Paperback: 496 pages
Publisher: Penguin
Publication date: 12 April 2012
ISBN-13
:
978-0241952986
This has so many good reviews, I thought I was in for a great read. I was disappointed.
There was a lot of swearing in this one and despite not being bothered by it I did think it was a bit overdone for a Chick-lit read. That's not the reason I didn't warm to this story though...the single defining reason that this was a terrible read for me was Fran's Scottish friend, Dave. Yes, he's funny and yes he's a good friend to Fran but as soon as he called her by the cute little 'nickname' he had for her I couldn't bear him.
I'm Scottish so I've heard that word used plenty, and in it's proper context. It's really NOT a nice name. It certainly isn't a name to be used in affection for a close (female) friend by a man. *shudder*
There's no grey area here, it's just simply not a name anyone would want to be called. It's derogatory. The word might sound harmless to someone who's unsure of it's meaning, but it's really not.
Had it been used once I might have been able to overlook it. Maybe. But it's used over and over and over. If Dave were real he'd find himself without any friends if he persisted in calling them that name.
I can only assume the Author knows the word from a Scottish acquaintance and used it without knowing the connotations. It was a terrible choice of word. Had she checked the Urban Dictionary she'd have been in no doubt that it was a poor choice.
For me, that word just sucked all the joy out of reading this.
It's Fran's thirtieth birthday and things are good . . .
She's bluffed her way into a Very Posh Job and her outlandishly handsome and talented boyfriend Michael is escorting her to the Ritz with a bulge the shape of a ring box in his pocket.
But something has gone wrong. Very wrong. By the end of the evening Fran is howling in bed with a bottle of cheap brandy and one of Michael's old socks.
In her quest to figure out why her life has suddenly gone down the pan, Fran comes up with a failsafe plan: live like a badger, stalk a stranger called Nellie and cancel her beloved Gin Thursdays in favour of drinking gin every night. But then Fran's friends force a very different plan on her and it's nowhere near as fun. How could eight dates possibly make her feel better?
But eventually she agrees. And so begins the greatest love story of all time . . .
This has so many good reviews, I thought I was in for a great read. I was disappointed.
There was a lot of swearing in this one and despite not being bothered by it I did think it was a bit overdone for a Chick-lit read. That's not the reason I didn't warm to this story though...the single defining reason that this was a terrible read for me was Fran's Scottish friend, Dave. Yes, he's funny and yes he's a good friend to Fran but as soon as he called her by the cute little 'nickname' he had for her I couldn't bear him.
I'm Scottish so I've heard that word used plenty, and in it's proper context. It's really NOT a nice name. It certainly isn't a name to be used in affection for a close (female) friend by a man. *shudder*
There's no grey area here, it's just simply not a name anyone would want to be called. It's derogatory. The word might sound harmless to someone who's unsure of it's meaning, but it's really not.
Had it been used once I might have been able to overlook it. Maybe. But it's used over and over and over. If Dave were real he'd find himself without any friends if he persisted in calling them that name.
I can only assume the Author knows the word from a Scottish acquaintance and used it without knowing the connotations. It was a terrible choice of word. Had she checked the Urban Dictionary she'd have been in no doubt that it was a poor choice.
For me, that word just sucked all the joy out of reading this.
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