I really could not get into the book and I think the fact that the story was narrated by the cat may have had something to do with it. I never finished the book. Please do not be put off as you will see by Andrea’s review, she loved it
The book is based on a guest house on the West coast of Ireland and the main character is the owner, Esme. Esme is 82 and wheelchair bound after a fall, she is also losing her sight. Despite this, she is very aware of all the guests and the stories attached to their lives. Her guests include a young girl who had an affair with a married man, a family who are losing their father to dementia and other interesting characters. The book is light, easy to read and although it is about people and their problems, it has an underlying feeling of hope and happiness.
The story follows a struggling artist in New York, living and painting in shared studio apartments who marries a wealthy investor. They purchase a cottage in Bakoven where she paints the sea and lectures at UCT. Cape Town is caught in a drought situation and rising crime, her husband decides to sell the cottage and returns to the USA to prepare for their life back in the country. She has a close encounter with a great white which leads to a very close encounter with a much younger surfer. (What is it with these older woman getting involved with younger guys!) She decides to stay in SA, confesses her infidelity and her husband returns to the US. I found her post traumatic stress from her encounter with the shark a bit too dramatic and was also irritated with her obsession with her heart condition (which had been repaired) Probably just me as most people thoroughly enjoyed this book
I enjoyed reading this book. I felt she concentrated a lot on her situation while her brother was really going through such a dire situation. It struck me how much things have changed. Testing HIV positive was literally death sentence then (and a very hard, cruel death). Today if treatment is compliant, it is the same as any other chronic illness. Life expectancy and quality of life is good. Still strange to me that such enormous strides have been made in the treatment of HIV/AIDS but cancer research is still so far from effective treatment. The book is worth reading especially to empathise with the effect on the rest of the family
Jenny has revised the book, I really enjoyed it. I felt her physical affair with her 25 year old neighbour was a bit unnecessary but would recommend this book.