It’s a real pleasure today to be helping launch the blog tour for The Women Who Wouldn’t Leave by Victoria Scott, and sharing my publication day review. Published today (3rd August) by Aria Fiction, this wonderful book is now available for kindle, in paperback and as an audiobook via Amazon in the UK and US. My thanks, as always, to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to the publishers for my advance reading e-copy (provided via netgalley).
I’ve never read one of Victoria’s books before – maybe you were more on-the-ball than me, and discovered her writing through Grace, or Patience. I’m always more than happy to try a new-to-me author if they’ve caught Aria’s eye – I’m very rarely disappointed – but I’ll admit there were two reasons why this book particularly appealed. The first was the main endorsement from one of my favourite authors, Faith Hogan – authors, never let anyone tell you that those words on a cover don’t draw in new readers! And the second? I took a look at her website, where I found these words – “I write thought-provoking, life-affirming fiction that keeps you turning the pages and leaves you with a smile on your face”. Now that’s exactly what I enjoy reading… and I so hoped I wouldn’t be disappointed (spoiler – of course I wasn’t!).
‘A lovely book about two feisty and at times funny women, who stole my heart and had me rooting for them from the very beginning. A heartwarming, uplifting read that would be perfect for book clubs or just curling up with in the garden on a sunny afternoon. Utterly, utterly fabulous!’ Faith Hogan
A gripping and uplifting new novel by the author of BA Book of the Month and LoveReading Debut of the Month Patience.
Connie Darke is trying to run away from the traumas in her past, and it’s led her home, to the small rural council estate she left almost 20 years earlier.
Matilda Reynolds has spent most of her long life in the Worcestershire village of Stonecastle, and she’s content there, with her animals and her solitude. Until a fall lands her in hospital, and Matilda has to turn to her strange young neighbour Connie for help looking after her home.
Out of their tentative arrangement, each woman gains a new sense of community. But before long, that community comes under threat when the council decides to sell the estate, to make way for expensive developments.
Connie and Matilda are determined to fight for their home, whatever it takes…
When her life implodes, Connie returns to the sanctuary of her childhood home – a small close of council houses in rural Worcestershire – where she avoids contact with others by taking solitary early morning walks, observing (and making assumptions about) the lives of her neighbours by watching them through the window, vodka bottle in hand. Next-door neighbour Matilda – now in her 80s – has lived in the close for most of her life, caring for her beloved animals, keeping herself to herself, now confined to her front room, surrounded by her hoarded memories.
After an accident, Connie reluctantly takes on the care of her animals while Matilda is in hospital, and finds particular solace in their company (particularly one rather special goat) – and when it becomes clear that ongoing help is needed, the pair develop an initially tentative but growing supportive friendship. But life intervenes – the council and developers see an opportunity to develop the close, moving out its residents. And with Connie and Matilda leading the effort, the community pulls together to fight their decision.
The characterisation in this book is quite superb. The story is told in alternating chapters, in third person, through the eyes of Connie and Matilda, and the heartbreaking stories of both their lives slowly emerge – the trauma in their pasts, the heavy baggage they carry. Both are flawed and desperately vulnerable, but initially not particularly likeable – but as their friendship grows, so does our understanding of their respective journeys, and they both soon found a place in my heart. But I also loved the rich cast of supporting characters, the other individuals who live on the close, defying the assumptions Connie made about their lives, each with their own emotional story. And I must mention Connie’s mother – a carer in every sense of the word, and a calm and reliable presence amid the turmoil that ensues.
The whole story is immensely engaging – and beautifully written, particularly the dialogue and the emotional content. The impact of trauma is just perfectly handled, and the strength the two women at the heart of the story find in each other is tremendously uplifting, but not without a few tears along the way. There are developments in the story that made me particularly angry, but there’s always a balance of gentle humour too – plenty of moments to make you smile, the warmth of the community just wonderfully captured. It’s difficult to achieve, but it was a story I really felt part of – I could feel the hurt, share the hopelessness, experience the joy, share the tears and laughter.
This was a book I really loved – my first experience of the author’s writing, and it certainly won’t be my last. Totally unforgettable, and without question one of my books of the year – emotional, engaging, uplifting, one of those rare and perfect reads – and very highly recommended.
About the author
Victoria Scott has been a journalist for longer than she wants to acknowledge, working for outlets including the BBC, Al Jazeera, Time Out and the Telegraph.
She lives on a Thames island with her husband and two children and a cat called Alice, and when she’s not writing she’s a university lecturer, freelance journalist and copywriter.
Victoria Scott’s first novel, Patience, was the Booksellers Association Book of the Month and LoveReading Debut of the Month.
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