Happy Hour
by
Jacquie Byron
Franny loves her dogs, her cocktails and her solitude. But life has other plans...
Publication date: 31st August 2021
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Pages: 352
RRP: $32.99 AUD
Format read: Uncorrected proof paperback
Source: Courtesy of the publisher
About the book
Gin in one hand,
paintbrush in the other, Franny Calderwood has turned her back on the
world, or at least the world she used to love. Having lost her husband,
Frank, in tragic circumstances three years earlier, 65-year-old Franny
copes the only way she knows how: by removing herself completely from
the life she had before. Franny lives a life of decadent seclusion, with
only her two dogs, Whisky and Soda, a stuffed cat, cocktails and the
memory of Frank for company.
Then the Salernos move in next door. The troubled but charming trio - beleaguered mother Sallyanne, angry teenager Dee and eccentric eight-year-old Josh - cannot help but pull Franny into the drama of their lives. But despite her fixation with independence, Franny's wisecracks and culinary experiments hide considerable trauma and pain, and when her eccentric behaviour has life-threatening consequences she faces a reckoning of sorts. Yes, Frank is dead, but did the woman he loved have to perish with him?
A story about one woman, two dogs and the family next door, Happy Hour is a hilarious and uplifting insight into grief, loss, true love and friendship.
Then the Salernos move in next door. The troubled but charming trio - beleaguered mother Sallyanne, angry teenager Dee and eccentric eight-year-old Josh - cannot help but pull Franny into the drama of their lives. But despite her fixation with independence, Franny's wisecracks and culinary experiments hide considerable trauma and pain, and when her eccentric behaviour has life-threatening consequences she faces a reckoning of sorts. Yes, Frank is dead, but did the woman he loved have to perish with him?
A story about one woman, two dogs and the family next door, Happy Hour is a hilarious and uplifting insight into grief, loss, true love and friendship.
My review:
Happy Hour is a thought provoking story of love, loss, friendship and forgiveness.
People often ask 'what book changed your life' and I can never really think of a book that was so profound it literally changed my life. However, I think Happy Hour has come close by changing my attitude towards friends I may have given up on a little too easily.
Franny is wallowing in self pity. For the last three years, since the death of her beloved husband, Franny has spent her days with her dogs and her memories, clock watching until she can have that first drink of the day. She has pushed everyone out of her life.
I loved Franny's family and friends who consistently rang her and asked her over, never giving up after three long years of excuses.
At times her self pity became too much for me and I did feel annoyed with her. And then Jacquie Byron gives us this quote....
"No one can criticise the way someone else handles grief." (so true)
Many part of Happy Hour are heart-breaking but there are also many heartwarming situations surrounding the blossoming inter-generational friendship between Franny and her young neighbours.
Byron puts her characters in difficult situations that make the reader stop and think about their own reaction to these situations.
Humour offers lightness in a book heavy with themes of loss, grief and alcohol abuse.
Happy Hour is a story that will make you stop and think. A fabulous debut! Funny, engaging and heartwarming.
My rating 5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
About the author
Challenges Entered: Australian Women Writers Challenge AWW2021
No comments:
Post a Comment