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Review
'This should be compulsory reading for all working couples with small children, since it encapsulates precisely, but with plenty of humour, the madness of the modern working family' (Sarah Vine, The Times )
'Christina Hopkinson is a talented writer with a gift for observational humour and sharp one-liners' (Spectator )
'The new I Don't Know How She Does It'
(Grazia )'I read it, I really enjoyed it, I left it on the stairs.'
(John O'Farrell )'Christina Hopkinson is a talented writer with a gift for observational humour and sharp one-liners' (Spectator )
'Christina Hopkinson has wittily and very realistically tapped into the zeitgeist - literally the most relevant novel for a working mother since I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson.'
(Plum Sykes, author of Bergdorf Blondes )Review
'Christina Hopkinson has wittily and very realistically tapped into the zeitgeist - literally the most relevant novel for a working mother since I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson.' -- Plum Sykes, author of Bergdorf Blondes 'I read it, I really enjoyed it, I left it on the stairs.' -- John O'Farrell 'The new I Don't Know How She Does It' -- Grazia 'This is a so-real-it's-scary, look at marriage, motherhood and the war on the domestic front.' -- Cosmopolitan, Australia 'A perceptive take on modern marriage in a world where equality has handed the women the right to have it all but not the time, money or energy to actually do it.' -- Sunday Herald Sun 'The strength of the novel is in its narrative arc about a relationship recalibrating after children disrupt the notion of gender equality ... there are many shades of grey, many contradictions, many domestic realities incisively observed.' -- Sunday Telegraph, Australia
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
If you have a husband or partner and children you will find 'The Pile of Stuff at the Bottom of the Stairs' by
Christina Hopkinson extremely amusing, plenty of laugh out loud moments throughout. In fact my husband
got quite fed up with me reading out bits to him especially as some snippets bared a remarkable resemblance
to someone very close to me ... need I say more!
Here's the gist ...
Mary is dissatisfied with her husband Joel big time. Her gripes (and boy there are a few) are mainly about
her husband's lack of ability in the domestic line of things, being totally incapable of tidying up after himself
for example really rankles her. On top of that there's his lethargic attitude to looking after their children
and the fact that he sides with his mother about all manner of minor but never the less annoying topics.
It's a typical woman versus man type of war, however this time with a difference ... Joel has no idea it's
even going on, totally oblivious in his laziness he fails to notice that Mary appears to be preoccupied of late,
in fact she is completely engrossed in her version of a star chart, this one's for her husband and whereas a
child's star chart keeps track of good deeds, this one keeps meticulous detail of all Joel's bad points.
I love the quote at the beginning of the book from the author 'To Alex - you constantly inspire me but you are
not the inspiration for the story of a grumpy woman married to an untidy man', but sometimes you get to wondering
just how does she know so much :)
A great read and a fun book to discuss with other member of a reading book club.
Christina Hopkinson extremely amusing, plenty of laugh out loud moments throughout. In fact my husband
got quite fed up with me reading out bits to him especially as some snippets bared a remarkable resemblance
to someone very close to me ... need I say more!
Here's the gist ...
Mary is dissatisfied with her husband Joel big time. Her gripes (and boy there are a few) are mainly about
her husband's lack of ability in the domestic line of things, being totally incapable of tidying up after himself
for example really rankles her. On top of that there's his lethargic attitude to looking after their children
and the fact that he sides with his mother about all manner of minor but never the less annoying topics.
It's a typical woman versus man type of war, however this time with a difference ... Joel has no idea it's
even going on, totally oblivious in his laziness he fails to notice that Mary appears to be preoccupied of late,
in fact she is completely engrossed in her version of a star chart, this one's for her husband and whereas a
child's star chart keeps track of good deeds, this one keeps meticulous detail of all Joel's bad points.
I love the quote at the beginning of the book from the author 'To Alex - you constantly inspire me but you are
not the inspiration for the story of a grumpy woman married to an untidy man', but sometimes you get to wondering
just how does she know so much :)
A great read and a fun book to discuss with other member of a reading book club.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
A thought-provoking, hilarious romp through family life and definitely not just for women...
23 Jun 2011
Format:Hardcover
The Pile of Stuff at the Bottom of the Stairs by Christina Hopkinson is a truly laugh-out-loud wry take on wedded bliss gone awry. On the face of it, it seems to be just a middle-class comedy of errors about one women's fight to get her slothful husband to change his slovenly ways.
Joel is the traditional slacker; the husband who leaves his coffee mug around to collect all manner of detritus, discards wet towels like chewing gum wrappers and generally doesn't do his fair share around the house or with the kids, expecting Mary to pick up the pieces he leaves behind. All Mary wants is a neat, ordered house - just like her friend Mitzi - and so she starts The List, an excel spreadsheet of Joel's domestic disappointments and gives him six months to prove his worth or else.
However, as the book unfolds it becomes much more than just a domestic drama about Mary's marital discontent. At the heart of this book is the love story between Mary and Joel that with the introduction of children falls apart. It's the middle-class dream in all it's Aga, soy café lattes beauty turned upside down with the realisation that with children our lives are no longer our own. Mary's friend Mitzi seems to have it all; the beautiful, perpetually clean house, the wonderful children and the perfect alpha-male husband, while Mary is up to her arms in detritus and baby poo.
I won't give anything away but as with everything in life; the realisation that all is not what it seems and that we should always be wary of what we wish for comes true.
Being a married man with two children myself there was much to relate to in this book. The laughs were plentiful, the drama gripping, the scene in Norfolk shocking and the ending - as ending should be- was perfect.
This isn't chic-lit, it's deeper, more meaningful and says something important about how we live today - trying to have everything and risking ending up with nothing. It should resonate with both women and men in equal measure.
Top marks Christina for a great read. If you find this book amongst the pile of stuff at the bottom of the stairs, I'd sit down and read it and worry about the cleaning up later.
Joel is the traditional slacker; the husband who leaves his coffee mug around to collect all manner of detritus, discards wet towels like chewing gum wrappers and generally doesn't do his fair share around the house or with the kids, expecting Mary to pick up the pieces he leaves behind. All Mary wants is a neat, ordered house - just like her friend Mitzi - and so she starts The List, an excel spreadsheet of Joel's domestic disappointments and gives him six months to prove his worth or else.
However, as the book unfolds it becomes much more than just a domestic drama about Mary's marital discontent. At the heart of this book is the love story between Mary and Joel that with the introduction of children falls apart. It's the middle-class dream in all it's Aga, soy café lattes beauty turned upside down with the realisation that with children our lives are no longer our own. Mary's friend Mitzi seems to have it all; the beautiful, perpetually clean house, the wonderful children and the perfect alpha-male husband, while Mary is up to her arms in detritus and baby poo.
I won't give anything away but as with everything in life; the realisation that all is not what it seems and that we should always be wary of what we wish for comes true.
Being a married man with two children myself there was much to relate to in this book. The laughs were plentiful, the drama gripping, the scene in Norfolk shocking and the ending - as ending should be- was perfect.
This isn't chic-lit, it's deeper, more meaningful and says something important about how we live today - trying to have everything and risking ending up with nothing. It should resonate with both women and men in equal measure.
Top marks Christina for a great read. If you find this book amongst the pile of stuff at the bottom of the stairs, I'd sit down and read it and worry about the cleaning up later.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is a bit like those reality, fly-on-the-wall type of tv programs, where you can be nosey and look at other people's domestic life. It is a humorous, very well written book. The characters are rounded out with enough detail so as to be credible. I am sure you would recognise the types in your own life.
The story revolves around a middle class couple, Mary and husband Joel. Mary is a very grumpy, domestic-goddess obsessed character who longs for perfection in her life. Her idea of entertainment is to read Ideal Home interior magazines in bed. She wants the perfect well-behaved toddlers (they are not), she wants the perfect husband who shares all the chores and child care duties - he tries his best, but to be honest I could not see any husband come up to her standards.
As she is an organisation addict, she sets up a spreadsheet to highlight each and every domestic 'transgression' her husband makes over a period of six months with the end goal being to decide whether to possibly divorce him or not. Some of her friends are far richer, with huge houses along with nannies and maids they take for granted. She hides her envy, but of course behind the perfect facade, they too, have their foibles, which the book hilariously describes.
Towards the end of the book, the six months is reached and the story must resolve itself. I won't spoil its conclusion, but enough to say the author avoids any farcical drama and treats it with realism.
Overall an excellent, humorous light read in which you will no doubt recognise the faults and foibles of the male species in your own life.
The story revolves around a middle class couple, Mary and husband Joel. Mary is a very grumpy, domestic-goddess obsessed character who longs for perfection in her life. Her idea of entertainment is to read Ideal Home interior magazines in bed. She wants the perfect well-behaved toddlers (they are not), she wants the perfect husband who shares all the chores and child care duties - he tries his best, but to be honest I could not see any husband come up to her standards.
As she is an organisation addict, she sets up a spreadsheet to highlight each and every domestic 'transgression' her husband makes over a period of six months with the end goal being to decide whether to possibly divorce him or not. Some of her friends are far richer, with huge houses along with nannies and maids they take for granted. She hides her envy, but of course behind the perfect facade, they too, have their foibles, which the book hilariously describes.
Towards the end of the book, the six months is reached and the story must resolve itself. I won't spoil its conclusion, but enough to say the author avoids any farcical drama and treats it with realism.
Overall an excellent, humorous light read in which you will no doubt recognise the faults and foibles of the male species in your own life.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Tripping up over Lego...
If you've ever wished he did more than take the bins out,you'll love this lighthearted look at the domestic divide...
I found this novel quick to read,and enjoyable.. Read more
I found this novel quick to read,and enjoyable.. Read more
Published 29 days ago by Tacky Modernism
I recommend a read
I wasn't sure at first but I got engrossed and couldn't put it down
A very good read for the ladies.
A very good read for the ladies.
Published 1 month ago by Helen
Don't. Just don't.
Granted, it may be amazing after page 100 but by then I'd given up in disgust. Premise, apparently, that it's hilarious (yawn) to whine about your husband/MIL, be jealous of your... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Bouquiniste
was this meant to be a black comedy?
Was this meant to be a black comedy? If so, as usual, I may have read the book more seriously than I should have done? Read more
Published 2 months ago by Aberter
Truly awful book
This book starts out with what sounds like it might be a reasonably interesting idea - that equality for women will never come until the man starts tidying up (something I would... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Dotty P
The funniest
Familiar and unforgettable characters inspire laughter over recognizable domestics that drive many people mad. An entertaining and shrewd observer Christina is.
Published 3 months ago by Vanessa
How true to life!
I found this book so true to life (apart from the Norfolk episode which kept me giggling for ages!) Everyone who is married should read this and realise that nothing is perfect. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Greenfingers
Slightly disappointing
A good idea for a book which is very different from anything else I've read. However, it lacks any lasting humour and has become a bit of a chore to read. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Chloelie
Did I write this book?!
Loved it! I finished the book last night & was very happy to have ordered it! When I started to read it I said to my husband 'I think I could have written this book' and went on... Read more
Published 11 months ago by S. Peggy BLIN
Disappointing
After reading a magazine article on this book decided to buy it. What a disappointment, very hard to get into and nothing like the extract
Published 11 months ago by Suzanne Nicks
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