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Review
I howled with laughter, tears of recognition at every bloody page. My only problem with this book was choosing who to pass it on to first. (Jenny Colgan, Author Of Amanda's Wedding )
Jane Fallon, author of GETTING RID OF MATTHEW
'Genuinely funny and genuinely moving'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
38 of 40 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
As a blogger myself I was really interested to see what happens to a blogger who gets propelled to the literary stratosphere. I had read some of the blog but not all, and was not really sure what to expect from the book.
It was beautifully written and very poignant. Judith agrees to her husband's life long dream to life in Northumberland and uproots her existence to live in total chaos with two small boys, whilst also being heavily pregnant. The house is not ready. It is too small. It takes months for planning permission to be granted and the money keeps running out. Her husband, the man who wanted to live there in the first place, comes home for the weekend once every three weeks and spends most of the rest of the time in London, which is where she wants to be but isn't. She catalogues her woes in this blog/book.
People have criticised the book and the woman for being petulant and selfish. I disagree. She is writing about what is true for her. I feel that if I were in her shoes, I too would be rather depressed and find it very hard to find a silver lining. Living on what is a building site, out of boxes with three small children, one a newborn who is waking most nights is not easy, not easy at all. I applaud her for having stuck it out and not run off screaming into the distance.
My only beef is that this book is being marketed as a 'hilarious' read. It isn't. It is funny, in places, and indeed has some laugh out loud moments, but it is also tragic, poignant and heartfelt. It tells the truth of someone's chaotic life, their highs and lows and at times I felt that I could weep with empathy. Don't be fooled by the cover. It is not a jolly read. It's much more than that.
It was beautifully written and very poignant. Judith agrees to her husband's life long dream to life in Northumberland and uproots her existence to live in total chaos with two small boys, whilst also being heavily pregnant. The house is not ready. It is too small. It takes months for planning permission to be granted and the money keeps running out. Her husband, the man who wanted to live there in the first place, comes home for the weekend once every three weeks and spends most of the rest of the time in London, which is where she wants to be but isn't. She catalogues her woes in this blog/book.
People have criticised the book and the woman for being petulant and selfish. I disagree. She is writing about what is true for her. I feel that if I were in her shoes, I too would be rather depressed and find it very hard to find a silver lining. Living on what is a building site, out of boxes with three small children, one a newborn who is waking most nights is not easy, not easy at all. I applaud her for having stuck it out and not run off screaming into the distance.
My only beef is that this book is being marketed as a 'hilarious' read. It isn't. It is funny, in places, and indeed has some laugh out loud moments, but it is also tragic, poignant and heartfelt. It tells the truth of someone's chaotic life, their highs and lows and at times I felt that I could weep with empathy. Don't be fooled by the cover. It is not a jolly read. It's much more than that.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you like "humour" borne out of moaning then this is the book for you. Unfortunately I don't and struggled half way through and then gave up. Escapism this is not.
25 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
gosh this book stumped me - at first I was all set to give it one star because of the womans incessant moaning and whinging on how wonderful London is blah blah blah wish she was back there yadda yadda yadda and this went on for the entire book! I pushed myself to finish it as I wanted to know if the family ever returned to London...... and yes WHY was it her husband's job to fill up the car when he's in London????? Does she never check her fuel herself....? And the fact that she was extremely well off - most of us normals wouldn't have the money to do what she and her husband did.... buy two cottages and knock them into one have the builders in for months rent a house to live in meanwhilst and then at the end of it all install the Londoners dream of the AGA (mega bucks) and clawfooted bath (ditto) I certainly didn't find it funny despite what it said on the front cover!
And yet, and yet, she writes like a dream come true in some of her ruminations, particularly her observations of nature. And near the end of the book I was absolutely slain by her stark account of family tragedy - the suffering was there in every word. So I guess you pays your money and takes your choice - I see other reviewers liked it...... takes all sorts!!!
And yet, and yet, she writes like a dream come true in some of her ruminations, particularly her observations of nature. And near the end of the book I was absolutely slain by her stark account of family tragedy - the suffering was there in every word. So I guess you pays your money and takes your choice - I see other reviewers liked it...... takes all sorts!!!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Good writing but poor marketing and proofreading
This is a well written book. It's poignant and thoughtful. However it is not a hilarious tale of rural living, it's the author's soul-searching reflections as she totters on the... Read more
Published 4 months ago by GarnetLiz
funny and touching, a "one sittiing" read
I read this great book at one sitting and it made me laugh and cry. If you have ever had a child, watched as your parents become old,had a bad back or moved house because your... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Elle
funny, well written... at times so sad
I came across this book via the Wife in the North blog so knew what type of thing to expect - tales of family chaos, running out of petrol (again and again! Read more
Published 19 months ago by Copycreate
so evocative
i've never written a review on amazon, despite having used it for 15 years or so! i found this book really moving and extremely well written. Read more
Published 20 months ago by sunsk8
Incredibly boring
This book is both incredibly boring and badly written. I obviously wasn't expecting great literature, but I thought the author completely failed in her attempts to be funny about... Read more
Published 23 months ago by kayyy
northern life
A fascinating read reflecting life in the north from a Londoner's point of view. I found it an honest assessment of the differences which exist between the North and South divide.
Published on 16 April 2010 by gill nelson kane
Gets better as you get into it!
To begin with I had to agree with a lot of the other reviews I had read - that it is nothing but the moaning of a miserable woman who doesn't like the north and is quite obsessed... Read more
Published on 15 April 2010 by E. Marshall
Beautifully written, but mainly ramblings that go nowhere.
I'm finding this quite difficult to rate. On a prose level, it deserves a 4 or 5. Judith clearly has a lovely way with words. However, it's just like the average diary. Read more
Published on 23 Mar 2010 by Bookworm168
Beautifully written, appallingly marketed
Why is this marketed as chick lit? In another icky pink book jacket, no less? Make no mistake, this is beautifully written and delicately observed, yet it is marketed as a cheap... Read more
Published on 25 Jan 2010 by DreamingMarianne
Try it .. bit by bit .. it's fab
I love this! I didn't expect to - I expected metropolitan yummy mummy but the quality of the writing and the perceptive observation lifts it above all that. Read more
Published on 18 Jan 2010 by djdhp
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