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ymberlenis's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
fonril's review
5.0
Family isn't always those you're related to by blood, in hard times, they are your friends.
It's 2019 and Sharon has been summoned to her mothers bedside. Senga is dying and as well as seeing her three children, her request of her eldest daughter is to find her red book, her diary, to read it and to gather together the group of friends she had forty years ago.
Reading her mother's account of life in 1976, raising three children in Glasgow when their feckless father had left the family to take up with a younger woman, with endless struggles to pay the bills or keep food on the table, Sharon's admiration for her mother is immense. She did everything to make her children as happy as possible, whether it was working extra jobs or fiddling the electric meter.
Through it all, her group of friends play a huge part of her life. They help each other out, even putting money in a kitty each week so that every fifth week, one of them gets to use the collected amount to pay a bill, get her hair done or pay for a trip to the seaside.
The group of friends, Senga, Bunty, Isa, Philomena and Sandra have shared laughter, tears and - as becomes apparent to Sharon as she reads her mothers diary - secrets.
I absolutely loved this book. Janey Godley is a gifted writer and her famous wit shines throughout.
It's 2019 and Sharon has been summoned to her mothers bedside. Senga is dying and as well as seeing her three children, her request of her eldest daughter is to find her red book, her diary, to read it and to gather together the group of friends she had forty years ago.
Reading her mother's account of life in 1976, raising three children in Glasgow when their feckless father had left the family to take up with a younger woman, with endless struggles to pay the bills or keep food on the table, Sharon's admiration for her mother is immense. She did everything to make her children as happy as possible, whether it was working extra jobs or fiddling the electric meter.
Through it all, her group of friends play a huge part of her life. They help each other out, even putting money in a kitty each week so that every fifth week, one of them gets to use the collected amount to pay a bill, get her hair done or pay for a trip to the seaside.
The group of friends, Senga, Bunty, Isa, Philomena and Sandra have shared laughter, tears and - as becomes apparent to Sharon as she reads her mothers diary - secrets.
I absolutely loved this book. Janey Godley is a gifted writer and her famous wit shines throughout.
laurenrebeccanewson's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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