First published in America by Lake Union Publishing on the 21st March 2017.
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Buy from independent booksellers via Abebooks
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How I got this book:
Received a review copy from the publisher via NetGalley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
With her fortieth birthday approaching, Lucy Carpenter thinks she finally has it all: a wonderful new husband, Jonah, a successful career and the chance of a precious baby of her own. Life couldn’t be more perfect.
But becoming parents proves much harder to achieve than Lucy and Jonah imagined, and when Jonah’s teenage daughter Camille comes to stay with them, she becomes a constant reminder of what Lucy doesn’t have. Jonah’s love and support are unquestioning, but Lucy’s struggles with work and her own failing dreams begin to take their toll. With Camille’s presence straining the bonds of Lucy’s marriage even further, Lucy suddenly feels herself close to losing everything
The Idea Of You explores the emotionally charged subject of miscarriage as seen through the eyes of an affluent London career woman, Lucy. It is a real tearjerker of a novel and Prowse misses no opportunity to draw out her readers although without becoming too mawkish or sentimental which is a fine line to tread. I did struggle to empathise with Lucy as I don't think we got a rounded picture of her personality. As a non-maternal woman myself, I could appreciate her feelings of inadequacy when faced with others' judgement (real or imagined) on her childless status, however her incessant neediness and selfishness did wear on my nerves. To me she frequently felt much younger than her given age. This is the second of Amanda's books I've read where one of her lead characters irritates me immensely, yet the books are such compulsive page-turners that I keep reading nonetheless. It's a bit like meeting up with a group of friends where you know one will wind you up, but that potential negative is outweighed by the positives of spending time with the others!
Search Lit Flits for more:
Books by Amanda Prowse / Women's fiction / Books from England
Is it because you didn't feel like there was nothing else to the character but her failed pregnancy? Like she wasn't developed enough? I find that with some of the books I read sometimes.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's exactly it!
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