I know better than to judge a book by its cover, but what about a book by its title? I mean, you have to take something from it, don't you? The thing is...just like with covers, the "name" given to a work can evoke SO MANY THINGS to so many different people, and, once read, they can either fit the story like a glove, or twist you up in knots of the unknown...not necessarily a bad thing though! Ladies and gents, let's undo the pretzel I became as we focus in on today's Rachel's Random Resources guest, and ebook of choice...
Alice Alone
by
Amanda Brookfield
Boldwood Books
About the book...
On the day that her youngest child leaves home, Alice Hatton discovers two disturbing truths in a matter of hours.
The Empty Nest cliche is true.
And she does not love her husband Peter at all.
Now in her fifties, Alice is appalled to realise that she is no longer considered her own person, but is instead defined by her relationships – mother to her adult children, wife to her husband. Horrified by the thought of spending another thirty years with Peter in their North London suburb, Alice decides to take matters into her own hands.
What follows is a triumphant and liberating breaking of all the rules. But when Alice must cope with loss for the second time in as many years, she discovers what even the most apparently ‘respectable ‘woman is capable of.
Join Amanda Brookfield as she revisits her first novel, Alice Alone, and rediscover how she got her well-deserved reputation for writing about women’s lives with humour and honesty. Includes a brand new forward from the author.
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This was a unique story, and one I wasn't quite expecting.
Here, we have the author celebrating her 30th anniversary by revisiting the novel that got her started. I loved diving behind the scenes with the special section from the author herself at the start of the novel. I found it very insightful and it allowed me to see where the author was coming from when the story was written...i.e. a place of youthful ideals viewing older age as a far off time still out of reach, but not untouchable. She gave us a leading lady, still in her prime, that's faced with "empty nest syndrome" in a BIG way. Can you imagine the very thing, or rather people, that you built your life, your identity around, leaving for places unknown, to explore futures unknown...without you? Perhaps it's not so much the fact that they are grown and leaving, but rather the fact that they don't seem to need her anymore that lands her in her predicament. Add to that unsettling feelings, or rather a lack thereof, for her husband, and you've got a situation just waiting to go from unstable to explosive.
I liked how REAL the look into Alice's life was. There was no sugar coating, no glorifying of the truths she is discovering on her own, but rather sudden abrupt bursts of color, scenes both gratifying and earth shattering, along with decisions made, and steps taken, that can't effectively be reversed. Oh sure, feelings can change, and grow, but not so much in Alice's case. Her husband's newfound desire to please the woman he's been married to all this time rather than take her for granted is simply too little too late for the desired results...however, that doesn't mean that there are no results at all. The path she takes from grieving mother to a woman living two lives and, rather successfully, keeping them separate, is astonishing. The upsets she has hit you just as hard. The things she discovers about herself are both marvelous and questionable...including, as the synopsis implies, just how far someone is willing to go to feel needed, fit the mold they were designed for, and continue a life in the way best known to and loved by them.
All in all, as much as this one fits the Women's Fiction genre, I also feel it has a bit of a psychological twist. The ending is not what I was expecting, and while a bit unsettling, it certainly fits the overall vibe of the novel at large. It was certainly interesting getting to know Alice, and, while I'm not certain we'd be friends in life, it didn't make her any less fascinating, nor the story any less insightful into many things, many emotions women deal with on a daily basis.
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About the author...
Amanda Brookfield is the bestselling author of many novels including Good Girls, Relative Love, and Before I Knew You, and a memoir, For the Love of a Dog starring her Golden Doodle Mabel. She lives in London and has recently finished a year as Visiting Creative Fellow at University College Oxford.
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Special thanks to Rachel at Rachel's Random Resources for the chance to bring this tour to you. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, this promotion, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now, so click on over to your favorite online retailer to snag your copy today and be sure to check out the rest of the tour for more bookish fun!
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
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