By turns heartbreaking and heart-warming..the perfect feel-good read
Let me tell you some secrets about The Secrets of Primrose Square…
You’re going to find Melissa tugging at your heart strings, both because of the situation in which she finds herself and the way she responds to it. You’re going to wish you had a neighbour just like Jayne and that when you get to her age you have the courage to do what she does. You’re also going to sympathise with her intensely once you meet her son, Jason, and daughter-in-law, Irene. You’re going to hope you or anyone close to you never has to go through what Susan is going through. You’re going to make some assumptions about some of the other characters that will probably turn out to be wrong. Most of all, by the end of the book, you’re more than likely going to feel like you know Primrose Square as if you lived there yourself.
Some of the many things I enjoyed about the book are the way the author creates a distinctive narrative voice for each character, complete with Irish colloquialisms in many cases. I also loved some of the humour. For example, Jason’s initial encounter with Jayne’s new friend or the catty comments that fly to and fro between the actresses playing Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Mrs Bennett in the theatre production of Pride and Prejudice that aspiring theatre director, Nancy, is working on. (It reminded me of the great scene in The Importance of Being Earnest where Cecily Cardew and Gwendolen Fairfax swap insults disguised as polite chitchat and Cecily deliberately gives Gwendolen sugar in her tea when she didn’t want sugar, and cake when she expressly asked for bread and butter.)
I’ll confess that I didn’t engage quite as much with the character of Nancy, although the behind the scenes detail of the work involved in a theatre production were fascinating and clearly informed by the author’s own experience. The secret that Nancy is trying to leave behind in London by moving to Dublin I found a little underwhelming when finally revealed. However, I loved the relationship she forms with Melissa. If you’re anything like me though, it is the central story of Susan and the life-changing event her family have experienced that will keep you turning the pages.
The Secrets of Primrose Square is a story of finding a way through grief, the importance of a sense of community, having the courage to make a new start and the precious gift of female solidarity. By turns it is heartbreaking and heart-warming. I would say it’s the perfect feel-good read.
You’re going to find Melissa tugging at your heart strings, both because of the situation in which she finds herself and the way she responds to it. You’re going to wish you had a neighbour just like Jayne and that when you get to her age you have the courage to do what she does. You’re also going to sympathise with her intensely once you meet her son, Jason, and daughter-in-law, Irene. You’re going to hope you or anyone close to you never has to go through what Susan is going through. You’re going to make some assumptions about some of the other characters that will probably turn out to be wrong. Most of all, by the end of the book, you’re more than likely going to feel like you know Primrose Square as if you lived there yourself.
Some of the many things I enjoyed about the book are the way the author creates a distinctive narrative voice for each character, complete with Irish colloquialisms in many cases. I also loved some of the humour. For example, Jason’s initial encounter with Jayne’s new friend or the catty comments that fly to and fro between the actresses playing Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Mrs Bennett in the theatre production of Pride and Prejudice that aspiring theatre director, Nancy, is working on. (It reminded me of the great scene in The Importance of Being Earnest where Cecily Cardew and Gwendolen Fairfax swap insults disguised as polite chitchat and Cecily deliberately gives Gwendolen sugar in her tea when she didn’t want sugar, and cake when she expressly asked for bread and butter.)
I’ll confess that I didn’t engage quite as much with the character of Nancy, although the behind the scenes detail of the work involved in a theatre production were fascinating and clearly informed by the author’s own experience. The secret that Nancy is trying to leave behind in London by moving to Dublin I found a little underwhelming when finally revealed. However, I loved the relationship she forms with Melissa. If you’re anything like me though, it is the central story of Susan and the life-changing event her family have experienced that will keep you turning the pages.
The Secrets of Primrose Square is a story of finding a way through grief, the importance of a sense of community, having the courage to make a new start and the precious gift of female solidarity. By turns it is heartbreaking and heart-warming. I would say it’s the perfect feel-good read.