Imogen and Alex Cameron have a great life in London.
They've got a large house, a lovely nine-year-old son called
Rufus, and the requisite best friends across the street.
But upon closer inspection, the cracks begin to show - the
Camerons are having financial difficulties, Imogen is not
secure (given that Alex is a serial cheater), and now Alex
has been given a warning at work that things are quite dire.
To save money, they decide to move to a country cottage and
rent out their house. Sure, Alex will have a commute, but
they'll be saving money in the meantime. But the cottage
isn't just any cottage, it belongs to Alex's ex-girlfriend,
Eleanor. And the cottage comes complete with cows, sheep,
and chicken. Suddenly, the city chic Imogen has to quickly
adapt to country life.
This is a classic "fish out of water" story with a twist as
Imogen struggles to adapt (involving several adversarial
run-ins with the local veterinarian), and then worries about
whether Alex is slipping into his old ways of cheating on
her since he is now in closer proximity to Eleanor. This
becomes especially worrying when he decides to stop
commuting two hours each way to work and takes a flat in
London during the week just as Eleanor finds business in
London to occupy her time.
Although I enjoyed the basic plot, the author took too long
to tell the story. And while the humor of Imogen being out
of her comfort zone is fun the first few times, it gets
tedious after awhile.
The high points of the book, however, include the
description of the scenic English country, which makes one
long for a week-long getaway, complete with quaint animals
and quirky villagers. The young son of Imogen and Alex,
Rufus, also brings wisdom to the book, sometimes beyond his
years. The wit and humor that can only be seen through the
eyes of a child are refreshing, though, and often
much-needed in this story.
With 10 bestsellers to her credit, Catherine Alliott
delivers an “intelligent, acutely drawn picture of a
difficult marriage” (Daily Telegraph), crafting a
witty,
sophisticated and poignant exploration of relationships
and family. There are already three people in artist
Imogen Cameron’s marriage—herself, her husband Alex,
and their son Rufus—and that’s just fine with her. But
suddenly the Camerons are forced to move into Alex’s
ex-girlfriend’s cottage…and someone’s going to have to
go. The question is, who?
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy