This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Victoria Sutton
An Englishwoman in New York opens with the tale of
Lucy, the Englishwoman, who has recently relocated to New York with her young
family after her husband loses his job. The novel also follows the stories of Christy,
Julia and Robyn. These are women initially linked simply by the fact that their
children go to the same school but we soon discover they all have more in
common than they think, and some more than they would ever like to imagine!
Although Lucy was my favourite character of the book overall, I originally found it very difficult to like her – she certainly didn't seem to like herself very much either. However, as she settles into her New York life, and a family bereavement makes her face up to her past, Lucy becomes a changed person and a much more likeable character. I also loved Julia for her kind heart, albeit hidden behind a hard-nosed workaholic exterior. Christy and Robyn were more difficult to like but I could sympathise with their situations.
The first time the novel jumped away from Lucy’s story I was slightly disconcerted – I was desperate to know what happened to her next – but I soon got used to the quirky narrative style as it hopped from one woman’s story to the other and not always chronologically. It was interesting to slowly discover information about the characters and gain a clearer picture of the whole plot bit by bit.
An Englishwoman in New York is intelligently written. It tackles serious subjects while maintaining a good level of humour. Excellent observations throughout make the characters very relatable, despite their relatively un-relatable situations. Reading this book took me on a journey of discovery along with these characters and while I’m not (hopefully!) facing the same sort of mid life crisis, it did make me take a step back and look at my life and relationships and feel grateful for what I have.
8/10