A Jewell Read (One-Hit Wonder - Lisa Jewell)

Member Name: TigerTiger

Product:	One-Hit Wonder - Lisa Jewell
Date:	09/01/02 (26 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent characterisation, An easy enjoyable read, Plays on your emotions

Disadvantages: A bit cheesy and predictable

I guess this goes under the genre of so called "chick lit". Fans of the likes of Jane Green and Helen Fielding will love "One Hit Wonder" by Lisa Jewell.

Lisa Jewell started writing as a bet after being made redundant from her secretarial job. I am sure this is now one bet she is glad to have taken up as "One Hit Wonder" is her third successful and well reviewed book. Her first novel "Ralph's Party" was the best selling debut of 1999 and a very enjoyable read I have to admit. Next there was "Thirtynothing", which was a big hit world wide, and once again an easy enjoyable read. Now in 2001"One Hit Wonder" has proved a further success, and one which I have been recommended time and time again by friends, but have only just got round to reading!

"One Night Stand" has some comical light hearted moments, yet the whole way through I got a real sense of sadness and loss. The novel tells of Bee Bearhorn. In the 80's Bee had a Number One single which was one of those tracks that is still associated with the decade as a whole. Fifteen years on she is found dead after taking an overdose in a grubby flat, with seemingly few things to show for her life and no-one appears to care less. I am a child of the 80's and I thought back when reading this at all those songs that I loved and played, especially those by artists who touched my life at the time, but then seemed to disappear into no where. This Bee Bearhorn could have been anyone of those and you hear stories of similar things in the press all the time.

Anyway, I digressed. I am dwelling on the 80's which seem so far away now! I apologise.

The death of Bee Bearhorn is tragic. Yet, who was she really, what did she really like, what did she really do with her life and most important where did she come from?

Ana arrives in London. She is the half-sister that Bee had been astranged from for many yea
rs due to a family rift. Ana is 24 and has spent her whole life in sleepy Devon (I should know I live there too!) and now for the first time she is in London to collect her sister's belongings and take them back to her mother. The last thing Ana heard Bee was alive, well and living the high life in London, in a beautiful Belgravia apartment. Now what she finds in London disturbs her and she makes up her mind to discover who her sister was and why she decided to end her life in such a way. There are also many puzzles to be unravelled in Bee's life. Such as her missing beloved cat, the cottage she secretly keeps in the country and all those weekends she spent away with no explanation.

Ana sets about her discoveries with the help of Bee's best friends. The tall, beautiful and lively Lol and the gorgeous, but silent Flint. The three of them set off to discover the truth about their friend and Sister.
That is about all I can tell you without ruining the book, as it contains so many twists, turns and unexpected truths.

As I previously touched on, "One Hit Wonder" may have been written in a light hearted tone, yet I found it quite emotional and sad. It made me think of my family and how often I don't say things to them that I should. After all it tells of a young life extinguished too soon and a family so astranged that they never get to know each other and tell each other how they do actually love each other. A great deal of the book focuses on loss. Yet on the other hand the book is quite exciting and empowering as slowly the puzzle unravels and they learn the truth about Bee and who she really was, in doing this a sense of closure is achieved.

Lisa Jewell does a fabulous job of giving insight into characters and their minds. They way in which the book is written and structured helps in this. The book swaps between storytellers. Most of the time Ana is the central character telling what she finds and how she fe
els. Yet when something is revealed and they learn more it swaps back to Bee herself, at the time when the event was happening and reveals her true feelings about things.

If I have a criticism it is the whole "ugly duckling" theme. Ana turns up in London from deepest darkest devon a tall, lanky, unconfident girl with bad hair, clothes and no idea about make-up. From the start though you can tell she is probably stunning. Indeed, as the book progresses Lol gives Ana a make-over and all of a sudden people are noticing how gorgeous she is and offering her business cards for modelling agencies. I know it is a popular theme and we all love it really, but it was predictable and cheesy.

I have no hesitation in recommending this book to read. It was one of those books that you could sit and read all the way through, wanting to turn the pages and discover more. I think it is more suited to female readers, however I know of ONE male friend who read it and enjoyed it. It's not going to challenge you as such, but it is an entertaining good read.

For more information on Lisa Jewell check out her web site at www.lisa-jewell.co.uk

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