Amazon.co.uk Review
Cocktails for Three focuses equally on three different women, and on their friendship, unlike many books aimed at twentysomething and thirtysomething females. It is not told in the first person, thus avoiding solipsistic navel-gazing about the lack of decent men and their early-life crises. This is enough to make it stand out from the mass of "women-friendly" novels that crowd the marketplace with their pink book jackets and lurid strap-lines (unfortunately, its book jacket would have you think otherwise, but don't be put off).
Wickham cleverly puts herself in turn into the shoes of Maggie, Roxanne and Candice, exploring their contrasting lives and outlooks. All three appear incredibly successful in their glamorous careers working for a glossy magazine (perhaps in order to up the typical aspirational stakes of this genre). However, they harbour other facets: the diffidence and depression of the new mother; the hidden grief and yearning of the mistress; and the guilt and idealism of the daughter attempting to right her late father's wrongs. Heather, the fourth woman who plays a pivotal role in the plot, is never given her own voice or viewpoint, but instead is judged and discussed by the others, which does mean her eventual character resolution is somewhat predictable. Yet these elements of predictability in the characterisations and plot detail act as a catalyst for a series of events that are less predictable and are thus both satisfying and moving.
Along the way, Wickham successfully tackles death, birth, guilt and romantic love with a depth of emotion that does credit to her ability to localise these universal themes without trivialising them. Cocktails for Three blends familiar ingredients with a few sharp twists to create an exhilarating mix. Olivia Dickinson
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
Three women, smart and successful, working in the fast and furious world of magazines, meet for cocktails and gossip once a month. Roxanne: glamorous, self-confident, with a secret lover - and hoping that one day he will leave his wife and marry her. Maggie: capable and high-achieving, until she finds the one thing she can't cope with - motherhood. Candice: honest, decent, or so she believes - until a ghost from her past turns up, and almost ruins her life. A chance encounter in the cocktail bar sets in train an extraordinary set of events which upsets all their lives and almost destroys their friendship.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
by Madeleine Wickham
by Madeleine Wickham
by Madeleine Wickham
by Madeleine Wickham
by Madeleine Wickham
