Published By: Bedford Square Publishers
Pages: 240
Released On: 18/07/2024
Following the deaths of her husband and son, Helen Cartwright returns from sixty years in Australia to the English village of her childhood. Her only wish is to die quickly and without fuss.
Helen retreats into her home on Westminster Crescent, becoming a creature of routine and habit. Then, one cold autumn night, a chance encounter with an abandoned pet mouse on the street outside her house sets Helen on a surprising journey of friendship, and a way back into life itself.
*****
Thanks to Anne at Random Things Tours for the proof copy of this title in return for an honest review and spot on the book tour.
Ooooooh I do love a pretty cover!
I admit here, I had not heard of Simon Van Booy and therefore had not read any of his books before, and so I had no preconceived opinions going into this one. But from the very first chapter I could tell this is a very special author. His attention to detail, humanity, compassion, and mastery of the written word is all there to see.
I’ve said before that I like books about 300-400 pages long, give or take. This is about 240, which is a nice amount generally, you can fit it in around jobs, and it’s a quick read. But I so wanted more of this. I could have read his words for days on end. Even the more mundane scenes – people going for a walk, the supermarket, an empty kitchen, a door, the weather – it’s like he’s describing diamonds, they sparkle so much.
At first, I was a little confused by the idea of a mouse bringing life back to this grieving woman, but then I realised it’s not really about the mouse itself, it’s about loneliness and friendship and moving on from tragedy.
Not much happens – and I don’t mean that as a negative, just an observation. We read how Helen makes her meals, washes the dishes, takes a bath, walks to the shop etc. It’s very everyday, but there’s a beauty in that, a regularity, a familiarity. It gets more…I don’t want to say exciting, as that presumes anything beforehand was boring, which it’s not. But as the book goes on, we start to learn more about Helen’s background and family, which was interesting and gave us more of a 3D Helen.
I really liked Helen as a character. She is the only real character of substance, I’d say (although there are secondary characters), and I think that’s wise as she steals every single scene. She’s intelligent and caring, sad and resigned to old age and death. You feel so much empathy for her like she was your own grandmother. I love that the mouse is almost the second main character. Now obviously it doesn’t speak or contribute to the overall story by himself, but it’s through this mouse that we travel Helen’s story.
It’s a lot more moving than I thought it would be. I thought it would be a nice story about an old lady and a mouse, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so deep and emotional. It covers difficult subjects such as death, grief, illness, loneliness, and isolation, but with such a tender hand.
It is a glorious book, so moving, joyful, hopeful, sad but positive. It’s a real feel-good book and I really loved it; I was so sad when it finished as I just wanted to continue reading it.
Books By Your Bedside 