With her very own humour that can make you laugh in the most impossible situations, some hilarious slapstick and funny dialogues but also quite serious themes, Marina Lewycka introduces us to the little world of Madeley Court with its council flats.
The book is told from two different points of
view:
Bertie is a hapless actor and, after his mother's death, terribly afraid of Mrs Penny, the…mehrWith her very own humour that can make you laugh in the most impossible situations, some hilarious slapstick and funny dialogues but also quite serious themes, Marina Lewycka introduces us to the little world of Madeley Court with its council flats.
The book is told from two different points of view:
Bertie is a hapless actor and, after his mother's death, terribly afraid of Mrs Penny, the Council's housing officer, for he and his parrot Flossie with the dalek voice are in danger of losing the flat due to under-occupancy. Thankfully Inna, an elderly lady from Ukraine speaking her very own version of English, is willing to come to live with him and impersonate his mother...
Violet or, as Bertie would call her, the goddess next door, has just moved in to start a new job in international insurance for which she is highly motivated. However, she soon discovers some sinister machinations...
On her homepage, the author says that she cannot describe what this book is about and this is indeed a bit of a challenge. I have mainly experienced it as a book about human life, the hidden beauty of life and people. Or it can be viewed as an hilarious slapstick novel. Or as a story about love. Or as a novel about the everyday struggle of ordinary people in a world that is far from being perfect, about failing and getting back up. Or...
There are many sides to this book and I very much enjoyed reading it. My only criticism is that Lewycka introduces some characters I would have loved to hear more about. But this is also, if I am not mistaken, a theme of the book: Every person is important and has a story to tell and the stories of different people unfold and become intertwined, then suddenly separate or end or reappear in new combinations...
The cover is also worth mentioning as it includes many key elements of the book, from the one-legged pigeon that was saved by Bertie and later fed by Violet to the cherry blossom petals of trees that grow just in front of their house and will become the cause of a major commotion in the neighbourhood - a cover as colourful and brimming with positive energy as this novel.
