Author:
Roisin MeaneyPublisher: Grand Central Publishing
From the
author of
Semi-Sweet comes a delightful new novel
about the art of friendship, love, and (still) life.
When
Audrey Matthews offers an evening class in life drawing, all she's looking for
is a little extra pocket money and something to fill her Tuesday nights. So she
hires a model and recruits five students - each of whom have their own reason
for being there. For Zarek, a Polish immigrant, the class is a welcome
distraction and a place to escape his dull cafe job and noisy roommate. Then
there's the handsome, mysterious James who has moved to the small town of
Carrickbawn looking for a new start for himself and his daughter. He's vowed to
keep to himself, but then his interest in Jackie, the class model and single
mom, takes a more personal turn.
While
Audrey has just fallen in love -- with the adorable puppy in the window of the
local pet shop. Will she be put off by the store's brusque owner or does she
find out that his bark is worse than his bite? As the weeks pass, it becomes
clear to the members of the drawing class that their fellow students aren't
exactly who they seem...
I
know nothing about drawing. I stick to reading and writing because, after all,
that’s what I do best. I have always wished that I could draw and have often
envied others who were very talented at it. I guess that is one thing that drew
me in when reading an excerpt from this. This cover depicts a lovely redhead
who appears to window shopping, and as a woman that’s an everyday thing with
me. When I read the synopsis of the back cover of the book I was delighted to
find that this life drawing class for beginners was made up on some pretty
diverse and even humorous characters. I love multiple perspectives in any
story!
This
story is made up of a cast of characters who each come from diverse backgrounds
and some are on a quest to find themselves, while others just need to feel a
sense of belonging. Audrey Matthews, the lead character of the story, decides
to start a class for beginners in life drawing. Yes, life drawing is one of
those classes where a nude model stands, sits, or poses in the center of the
classroom and everyone sketches what they see. Some of the characters know
nothing about drawing and some just need a place to get away from reality for
awhile. All in all they are a pretty interesting gang of characters and no
story is better than the next, they are all fascinating!
This
was another of the books in which I had never read the author’s previous works
before. I was just very intrigued by the premise of the book and decided to
contact the author for a review copy. Roisin’s writing has a habit to just flow,
and that is always positive in the eyes of this reader! Her language and
fluency were so vivid. She really knows how to tell a story. Let me give you a
brief example of the elegance evoked in her writing. This quote comes from the
main character, Audrey, when she is thinking of the oncoming winter months. “The
thought of the winter months ahead didn’t alarm her. Winter brought big coal
fires and deliciously spicy curries and rich meaty stews, or bowls of steaming
soup to dip soft floury rolls into” (page 20). Her writing just constantly jumped
off the page at me!
This
story is told from the perspective of each character. So the voice changes
every two pages or so and we see into the life of one character at a time.
However, the way that this novel is written makes it very easy to understand. The
characters are very easy to follow and you will always being able to tell who
is talking and when the character perspective switches. My only complaint with
this is that even though it was easy to tell which character was speaking,
sometimes it was hard to remember what had already happened to which character.
Keep in mind here you will be following about 7 or 8 different characters. Do
not let this sway you. Each story is fascinating and you do not get whole
stories at once. You must keep reading to find out what unfolds with each
person involved! Some of the stories were heartbreaking and I wanted to hug the characters and tell them that eveyrthing would be ok. I get so caught up in books like this because I love how they all interact and their worlds begin to weave together.
A
highly entertaining and light hearted read that made me smile and cry!! Stop by
your local bookstore and pick up a copy today!
***A
huge hug and thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy for review purposes
and also to Roisin Meaney for allowing me to review her book***
It sounds like a really cute book, I love these types of books. But for me the idea that the narrative changes every few pages discourages me. I find that I can't connect with a character when the voice is constantly changing.
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