I’m delighted today to be joining the blog tour for the latest book from Susi Osborne, Happiness is a Thing With Wings, and to share my review. Published by The Book Guild on 28th August, it’s now available in for kindle and in paperback. My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to the author for my reading e-copy.
It’s been a long time waiting for this one! I first “met” Susi back in August 2017 (we’d been aware of each other for far longer…) when she joined me on the blog to celebrate the publication of her last book, Angelica Stone (you can read that post again here). And then I read it, and absolutely loved it – laughter and tears, quirky and dark, way outside my usual comfort zone but totally delicious (you’ll find my full review here). I then had the real pleasure of meeting Susi properly – first at the Narberth Book Fair in 2018, and then at the Northwich Litfest the following year when she was kind enough to invite me to do a talk on my experience of blogging (I had the loveliest time!). When I spotted her latest, I immediately made space on my reading list (being able to share my review as part of one of Rachel’s blog tours was just a bonus) – this lady (as well as being thoroughly lovely) is a fantastic writer, and I was really keen to see what she’d come up with this time…
Joanna is approaching the end of her forties and the empty nest syndrome looms. She consoles herself with gin and chocolate, realising that apart from her son Jack, she has achieved absolutely nothing in her life.
Somewhat on the plus side of plump and barely five feet tall, she finds it difficult not to envy her younger, prettier sister. Such elevated elegance seems so unfair – as does Hannah’s successful marriage. Joanna, in contrast, has remained in a loveless marriage for the past thirty years, stuck in a rut with the most miserable man on the planet but not having the impetus to get out.
It takes an embarrassing but hilarious encounter in the supermarket to make her realise what she’s been missing. It’s exactly the push she needs to make her change her life. With a little encouragement, Joanna starts to regain her independence, finally leaving her grumpy husband to enjoy life as a single woman. As she attempts to rebuild her own future, her family and friends continually surprise her with their own revelations.
Life is never dull, laughter never far away; can Joanna finally find true happiness within herself at last?
Sometimes I open a book and just know – from the opening pages – that I’m going to love it. Gin and Rod Stewart at four o’clock in the afternoon – we’ve all been there, haven’t we? With her forty-ninth birthday approaching, Joanna reflects on what she’s done with her life, and whether she has anything to look forward to – and the answers are “not very much” and “nothing at all”. The only lovely memory she treasures, from thirty years before, is a bit of wild passion with a stranger after her hen party – since then, her marriage has been a perpetual disappointment (not much passion there, although he habitually calls her “darling” – but a little interest and involvement might be nice…), and she can only aspire to her sister Hannah’s outwardly perfect life with her new baby and wonderfully attentive husband. Joanna’s husband David is a bully, staying (mostly) just the right side of turning violent – and he keeps any little charm he might have for show when he meets new people. The only real brightness in her life is their son Jack – an aspiring actor, now living at home again, and a perpetual ray of sunshine (well, until he starts to negotiate the world of new relationships).
Deciding to give their marriage one last chance results in a visit to the supermarket – for essential supplies (all will become clear when you read…) – where she has an excruciatingly embarrassing (and extremely funny) encounter with a rather gorgeous younger man she at first thinks of as “Mr Hunk”. But when he asks her out and gives her his card, she finds out he’s a plumber and electrician called Gavin (“for all your… requirements” – yes please!). And he becomes one of a number of catalysts for Joanna to change her life, to find her wings and fly – and it’s a quite wonderful journey that she undertakes, as she discovers that no-one else’s life is as perfect as it might appear to be, that everyone has their faults and imperfections, and that the most important thing in life is to be happy in your own skin.
It’s a few weeks since I read this book, and I could have sworn that it was written in the first person, although it actually isn’t – but Joanna has an extremely distinctive voice, perfectly sustained, and it’s a long time since I’ve come across a heroine I’ve identified with so easily or found so immediately sympathetic. The emotional content is so excellent – it’s a book that really makes you feel, to want to cheer Joanna on at every small triumph, to celebrate her moments of joy and excitement as she ventures into the unknown, and to wipe away her tears when life sometimes throws obstacles in her path. The humour is constantly present, and perfectly judged – but there’s no shortage of more serious issues too, all particularly sensitively handled. And the overall characterisation is quite superb – while Joanna’s always centre stage, every single individual in the supporting cast is nuanced and three-dimensional, with layers just waiting to be unpeeled to reveal what might be lurking under the surface. There’s a lot of exceptionally well-written dialogue too – and when Joanna shares her secret thoughts (as she often does) I felt I was sitting at her side, sharing her experiences and watching events unfold.
This is one for any woman who might think there should be more to life than the status quo, who needs to learn that it’s never too late to make changes, and that being authentically yourself is often enough – and isn’t that pretty well all of us? I really loved this one – highly recommended to all.
About the author
For many years Susi Osborne worked in libraries, and later as a classroom assistant in a junior school. She currently runs a business selling all things vintage in an antiques centre. She also runs Northwich LitFest which she started ten years ago. Susi lives in Cheshire with her husband, her family and two dogs. Happiness is a Thing With Wings is her fifth novel. Her previous books are:
The Ripples of Life
Grace & Disgrace
Secrets, Lies & Butterflies
Angelica Stone
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This sounds fun!
Sounds fabulous!