Ahhh, so I know there’s a lot of fuss about Nicholls’ ‘One Day’ at the moment because of the Netflix series, but that’s not what brought me to this book. I absolutely loved Nicholls’ ‘Starter for Ten’ (great book, lovely film) and hoped for more of the same.
I can confirm that ‘You Are Here’ is also a great book. Thanks to NetGalley for my review copy.
This book alternates chapters told by Marnie (long term single and lonely Londoner) and Michael (getting divorced, keen walker and countryside-lover). They’re brought together by a mutual friend on a loooooong walk across the Lake District and then – who knows? – maybe even over to the opposite coast. The epic journey starts with a group of unlikely walkers setting off from the west coast of the UK with accommodation booked along the way. The weather isn’t great, the walkers aren’t all very keen, and gradually the numbers dwindle – allowing new friendships to be built between unlikely characters.
As a big fan of Stibbe’s writing (and her previous autobiographical book, ‘Love, Nina’), I requested this without actually knowing what it was about. I don’t regret this at all!
In fact, it’s kind of tricky to pin down what this book is actually about. It’s Nina Stibbe’s diaries covering her move to London (with dog, Peggy, as indicated by the title) in the period of an impending divorce. Leaving her home in Cornwall, Stibbe takes a spare room in the home of author Deborah Moggach (‘Debby’) and spends a year navigating a new life in the city. Surrounded by friends (including lots of other writers) and her grown-up children, Stibbe reevaluates her life and muses on a range of topics – from the big things (life, love, family) to the very small (toads, internet adverts, swimming at the lido).
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘The Black Dress’ by Deborah Moggach.
Thanks to Random Things Tours and Headline/Tinder Press for having me on the tour and for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was published on 22nd July, 2021.
From the Publisher:
From the ‘Sunday Times’ bestselling author of ‘The Carer’, Deborah Moggach’s ‘The Black Dress’ is a beautifully observed, darkly funny, tender and surprising novel about life changes and the unexpected twists and pleasures of being alone.
Pru is on her own. But then, so are plenty of other people. And while the loneliness can be overwhelming, surely she’ll find a party somewhere?
Pru’s husband has walked out, leaving her alone to contemplate her future. She’s missing not so much him, but the life they once had – picnicking on the beach with small children, laughing together, nestling up like spoons in the cutlery drawer as they sleep. Now there’s just a dip on one side of the bed and no-one to fill it.
In a daze, Pru goes off to a friend’s funeral. Usual old hymns, words of praise and a eulogy but…it doesn’t sound like the friend Pru knew. And it isn’t. She’s gone to the wrong service. Everyone was very welcoming, it was – oddly – a laugh, and more excitement than she’s had for ages. So she buys a little black dress in a charity shop and thinks, now I’m all set, why not go to another? I mean, people don’t want to make a scene at a funeral, do they? No-one will challenge her – and what harm can it do?
Praise for Deborah Moggach…
‘Full of warmth and humour, as well as blistering truths’
Daily Mirror
‘Moggach is at the height of her powers’
Sunday Times
‘Unputdownable, fun and tender with characters that jump off the page. Perfection’
Marian Keyes
My Review:
I’d not read a Deborah Moggach book before this one – but I’d heard good things and was keen to dive in. In particular, I liked the quite dark and interesting storyline of this book and was intrigued…
The central character in this book, Pru, finds herself suddenly alone at the age of 69. Although she doesn’t really miss her husband, she misses the security of coupledom a bit. Buoyed by her friend Azra, Pru begins her search for a new man – a search which takes a rather unconventional turn when Pru finds herself at a funeral and spots the potential of new widowers as an untapped target market.
Although the idea of preying on newly-single men at their wives’ funerals is dark and shocking, it becomes something much more interesting in Moggach’s skilled hands. Pru is given such an emotional depth through her first person narration that the reader can instead read her desperation with poignancy. She may make odd decisions, but actually it all makes sense in the context of the novel and the things she faces.
Ah, yes, the things Pru faces! This is a novel that is constantly surprising and revelatory – there are some big turns in the book which I don’t want to go into (no spoilers here!) However, suffice it to say that this isn’t a gentle book about the older generation’s search for love. Moggach is never that predictable and Pru has a lot to bear – including some real shockers!
I liked Pru a lot as a central character – it was refreshing to read about an older character with the possibility of a new beginning, although I should have expected this from the author of the book that became ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’. The novel is essentially a snapshot of a woman at a vulnerable but also potentially exciting point in her life.
Along the way, we meet a whole cast of well-developed and intersting characters, all flawed in their own ways. Evan is one that really stuck with me – the depiction of him reeling from his wife’s death is heartbreaking. Azra is also a fascinating character, maybe not all for good reasons – she is written with vim and vibrancy and almost jumps off the page.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and read it in one sitting during the July heatwave. I felt that it had emotional interest and humour, but also a clever plot structure that made me feel that I was on constantly shifting ground. There is honestly never a dull moment. I also liked the fact that a book ostensibly about finding a man also focused extensively on female friendship and the love of family too.
I’d recommend this to anyone looking for an immersive and engaging read. Once you get sucked into Pru’s world, as crazy as it is at times, you won’t want to leave – and you won’t put the book down until you have finished Pru’s journey.
About the Author:
Deborah Moggach, OBE, is a British novelist and an award-winning screenwriter. She has written twenty novels, including ‘Tulip Fever’, ‘These Foolish Things’ (which became the bestselling novel and film ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’), and ‘The Carer’. She lives in London.
