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A review by beate251
How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
5.0
‘Where’s the fun in ageing gracefully?’ said Daphne. ‘Personally, I intend to age as disgracefully as possible.’
Clare Pooley has done it again. In fact, she is getting better and better. This is surely her best book yet. I was so pleased when NetGalley offered me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
What a great bunch of terribly flawed but authentic characters! Art, Daphne, Lydia and Ziggy range from 18 to 70 and all come together in the Mandel Community Centre - called thus when the a of Mandela fell off and was never replaced. Now it is under threat of demolition, and our motley crue need all their wits to outsmart the council. Daphne is the driving force and the glue that keeps everyone together, which is strange when at the start she didn't even want to leave her flat and made a very bad first impression on Art. Her backstory is also the most surprising.
Let's not forget Maggie Thatcher, the dog who acquires three owners and three different names.
Everyone thinks they're the dog's primary carer and the dog loves them best even though they can't even agree on a name for her or what breed she is. 😁
"How did you create a future when you had no present you enjoyed and no past you could admit to?"
The style of story reminds me of Hendrik Groen, Fredrik Backman and Jonas Jonasson - a diverse group, from toddlers to pensioners, getting into all kinds of age inappropriate scrapes together. The prologue scene sets the whole kerfuffle up nicely and I knew I was in for a treat. What a fabulous story.
Clare Pooley has done it again. In fact, she is getting better and better. This is surely her best book yet. I was so pleased when NetGalley offered me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
What a great bunch of terribly flawed but authentic characters! Art, Daphne, Lydia and Ziggy range from 18 to 70 and all come together in the Mandel Community Centre - called thus when the a of Mandela fell off and was never replaced. Now it is under threat of demolition, and our motley crue need all their wits to outsmart the council. Daphne is the driving force and the glue that keeps everyone together, which is strange when at the start she didn't even want to leave her flat and made a very bad first impression on Art. Her backstory is also the most surprising.
Let's not forget Maggie Thatcher, the dog who acquires three owners and three different names.
Everyone thinks they're the dog's primary carer and the dog loves them best even though they can't even agree on a name for her or what breed she is. 😁
"How did you create a future when you had no present you enjoyed and no past you could admit to?"
The style of story reminds me of Hendrik Groen, Fredrik Backman and Jonas Jonasson - a diverse group, from toddlers to pensioners, getting into all kinds of age inappropriate scrapes together. The prologue scene sets the whole kerfuffle up nicely and I knew I was in for a treat. What a fabulous story.