This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Kelly Allen
Lucy is a single parent to son Merlin who is autistic. Shortly after the doctor explains this to his very surprised mother and perfectly pompous father (Jeremy), their relationship deteriorates and Jeremy leaves Lucy for a famous television temptress. After he moves with her to LA, Lucy is left struggling as her life is a constant juggle between work, money and Merlin’s troubles at a mainstream school. Merlin is constantly bullied and the education system is unhelpful and maintain that he is merely, as one professional describes him, an ‘attention seeker’.
When Merlin is 10 years old Lucy’s sister, Phoebe, has had enough of the negativity and cynical nature of her sister. Their mother, who has been using their father’s life insurance to travel the world since he passed away in a compromising position with another woman, returns to support Phoebe in her quest to help Lucy find love. They both believe that if Lucy carries on in her negative downward spiral, that not only will she eternally suffer, but so will Merlin. Over a few bottles of wine, they work to create an online dating profile and Lucy is thrown into the world of matchmaking.
Lucy meets a selection of men along her journey to happiness, yet Merlin’s honest outlook and personality cuts the love affairs short as he talks openly about puberty and sexual arousal. When Lucy is resigned to living a life of solitude with only her son for company, she meets Archie. He is the opposite of Jeremy in every way, yet he does not fret over Merlin’s ways. When Jeremy returns begging forgiveness, Lucy is left with some very important decisions to make – the question is, will she make the right ones?
Being a David Bowie fan, I was immediately taken by the title of this book. However, once I started to read it I knew it wasn’t what I presumed it would be. This book focuses on Lucy and her son, Merlin, who is diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome when he is a young child. Although this is a very interesting subject, the book is brimming with a few too many clichés, similes and general quips from one character to another. This style can be quite exhausting to read, but luckily Merlin’s personality and dialogue challenges the rest of the book; he is clever, open and honest and he is the only character not in a verbal competition to be the wittiest.
I found this book a quick read because it is a fairly simple story; boy meets girl, they have a child, he leaves, she meets someone new after a while and then ex-husband returns. Yet, within this is the story of a boy who says it as he is and gets nothing but negativity for it, even from his mother. She does not offer the truth to strangers about his ‘condition’, and then wonders why things go wrong. Instead she behaves as though she is ashamed of him, and finally tells him as much which results in a horrifying consequence for Merlin.
I think that readers of Bridget Jones might like (not love) this book, as it has a similar tone and also has a lot of sexually descriptive text. Whether it is Merlin talking about breasts or Lucy describing her current lover’s body, if this is not the kind of thing you enjoy reading, this book is not for you. I think that if Merlin was not in the book, there would not be much of a book at all.
Ultimately this book was an okay read, but more suited to those who like a light hearted simple story – with the addition of the refreshingly unusual Merlin.
5/10