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A review by faysieh
The Funny Thing about Norman Foreman by Julietta Henderson
5.0
How can any review do this life affirming novel any justice?
The book is a long, sweet, warm embrace in which you feel cherished, valued, cared for and protected. It is a shelter against the wind and rain of life and a hot bath, dry pyjamas and cosy slippers after the shelter has temporarily blown away and you are left shivering, drenched, buffeted and bruised. It is the tinkle of shared laughter, a secret smile and the flame of hope which flickers inside us urging on us when we would rather give up. It is maternal love and friendship, memories and the desire to be brave and ultimately it is the echo of the future calling us to be the person the future already knows we can be.
Norman is 12, or almost 12 when his best friend Jax dies. It devastates him and his Mum Sadie. It has always been the three of them, and now there are only two, and the fragile, lonely and less than confident duo left behind are struggling to find the humour and abandonment in life that Jax so joyfully gave them in bucketfuls.
Norman was the straight man to Jax's funny, delivering the punchline, afraid of nothing guy and they were going to perform in the Edinburgh Fringe at some point in the future.
With Jax's sudden death the plan they shared requires urgent revision, and so Sadie and her psoriasis suffering son, embark upon a road trip with octogenarian Leonard and a timetable that sees them weave their way from Cornwall to Edinburgh, stopping along the way to practise the jokes and maybe locate a missing person, the man who fathered Norman. Even Sadie remains uncertain who, out of several candidates, it could actually be, but the unlikely trio are determined to find the answers and achieve their goals.
In equal parts hilarious and heart breaking, The Funny Thing about Norman Foreman is the Show of 2021, where Little Big Man has star status, topping the bill and endearing himself to everyone he meets.
HUGE thanks to Pigeonhole, Netgalley, the incredible Julietta Henderson and the publishers for allowing me a front row seat at the premiere. Red carpet reading for me all the way!
The book is a long, sweet, warm embrace in which you feel cherished, valued, cared for and protected. It is a shelter against the wind and rain of life and a hot bath, dry pyjamas and cosy slippers after the shelter has temporarily blown away and you are left shivering, drenched, buffeted and bruised. It is the tinkle of shared laughter, a secret smile and the flame of hope which flickers inside us urging on us when we would rather give up. It is maternal love and friendship, memories and the desire to be brave and ultimately it is the echo of the future calling us to be the person the future already knows we can be.
Norman is 12, or almost 12 when his best friend Jax dies. It devastates him and his Mum Sadie. It has always been the three of them, and now there are only two, and the fragile, lonely and less than confident duo left behind are struggling to find the humour and abandonment in life that Jax so joyfully gave them in bucketfuls.
Norman was the straight man to Jax's funny, delivering the punchline, afraid of nothing guy and they were going to perform in the Edinburgh Fringe at some point in the future.
With Jax's sudden death the plan they shared requires urgent revision, and so Sadie and her psoriasis suffering son, embark upon a road trip with octogenarian Leonard and a timetable that sees them weave their way from Cornwall to Edinburgh, stopping along the way to practise the jokes and maybe locate a missing person, the man who fathered Norman. Even Sadie remains uncertain who, out of several candidates, it could actually be, but the unlikely trio are determined to find the answers and achieve their goals.
In equal parts hilarious and heart breaking, The Funny Thing about Norman Foreman is the Show of 2021, where Little Big Man has star status, topping the bill and endearing himself to everyone he meets.
HUGE thanks to Pigeonhole, Netgalley, the incredible Julietta Henderson and the publishers for allowing me a front row seat at the premiere. Red carpet reading for me all the way!