“Tina Reilly has a remarkable talent and is destined to become one of Ireland’s great writers”- Commuting Times
I would always pick a book randomly from the library. There is never a particular choice of author. So that’s how I came across Tina Reilly’s books. I would always recommend anyone to read books by different authors. Never judge any book by the cover, authors name or reviews.
This book, deals with a very serious issue – the heroine’s own illness. And, while this book is very funny, it never underestimates the seriousness of her illness.
Janet Boyle hates her job and her life. Things are starting to look up when she meets Dave, the hunky eco-warrior (who seems to care much more about the environment than he does about her, unfortunately!) but then, disaster strikes.
She’s always been a hypochondriac, going to the doctor at any opportunity (although its more to get time off than anything else). And yet she ignores symptoms of something that may be more serious. And it turns out she has cancer.
She has to deal with the people around her and their reactions to this. Her two flatmates act in completely different ways – one turns into a mother hen, smothering her with sympathy. The other treats her like she’s contaminated.
She doesn’t even tell Dave she’s sick at first. Which tells you a lot about their relationship!
The only person she can really depend on to be normal is her shy work friend Al. But even he is starting to act a bit strange – and Jan has no idea why!
So will she get over her cancer? (Well, that’s perhaps never in doubt.) And will it help her turn her life around and change things for the better? Will it help her to realise what’s right in front of her nose? (Unwilling to give too much away here!)
This is one of those books, which you start reading and don’t want to stop till you’ve devoured every word. It’s so readable and humorous that you can almost forget that the heroine (who narrates the novel) has a life threatening illness. Jan herself is a great character – selfish and moany, but with a good sense of humor, just like a real person! She’d be fun to take down the pub with you.
The one disadvantage it had to me was, although I liked Dave, I couldn’t be bothered with all the environmental stuff he went on about, and when they went and did environmental protest stuff. That bored me. Yes, I know that’s all very important, but if I wanted to read about it, I’d go get a book on the subject!
Whereas the cancer storyline is interesting because it’s applying all the torment surrounding it to an immensely likeable character. And the fact that this is placed in the mix with a superior brand of Irish chick-lit just makes it even more fab, because it’s fun, addictive reading but it deals with some serious stuff. It’s real life, I guess. And that’s what makes it such a great read!
Tina Reilly has written a few other great books since this one, but this one remains the best in my view. I would thoroughly recommend her as an author. She is really worth a read!
Synopsis
Meet Jan. She’s 25 and clueless, with no idea what to do about her life. She wears too much make-up and too little clothes, has a crummy typing job and no man. In fact, her life verges on the boring side of disastrous. Then out of the blue something happens that threatens to turn her life upside down. She soon realises that being a disastrous thirty-something is worth fighting for. Together with her strange family, two flatmates, Al, a shy workmate, and Dave, a newly acquired eco-warrior boyfriend, the battle begins.
AND JAN REALISES EXACTLY WHAT SHE WANTS TO DO WITH HER LIFE – LIVE IT.
About the Author
Martina Reilly was a columnist with Ireland’s Evening Herald, but gave it up to write full time.