Endlessly endearing – loved it!
Who’d have thought conversational Ping Pong could encourage spontaneous distraction – I’d only intended to sample a few pages but couldn’t resist devouring it all in one sitting!
The challenge of answering thirty-six relatively inoffensive questions, in this case by generally deflecting the answers with priceless retorts, caused more confusion and emotional displacement than was expected for two random participants of a psychological relationship study. It might be purely for educational purposes but the effect is a hilarious, heart-warming spectacle – even aquatic life gets caught in the cross-fire!
For me, adoring the rambling, grammatically correct Hildy (aka Betty) and the mysteriously indifferent, doodle-obsessed Paul (aka Bob) was as easy as 1,2,3 – which is the approximate number of questions it took before the ruthless abandonment of social graces began to stir.
In an undemanding but effective way, the effervescent humour of the characters show even the most unlikely people have hidden depths that cannot be revealed until they allow their protective exteriors to crumble.
I loved this how this story progressed, so much so I would happily read another book by this author tomorrow. And the quick doodles that appeared at intervals, courtesy the fictional Paul (Bob), add yet another layer of charm throughout.
The challenge of answering thirty-six relatively inoffensive questions, in this case by generally deflecting the answers with priceless retorts, caused more confusion and emotional displacement than was expected for two random participants of a psychological relationship study. It might be purely for educational purposes but the effect is a hilarious, heart-warming spectacle – even aquatic life gets caught in the cross-fire!
For me, adoring the rambling, grammatically correct Hildy (aka Betty) and the mysteriously indifferent, doodle-obsessed Paul (aka Bob) was as easy as 1,2,3 – which is the approximate number of questions it took before the ruthless abandonment of social graces began to stir.
In an undemanding but effective way, the effervescent humour of the characters show even the most unlikely people have hidden depths that cannot be revealed until they allow their protective exteriors to crumble.
I loved this how this story progressed, so much so I would happily read another book by this author tomorrow. And the quick doodles that appeared at intervals, courtesy the fictional Paul (Bob), add yet another layer of charm throughout.