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blancha's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
kelseyjxck's review against another edition
2.0
Yeah I really do not know what the point of this was?
hedwig2's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
daja57's review against another edition
2.0
Janice may be 'just' a cleaner, as her husband keeps reminding her, but she is an extraordinary cleaner and an extraordinary woman whose services are in high demand around Cambridge, UK. She cleans for an opera singer and an ex-spy, amongst others. Her neighbour used to play cricket for India, the shoe-shop assistant used to play squash for England. But then, Janice's own father was a university professor and the bus driver's dad ran a bookshop. It's quite a place, Cambridge!
I love the idea of writing about ordinary people: a cleaner and a bus driver, brilliant. But they weren't ordinary at all. Cop out.
Janice collects the stories which show that ordinary people have extraordinary backgrounds. She likes stories that show that good people aren't always perfect but she doesn't like stories that show that villains may have redeeming features. And, although she collects the stories of others, her own story is locked deep inside her.
The plot revolves around Janice's latest client, an old lady who tells her, in instalments, a true story about a Parisian courtesan. The old lady's son is trying to persuade his mum to move into sheltered accommodation. Janice also cleans for his wife and has fallen in love with his dog, whom she walks. She's also trying to help the son of another client come to terms with the suicide of his dad. At the same time, Janice's husband, 'the man of a thousand jobs', is seeking new employment and taking Janice for granted.
The narrative is third person past, told from the PoV of Janice. It is perfectly paced with the Parisian courtesan story starting at the 25% mark, a major change in Janice's life occurring at 50%, major revelations at around 75% and the end-game happening shortly afterwards.
This is the sort of book where the plot is very much in charge (there is a lot of foreshadowing!). The characters were carefully observed but were subservient to the needs of the plot and I'm not sure I ever fully believed in any of them, although I certainly enjoyed old Mrs B and the dog with attitude. The villains were too clearly villains, without redemption, and the heroes were heroes without flaw. Janice herself had issues with her self-esteem but she was fundamentally another in the long list of Mary Sue heroines who seem to litter modern fiction: good at everything she turned her hand at. The bus driver was not just a bibliophile but able to talk calm control in a crisis. Even the protagonist, Janice, didn't really have a character arc; rather she went on a voyage in which she discovered that her fears were fundamentally groundless. The ending was twee.
Perhaps the best character was husband Mike. Everything he did was to take Janice for granted. But it was everything he did. There was not a single spark of redemption in him, except, perhaps, that he didn't hit his wife.
Perhaps the problem was that there were simply too many stories for the author to focus on developing the characters beyond the superficial.
I love the idea of writing about ordinary people: a cleaner and a bus driver, brilliant. But they weren't ordinary at all. Cop out.
Janice collects the stories which show that ordinary people have extraordinary backgrounds. She likes stories that show that good people aren't always perfect but she doesn't like stories that show that villains may have redeeming features. And, although she collects the stories of others, her own story is locked deep inside her.
The plot revolves around Janice's latest client, an old lady who tells her, in instalments, a true story about a Parisian courtesan. The old lady's son is trying to persuade his mum to move into sheltered accommodation. Janice also cleans for his wife and has fallen in love with his dog, whom she walks. She's also trying to help the son of another client come to terms with the suicide of his dad. At the same time, Janice's husband, 'the man of a thousand jobs', is seeking new employment and taking Janice for granted.
The narrative is third person past, told from the PoV of Janice. It is perfectly paced with the Parisian courtesan story starting at the 25% mark, a major change in Janice's life occurring at 50%, major revelations at around 75% and the end-game happening shortly afterwards.
This is the sort of book where the plot is very much in charge (there is a lot of foreshadowing!). The characters were carefully observed but were subservient to the needs of the plot and I'm not sure I ever fully believed in any of them, although I certainly enjoyed old Mrs B and the dog with attitude. The villains were too clearly villains, without redemption, and the heroes were heroes without flaw. Janice herself had issues with her self-esteem but she was fundamentally another in the long list of Mary Sue heroines who seem to litter modern fiction: good at everything she turned her hand at. The bus driver was not just a bibliophile but able to talk calm control in a crisis. Even the protagonist, Janice, didn't really have a character arc; rather she went on a voyage in which she discovered that her fears were fundamentally groundless. The ending was twee.
Perhaps the best character was husband Mike. Everything he did was to take Janice for granted. But it was everything he did. There was not a single spark of redemption in him, except, perhaps, that he didn't hit his wife.
Perhaps the problem was that there were simply too many stories for the author to focus on developing the characters beyond the superficial.
tanyahawkins's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
recovering_my_sparkle's review against another edition
2.0
Wasn’t really a book for me…. I found it quite wordy and hard to get into, although there were some lovely moments throughout but overall it was difficult finishing it
viviantara_22's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
3.5
At the start I found it really difficult to get into and I wanted to give up at first. But I decided to just keep going and give it a proper chance and after about ~100 pages it had finally managed to suck me in and it just got better and better with each chapter (as a short-chapter-lover this book was just perfect!!!). I loved Janice and Mrs. B 🥹 The story was interesting and sweet and it was definitely a really unique book. I had never read anything like that before. I absolutely loved the ending and even with my struggle at the beginning it eventually turned out to be a really enjoyable read 😊👍🏻
hrc0307's review against another edition
emotional
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
aljagolob's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
vikreads's review against another edition
3.0
When I first listened to this audiobook, I really liked it. But now that it’s been a month since - I almost completely forgot about it. I chalk it up to a good beach read. Mindless, lets you get lost in the story (albeit - it is a paced a bit slowly), the characters are realistic and most are lovable and somewhat relatable. Overall a decent read/listen if you just need something to disconnect and get lost in without having to think to hard. But don’t go into it with the expectation that it’s gonna be life changing by any means.