THAT DREADED LEAP (Thirty-nothing - Lisa Jewell)

Name: thingywhatsit

Hello doyoo user, You have to be logged in to use these functions... Login or register Close window

Send message to member

Product:	Thirty-nothing - Lisa Jewell
Date:	11.12.06 (140 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A darned good read.

Disadvantages: May not appeal to all. Good chic lit though.

I have never read Lisa Jewell's work before, and like to experiment and read different authors and was looking forward to reading it based on a synopsis online. It sounded good. The basic premise is that 'just reached 30' stigma, and although I reached that age many years ago, I can still remember the indecision, and that awful feeling of not being in my twenties any more. It's a time that means something to me, so I thought that reading the book would be an adventure into the way another author sees the transition from one age to another.

The story opens with the introduction of Dig (as he likes to be called, although Christened Digby), a likeable kind of bloke who is just coming up to his thirtieth birthday. The story goes on to introduce Nadine, a friend of Digs and one lady he has shared many years with as a friend. Both are as scatty as each other, both making an emotional mess of their lives. It could have turned out to be a very hackneyed story, though it didn't. I enjoyed it enormously, and the simplicity of the tale actually hides a lot of emotional baggage that people feel as they get older and realise mistakes.

It's a well woven tale, and written in such a way that young readers would enjoy it as well as older people like me, because even though the language is a bit rife in places, the subject matter is so well dealt with. Nadine is a successful photographer and her career is well on its way to its peak. She has achieved so much more than she anticipated, worked hard towards a goal, although left the matter of relationships behind, seemingly incapable of committing to any relationship at all, and chosing men whose presence in her life could never be considered as permanent.

I love the way in which the story jumps back to the past and gives the story depth and some kind of history connecting the characters. Here, the writing is that of a person who understands the concept that everyone sees a period of the past in different ways, and can live all their lives with ideas they conjured up about those people that surrounded them, although may never realise how wrong their assumptions were.

What the book does is leave you thinking. It's thoughtfully written and the characters are both likeable for their flaws. I don't much like the portrayal of characters as perfect because few of us are, and it has always been hard for me to understand who wants to read stories about people that are like the ladies that grace the pages of a Daniel Steele story. This author creates real people and that's where she wins easily against some of the modern writers of fiction. The readers can imagine the scenarios, enjoy them, relate to them, and see the amusing side of errors of judgment, and emotional chaos. It's real, and makes the reader feel human.

One of the facets of the story that came over well is how people around you notice things that should be obvious to you, even though perhaps you are the last to notice. It really is true to life, and I guessed at one point what the outcome of the book would be, though not the journey that took you there, which was interesting, well written, funny and poignant, all at the same time. The accidental element of people's lives was also nicely covered, and the conclusions that people make based on what they see as fact, when in fact the truth is much different.

The other characters that feature in the book at Dellilah Lillie, a flashback from the past who has played a major rôle within both the lives of Dig and Nadine, though the importance of which was unbeknown to her. Phil is the past love of Nadine, and he comes over as shallow and conniving, and not a very nice character at all, although the portrayal was good fun.

This was a very readable book, and one that I shall read again at some future point, so buying it at Amazon second hand price of 1p (plus postage of course) is a bargain worthy of having. Full price for the book new is 6.39 GBP which I feel is possibly a little steep when you consider that you have postage as well to pay.

I shall be reading one of her other books shortly since I liked the authors style of writing very much for light reading at night, and have seen her Bestseller Ralph's Party on special offer on Amazon.co.uk


Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd (31 Jan 2000)
Language English
ISBN: 0140279288
Product Dimensions: 5 x 7.8 inches


It's a good, enjoyable read.

Summary: A story that needed to be told and was told well.