loud. Imagine the wicked social observation of Jilly Cooper mixed with the needle wit of Fay Weldon and you'll get the picture.' New Woman 'Cheek's writing is infused with terrific comic energy and she possesses the wickedly sharp eye of a born satirist.' Mail on Sunday
About the Author
Mavis Cheek's novels include Janice Gentle Gets Sexy, Aunt Margaret's Lover, Sleeping Beauties, Getting Back Brahms, Three Men on a Plane, Mrs Fytton's Country Life and The Sex Life of My Aunt.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Ms. R. L. A. Amelan
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
I was loaned this book by a friend and, having persevered, I can honestly say that it made a good read.
The action starts at a 40th birthday party for our heroine, a comfortably married lady called Celia, who is enjoying a reasonably idyllic life with her busy lawyer husband and regulation two children. She has a rather mutinous daily help, Mrs Green, a very colourful character pre-occupied with Celia's bedroom activities, and a rather nice house in the comfy armpit of suburbia. At the start, she is portrayed as being a lady happy with her lot and very good at serving culinary delights to her guests. Things start to go wrong though.
The birthday party does not go that well and the night ends with a rather tearful Celia and a tempting gift from a would-be lover tucked in her washing machine. (The husband of one of the guests.) It is clear that clouds are on the horizon.
Mavis Cheek sets the above scene rather well, although I personally found this part of the book a little long for my taste. What followed was much better.
The following day, Celia's husband has left her to go and work on a legal case. She decides to follow him as a surprise only to discover him in the arms of a lover. It is here that the book takes off. Celia decides to take revenge.
The action now moves swiftly and Mavis Cheek creates a new and rather more desirable heroine. This one will not be stood on any more and she acquires different attire, a new attitude and a lover. In the meantime, her husband receives well-deserved comeuppance: it would spoil the plot to reveal the nature of this but it does involve a sex toy. My favourite part comes in the latter part of the book and involves Celia's husband, hung over and in shock, finding Mrs. Green in his bedroom with some condoms....
The book concludes in a manner that leaves room for a sequel and reflection.
This is, in summary, a light read. It will make you laugh and is ideal for a beach, bedtime or a quiet afternoon's entertainment.
The action starts at a 40th birthday party for our heroine, a comfortably married lady called Celia, who is enjoying a reasonably idyllic life with her busy lawyer husband and regulation two children. She has a rather mutinous daily help, Mrs Green, a very colourful character pre-occupied with Celia's bedroom activities, and a rather nice house in the comfy armpit of suburbia. At the start, she is portrayed as being a lady happy with her lot and very good at serving culinary delights to her guests. Things start to go wrong though.
The birthday party does not go that well and the night ends with a rather tearful Celia and a tempting gift from a would-be lover tucked in her washing machine. (The husband of one of the guests.) It is clear that clouds are on the horizon.
Mavis Cheek sets the above scene rather well, although I personally found this part of the book a little long for my taste. What followed was much better.
The following day, Celia's husband has left her to go and work on a legal case. She decides to follow him as a surprise only to discover him in the arms of a lover. It is here that the book takes off. Celia decides to take revenge.
The action now moves swiftly and Mavis Cheek creates a new and rather more desirable heroine. This one will not be stood on any more and she acquires different attire, a new attitude and a lover. In the meantime, her husband receives well-deserved comeuppance: it would spoil the plot to reveal the nature of this but it does involve a sex toy. My favourite part comes in the latter part of the book and involves Celia's husband, hung over and in shock, finding Mrs. Green in his bedroom with some condoms....
The book concludes in a manner that leaves room for a sequel and reflection.
This is, in summary, a light read. It will make you laugh and is ideal for a beach, bedtime or a quiet afternoon's entertainment.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars
1 review
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Written with a Fay Weldon sardonicism;dead on about marriage
29 Aug 1997
By cider
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
If you love British tongue-in-cheek (so to speak) asperity and are a particular fan of Fay Weldon, you'll enjoy Cheek. Not as fantastical as Weldon, but certainly as drily funny and as percipient about man/woman relationships and the pitfalls of marriage, she is dead accurate about the inner workings of the sexual schemings of both men and women. She gets in some good bites at the nature of friendship as well and is no stranger to the mind of a child. Upliftingly cynical
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5.0 out of 5 stars
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