Sunday 28 June 2020

The Flat Share by Beth O'Leary - Funny, Sad, Gripping and Uplifting

The Flat Share by Beth O' Leary has everything. This funny, sad, gripping, uplifting and entertaining book has elements of Bridget Jones, especially in the style of Leon's chapters and Tiffy's circle of friends: Rachel, who she works with at Buttercup Publishing; Gerty, a barrister and Mo, a counsellor, who all want the best for her.
The story starts when Gerty and Mo, her old uni friends, are viewing a really grotty flat with Tiffy after she has split up with Justin and has had to move out of his flat, still owing him rent. This place is all she can afford, but then she finds an ad on Gumtree for a sunny one-bedroomed flat in Stockwell. One bedroom and one bed. Leon works nights at a hospice, so the flat and the bed would be hers from 6pm to 9am every night. She's an assistant editor works from 9 to 5. What could possibly go wrong?
They have never met. It is Kay, Leon's girlfriend, who shows Tiffy the flat to check up on her, of course, and because Tiffy is very tall and has a crazy fashion sense, Kay doesn't think she'll be much of a threat. . . But Leon and Tiffy soon get to know each other even so, as they correspond by leaving Post-it notes around the flat.
The other characters which make this such an entertaining read are: Katherin, who's written a book about knitting and crochet which Tiffy is trying to promote with hilarious results; Holly, a child at the hospice who is wise beyond her years; Mr Price, an elderly man at the hospice who is desperate to find the lost love of his life; and Richie, Leon's brother, who is waiting for an appeal because he says he's been imprisoned for a crime that he didn't commit.
All these people's stories are about love and loss, and finding new love and friendship which make this a novel really worth reading.