Separation for Beginners
By Joe Portman
Separation for Beginners is a properly good entertaining read that will take you through many emotions. Find out more in the blurb and my review below.
‘I laughed. I cried. I loved it.’
Jack Dee
A refreshing, laugh-out-loud, feel-good novel about what happens when you let go of the past and make room for the unexpected later in life – for fans of Beth O’Leary’s The Flatshare and Marian Keyes’ Grown Ups.
Pete’s swearing is getting worse. What with the divorce, the debt, and the dying travel business, no one seems to need him anymore. Well, except for his 23-year-old daughter, who – jobless and unable to afford London rents – is moving back home.
Pete’s delighted – he’ll even put up with his daughter Susie’s bothersome boyfriend, Niall, who struggles with the concept of personal space and only adds to Pete’s neglected to-do list. But when Susie lands a job in Stockholm and flies the nest for good, Pete finds himself stuck with a flatmate he never signed up for – and out of excuses to hold onto the past.
One day he’ll get around to fixing the lock on the bathroom door, figuring out what to do with his failing business, evicting his daughter’s boyfriend from his house, and maybe even getting over his ex-wife…
But it turns out there are some things you can’t put off until later – and some people who won’t let you.
Review
Life, it isn’t always easy, no matter what age you are. Pete’s discovered this and in style. He’s feeling unwanted and unneeded with his ex-wife gone and his daughter has flown the nest, only to boomerang back and then jet off again. From her dad, there is a moment of elation, even if he has to accommodate Niall, her half-wit, bothersome boyfriend, and that all goes when she gets a job abroad. The only trouble is, Niall stays behind, so he is truly stuck with her half-wit, bothersome boyfriend.
I rather liked that you really got a feel of Pete’s perspective on what he’s dealing with and how life is going, in its ups and downs. It felt fresh and just rather nice and different. There is also humour to be had with some of the situations and characters. It really will make you feel many emotions.
Bookmarks and Stages by Lou 