Lucy and Joseph are both single, attractive Londoners, but that is where the common ground ends. Lucy is forty-two, white, separated with two young sons, and as head of English at a secondary school, one of the liberal Remainers that abound in that part of the capital. Joseph is twenty-two, black, an aspiring (but as yet unpaid) DJ with a portfolio of part time jobs and a bed at home with a mother of Lucy’s age. His not-at-home dad is a rampant Brexiteer.
One of Joseph’s jobs is a Saturday shift serving in the high street butcher’s frequented by Lucy. Mutual unacknowledged attraction develops over the pork chops, but when they get chatting, Lucy mentions she needs a sitter for the boys. Joseph volunteers, and the die is cast.
Hornby cleverly steers a credible course for the unlikely lovers. Playful intergenerational banter develops into flirtatiousness, and then mutual attraction is finally declared. Both realise taking it further should be a non-starter, and both try dabbling elsewhere, but resistance is futile. They get it together.
There is fun for the reader, if not the characters, as they sample each other’s lifestyle and enter each other’s social circles. Can the romance survive outraging the norms of society?
As ever, Nick Hornby
is assured in his depiction of how men and women interact. Even in this case,
with so little in common, the dialogue is natural even when it is awkward.
Issues raised are not shied away from but are dealt with in a balanced way and
with a light touch that make for a positive and enjoyable read.
No comments:
Post a Comment