Sunday 11 January 2009

Goodnight, Beautiful by Dorothy Koomson

Beach Rubbish. Holiday Nonsense. Brain Candy. 430 pages in less than 4 days.

A wholly improbable situation where 2 children grow up together as best friends when one's mother suffers from bipolar manic depression and numerous attempts at suicide. As adults they fall in love with each other but, afraid to destroy their friendship, never admit as much to each other. Every relationship they attempt to form outside of the one with each other is infected with their love for each other. And then she, Nova, agrees to be a surrogate mother for him, Mal, and his wife, Stephanie, who falsely claims to be unable to have children. Then he abandons her and their child.

I won't give the ending away but let's just say it isn't a happy one. Their story is full of lies and secrets. Stephanie is a particularly reprehensible character and whilst Koomson attempts to build sympathy for her, I just ended up despising her. Mal is in idiot for doing everything Stephanie asks of him and abuses his friendship with Nova. And Nova is so blinded by her love for Mal that she doesn't even see the treatment as abuse.

I threw this book across the room several times yelling at the stupidity of the characters. There was a point where tears welled up in my eyes but I challenge any mother not to cry about the situation of your child dying before you do.

There are just way too many great books out there to spend any time on this one.

3 comments:

Marla said...

I just have to ask, how much reading time do you spend reading books? You certainly must be a fast reader.

LaDawn said...

maybe 1/2 every night during the week and another 1/2 hour in the morning during the weekend (before I get out of bed). Might be able to find a spare hour during the day on the weekends if I'm super duper lucky. some of these books are easy to read and don't take long at all. Others are more difficult (like the one I'm currently reading, Lush Life, and its going to take longer. I try to intersperse tough reads with easier reads to give my brain "thinking time".

I'd rather read than do just about anything....even eat! So I don't find it difficult to make time to read....

Janell said...

You've really stumbled onto some stinkers lately, haven't you?

I just finished an old (from 2003) one: "Dinner at Buckingham Palace." It tickled me that some of the recipes and menus would fit right in at "Nellie's Redneck Restaurant."