Published By: Doubleday
Pages: 256
Released On: 06/06/2024
“Oh, honey,” I say. “I’m sorry. Don’t worry about me! I’m totally good. I’m so, so happy to be here with you.”
This is how it is to love somebody. You tell them the truth. You lie a little. And sometimes you don’t say anything at all…”
For the past two decades, Rocky has looked forward to her family’s yearly escape to Cape Cod. Their rustic beach-town rental has been the site of sweet memories, its quirky furniture and mismatched pots and pans greeted like old friends.
Now, sandwiched between her children who are adult enough to be fun but still young enough to need her, and her parents who are alive and healthy, Rocky wants to preserve this golden moment forever. This one precious week when everything is in balance; everything is in flux.
But every family has its secrets and hers is no exception. With her body in open revolt and surprises invading her peaceful haven, the perfectly balanced seesaw of Rocky’s life is tipping towards change…
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
Like all other bibliophiles, I really enjoyed Catherine’s previous book, We All Want Impossible Things, and was eager to see how she’d follow it up. And if I’m honest, I’m conflicted.
We All Want Impossible Things was heart-breaking, and I’m sure most of us found ourselves in tears whilst reading it. This didn’t have that same effect. I mean, it’s a completely different story, completely different angle, it didn’t strike me as much, it didn’t have as much feeling, for me, as I was expecting and what I wanted.
I’m sure a lot of people will relate to this. I don’t have children or ailing parents, so my relation to it is a bit further afield. But there will be many who have adult children who are still dependent, and older parents who need a bit of help. It’s very normal and very real, and it is that realism that helps plant your feet into the world she’s created.
Let me just say now that this is well written. It’s a book that, I assume, didn’t need a whole lot of research, it’s not set in a fantasy land or with historical scenes or whatnot. It isn’t highly detailed. It’s an exploration of character more than plot. That could have made it a bit boring, as you normally want escapism with fiction, but I think she’s mastered it well. I’ve said before that I prefer character study over plot anyway, and that is the case here, but even I would have liked just a teeny bit more plot, something to get my teeth into. What is there is fabulous, don’t get me wrong, I just wanted a bit more.
I loved how imperfect everyone was. We tend to put fictional characters on a pedestal and make them perfect, but nobody is perfect, and nobody in this book is perfect, and that made it more relatable. We see a range of relationships: husbands and wives, girlfriends and boyfriends, brothers and sisters, mums and dads – so everyone should be able to identify with at least one of the characters, however minimally.
It is hard to rate this book, which is why I generally don’t do star ratings. I want to give it 5 stars because the writing is so good, but then there are bits I wasn’t keen on and wanted expanding on, so shall we say somewhere between a 3-4? Perhaps a 3.5. I’ve seen reviews ranging from 3 to 5 stars, so everyone is getting something different from it, which is what you want from a book.
It is a good book, enjoyable and entertaining and interesting, but there were a few things I wanted tidying up, changing, or expanded on for it to reach the same level as her previous book. But I can’t hide from the fact that Catherine is one of the finest storytellers around at the moment.
Books By Your Bedside 