Publisher: 1st May 2020 by Independent Publishers Group
Pages: 336 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: fiction, family, contemporary
My Rating: 3 crowns
Synopsis:
"What a mess, she thought now . . . what a bloody, unholy mess the whole family has got itself into."
It’s been 25 years since Gus and Monica left England to start a new life in Spain, building a vineyard and wine business from the ground up. However, when Gus suffers a stroke and their idyllic Mediterranean life is thrown into upheaval, it’s left to their three grown-up children in London to step in . . . Sebastian is busy running his company with his wife, Anna, who’s never quite seen eye-to-eye with her mother-in-law. Katie, a successful solicitor in the city, is distracted by the problems with her long-term partner, Nic, and the secretive lives of their three daughters. And Jake, ever the easy-going optimist, is determined to convince his new wife, Bella, that moving to Spain with their 18-month-old would be a good idea. As the children descend on the vineyard, it becomes clear that each has their own idea of how best to handle their mum and dad, as well as the family business. But as long-simmering resentments rise to the surface and tensions reach breaking point, can the family ties prove strong enough to keep them together?
My Thoughts
Joanna Trollope is a well renowned author who has written many engaging tales over the years. These stories mostly centre around families from the UK and the ups and downs of their lives. Joanna brings witty yet wise insight into the day to day life of modern families. On this occasion, there are the retired parents who live overseas, have a health scare and the family comes rallying around - bringing all their baggage with them. Joanna investigates these family dynamics with the relationships across multiple generations. There seem to be many problems and a lot of trust issues.
A story such as this may resonate with readers who empathise with one or more of the characters and the issues that surround them. Joanna is a master of not only providing an array of character traits to identify with, but on this occasion, also the enticing vistas of the Spanish countryside. Sadly, however, I felt disengaged on this occasion and found it difficult to like many of the characters. And many characters there were with varying perspectives that it can become a bit confusing at times.
Overall, Mum & Dad is a tale of being honest, forgiveness - especially if misunderstandings are to be overcome. This is an easy read with Joanna’s writing quick to follow along with. For me, however, it just lacked a certain something, despite the family drama and is not one of the more memorable JoannaTrollope books.
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.
1 comment:
Joanna Trollope is a huge favourite with me and I am so sorry that I missed this on Netgalley. Thank you for the review.
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