What’s it about?
William Walker just got married to Isabel, who he loves and adores. Married life is perfect, couldn’t be better. And then the honeymoon ends. Isabel’s best friend, Alex, starts interfering. William’s ex-lover, Saskia, starts interfering. Their mad next door neighbour, Primrose, starts interfering. Everyone wants a piece of their marriage. William quickly realises that marriage is a lot harder than he first thought, and that the first year itch isn’t necessarily just an old wives tale.
What’s right with it?
The story is told from William’s perspective in the form of a year long diary, which makes it incredibly easy to read in one sitting. There are cute little illustrations at the start of a new month and insightful quotes, which give you a taste of what each particular chapter will entail. It’s incredibly witty and very funny in places, and it covers everything you think it might from sex, to babies, to crazy friends. Considering this is Rudd’s debut novel, it’s very impressive and definitely makes way for plenty of spin-offs.
What’s wrong with it?
Some of the characters are a bit far fetched and could only be found in a stupid romantic comedy – if they were toned down a bit then you could relate to them more. The same can be said for some of the various predicaments William gets himself into – they would never happen in real life and towards the end of the book it begins to read like a ridiculous slapstick comedy routine. William’s wife, Isabel, isn’t given enough page time for you to really warm to her which is unfortunate considering that she plays a pivotal role. When the book was first published it was considered the “male Bridget Jones” which, quite frankly, it isn’t and never will be. Sorry gentlemen, but your woes just aren’t as funny as ours! Maybe males would read it differently…?
Verdict
Although it was very short and didn’t take long to read, it was good to read between longer books. It’s not meant to be a work of genius and it’s not out there to win awards – it is what it is. But don’t expect to be blown away or feel enlightened by the end of it. Read it, have fun, and then move on to something else.
Rating
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Next time I’ll be reviewing Ellis Island by Kate Kerrigan.
Once again I’m completely lagging behind on blogging but, trust me, this little place is never far from my mind. I think about blogging, I just never have the time to sit down and do it. And before you even tell me my brain is fried and it’s actually Thursday – I know, OK? But I missed last week’s WW, and I am not missing this one no matter what damn day it falls on. And now the above garble is out of the way, let me begin.
- Tomorrow I finally get my new phone – if I wrote about the many attempts I’ve tried to get an early upgrade you’d be here for a while. But fear not, tomorrow is actual upgrade day and tomorrow is when I get my hands on my first ever Blackberry. Oh yes. Excited much? Just me then…
- Work is going well considering what was happening this time last year. For some reason everything is being done more quickly, and we are all far more organised. To give you an idea, I work in a university accommodation office and next week is when everyone get’s their results i.e they find out if they’ve got it. Last year we were running around trying to get everything prepared, and work done so we were ready. This year we’re often sat on Facebook and singing along to the radio – calm before the storm? I’ll let you know next week.
- I’m finally coming around to the idea that I’m going to have my own place from October. I mean, I have it now but I’m not moving there until I finish my summer job but every time I think about it I smile. My own space. My own bills. My own furniture. It feels good and now that I have everything sorted I can finally relax and enjoy it.
- I have lots of birthdays coming up next week and this week I’ve been shopping around for the perfect gifts – my favourite part. I shall not tell you what I’ve bought everyone (hello, girls!) but I’m hoping they’ll like everything because I always try really hard. I don’t do generic presents. Here and there I’ll buy a beauty gift set, but the majority of things I buy are for that person, and that person only. And the best thing? Seeing the look on their faces!
- I’ve made a conscious effort to spend more time with my mum on a night. My dad works night shifts so he’s out the house by 8pm and I’m usually up here until I go to bed, so my mum and I rarely spend any time together. It’s completely selfish of me and I started to feel bad so for a couple of hours each we watch TV together, have a chat, and generally enjoy each other’s company.
- I changed this place up a little bit – just one column to concentrate more on the blog, a cute little layout, and minor tweaks here and there. And if you’re looking for sidebar content – it’s down there at the bottom. Go on, go have a look
And on that note ladies and gentleman – happy (late) Wonderful Wednesday.
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