The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Book of the week
This wonderfully funny, poignant and uplifting novel by Isla Dewar tells the story of Anna and George, two elderly ladies who have been best friends since childhood.
Having shared numerous life experiences together, the two friends meet up every week to reminisce together, laughing over a bottle of wine at their moments of glory, grief and all the things that have shaped their lives together.
The story takes the reader back to key moments in their past, and it becomes evident that both ladies have suffered much heartbreak and sadness. We are invited into Anna’s cold upbringing by a critical and unloving mother, and George’s antics when she ran away from home and found herself pregnant and homeless at 21.
In their present states of reminiscence, the two women ponder over the different directions their lives have taken compared to what they had planned all those years ago. Anna in particular laments that she never succeeded in becoming a famous poet after years of editing a poetry magazine.
One day, Anna is asked to look after the boy across the road for a few hours each week, an offer which takes her by surprise, but ultimately results in an eye-opening experience. Inspired by the child’s point of view, both ladies are encouraged to approach life with a similar outlook.
With their new fresh lease of life, the pair rediscover past secrets, which opens up new doors of possibility for both of them, proving that age really is but a number.
The trajectory of Anna’s story is particularly uplifting, and the author cleverly uses her elderly protagonist to show how we can all get stuck in the daily routine of life, without stopping to take stock and enjoy the small things.
Allowing herself to open up to making new friends and experiencing new things, there appears to even be an opportunity for Anna to rediscover what it feels like to fall in love.
With two endearing protagonists, this novel is a breath of fresh air and I loved the friendship between Anna and George, who have managed to stay close for so many years and support each other throughout their own journeys.
The author writes with a sensitive touch, and the prose is rich with humour and wit whilst illuminating important messages on the bittersweet nature of life and the importance of living it to the full, at every age.
A truly uplifting read that will resonate with fans of brilliant, female-fronted fiction.
Review by Hollie Bruce.
Look out for our interview with Isla Dewar in next week’s Weekend.
8/10