well, look you see, after the last episode of this indulged in the theatrics of three books, back to just the two then. and, to be sure, proper books; none of this "ereader" business. although you can use one of them if you want to.
to start with, as ever, to be sure, how about a nice look at the covers of the two books what i read, and then something of a quick, spoiler free review or overview for those in a rush. yes? yes.
starting where i did, Then She Was Gone is an OK reasonable and engaging read, yet somehow manages to be somewhat banal and bland despite having interesting, dark material to work with. The Pleasure Of My Company by Steve Martin (yes, that one) is an often funny, somewhat whimsical sojourn through a story which isn't really much of a story yet feels like, actually, it is.
your warning is here, then. from this point on or further please do consider that a *** POTENTIAL SPOILER WARNING *** is in place for both or either of the books. so, if you have seen the above, have gone "ooooh, let me read that", then off with you, go, be free to read that but no more of this, lest it tamper with your enjoyment. also, links are no sign or form of affiliation or endorsement from me; i just put them in to make it easy for you. what can i say, i am a nice guy, sometimes.
provenance of my copy? yes, i know you can see the 2 for £7 sticker off of Tesco. however, i paid less than that. controversial, i know, but this was £2 if you spent 50p on a copy of The Sun, so i did, and ensured that the unwanted elements was soon placed in recycling.
the plot? a teenage girl has gone missing. well, she did, 10 years ago. the mother, who made no secret of how her missing child was indeed the favourite of her three, has patched together a life. she's separated and somewhat estranged from her other two children. unexpectedly and out of the blue a man enters her life. he's charming and soon becomes a lover. also, he has a family. one of the family is a young girl, one who bears an uncanny, indeed striking, resemblance to the loved daughter that went missing before she was born......
at heart there's a really good, dark, maybe macabre thriller of note hidden in the plot. alas, in deployment here it's all very pedestrian and straightforward. the flips between first and third person come at peculiar times; like when you've sussed the plot and so what narration comes is a little colour by numbers.
but, also, i mostly enjoyed reading it. i don't think i have made a secret of how much i am or was impressed by the premise, and wishing to follow that through saw me read it at some speed. sadly when completed, though, my thoughts are simply "this book could and should have been so much more". perhaps i should, of course, set about writing and selling as many books as Lisa Jewell has before i start throwing them stones quite hard, though.
yet i am still here saying that this novel is probably worth your while reading? well, it is. don't be like me and get all hung up on how it could have been; perhaps you shall appreciate the book for what it is.
the provenance of my copy? 50p, down the library. someone donated it. they did this after partial exposure to water or something went, for the first 20 or so pages have that "dried paper what was once wet" dips, bumps and thickness to them.
everyone has a "lame to fame", a tenuous claim to knowledge of someone famous. mine is that once, some 30 years ago, i, briefly, knew a lady who worked as a receptionist at a tennis club what Steve Martin briefly considered joining. so yes, i feel obliged to disclose that i have a tight, personal bond with the author.
plot? one sort of emerges, or strings come together, after around 100 pages, or if you like 66% in to the book. the narrator, Daniel, lives a sort of breezy, whimsical life, content as he is with patent OCD issues and ever keen to brush aside any matters in his past which may be the root of a hinted at depression. his fantasies about people and his real engagements with them are often difficult to tell apart. certain realities come, however, and, well, Daniel finds his footing in life.
many - several - moments in this book are genuine, bona fide, real, actual laugh out loud moments. it does my heart good - a lot of good - to know that the comedy genius behind things like The Jerk and, in particular, The Man With Two Brains, still very much "has it", despite seemingly slumming his film career for, oh, 20+ years now. there is a temptation to quote some of the lines, for i believe they would stand alone out of context as funny, but no, rather not let me spoil it.
if you want deep, considered and reflective, then seek another book. this one exists in that whimsical, breezy, easygoing and probably fictitious version of how life in California is supposed to all be. yes, i would strongly recommend this slender book, for both fans of Steve Martin and anyone looking for an easy going, often heartwarming and rather funny read.
and so that's all of that done, then. hopefully this has been of the slightest or in passing of interest to someone out there, somewhere!
should nothing else have happened, hopefully you found my "lame to fame" claim to be the saddest, most pathetic and desperate thing you have heard as a hopeless sense of celebrity touch. on a scale of impressive things in the world, i do believe my claim sits just slightly north of such claims to fame made by Sammy Hagar and Mr Kim Kardassian, but all the same is well south on the overall list.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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