Clear your clutter and change your life! (A Spring Affair - Milly Johnson)

Member Name: hayley_jayne

Product:	A Spring Affair - Milly Johnson
Date:	10/08/09 (84 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Captivating characters and good plot

Disadvantages: None

*Synopsis*
When Lou Winter picks up a dog-eared magazine in the dentist's waiting room and spots an article about clearing clutter, she little realises how it will change her life. What begins as an earnest spring clean soon spirals out of control. Before long Lou is hiring skips in which to dump the copious amounts of junk she never knew she had. Lou's loved ones grow disgruntled. Why is clearing out cupboards suddenly more important than making his breakfast, her husband Phil wonders? The truth is, the more rubbish Lou lets go of, the more light and air can get to those painful, closed-up places at the centre of her heart: the love waiting for a baby she would never have, the empty space her best friend Deb once occupied, and the gaping wound left by her husband's affair. Even lovely Tom Broom, the man who delivers Lou's skips, starts to grow concerned about his sweetest customer. But Lou is a woman on a mission, and not even she knows where it will end ... (Product Description - Pocket Books)

*My Opinion*
When I was pregnant last summer I got a bit obsessed with de-cluttering. I'm not entirely sure why as I have never been particularly organised. I loved the feeling that came with it. When I stumbled across this book and read the bit about 'clearing clutter' in the product description I knew I wanted to read it. I am so glad I did!

The main character Lou Winter is the ultimate downtrodden, under the thumb middle aged wife who's one goal in life is to make her husband's life as perfect as possible; the husband being, Mr Phil Winter archetypal car salesman and philanderer. The doormat mentality also stretched to her relationship with her mother and her friend Michelle. At first impressions I didn't think I'd like the heroine this time, as I can't help but find the whole situation a bit martyr like (Note: I did change my mind!).

I liked the concept of linking the clearing of clutter to the clearing of the mind. Material possessions often equate to emotional baggage and this is weaved cleverly into the book. As Lou clears the clutter she starts to deal with all the issues that led her down the path she has travelled and step by step she starts to find the person she once was again. In parts I found this poignant and touching and surprisingly real.

An interesting sub-plot is set within Lou's workplace, an accountancy firm. There is: Lou's funky, fun loving friend Karen; hard working, close to retirement Stan; fresh faced Zoe; and tyrant Nicola aka 'Jaws' the line manager who aims to terrorise everybody. The author clearly has an interest in how bullying within the workplace develops and of the damage it wrecks. I found this part fascinating as it covers the psychology of the bully within the fiction.

In the early part of the book, we meet Michelle, Lou's friend whose life is 'car crash tv,' generally with Lou picking up the pieces. This relationship is one of the one sided ones I think most of us have experienced were one person takes and takes and is willing to give nothing is return. In addition, the book explores Lou's difficult relationship with a domineering mother who prefers Lou's sister Victorianna.

Lou's old best friend Deb comes back into her life whilst she is clearing her clutter and her baggage. I really liked Deb and the relationship she has with Lou. Finally there is the obligatory dash of romance courtesy of Mr Tom Broom, the rugged skip man, who is everything the husband isn't!

*Would I recommend*
Yes! This is one of the best books of its kind I have ever read and I have read a few! Milly Johnson is a fairly new author and this is her third book. I liked this enough to purchase her first two books, 'the Yorkshire Pudding Club' and 'the Birds and the Bees'. This one is definitely worth a go.

*Availability*
I saw this book when I was buying another book on Amazon as it came up as an associated item at £4.48 (with free super saver delivery if you spend over £5). I had a balance on my Green Metropolis account so I bought it there for £3.75 delivered.

*Publication details*
Title: A Spring Affair
Author: Milly Johnson
Book Type: Fiction / Chick Lit
Publisher: Pocket Books
Publication date: 6th April 2009
ISBN: 1847392822
RRP: £6.99

Summary: Chick lit with a deeper side