*I received a pdf copy of the book free of charge to enable me to take part in the blog tour. I absolutely adored Jack & Bet by Sarah Butler. It's truly a gem of a book and one of my favs of 2020.
Even the longest marriages have their secrets . . .
Jack Chalmers is a man of few words, married to a woman of many. He and Bet have been together for seventy years - almost a lifetime - and happily so, for the most part.
All Jack and Bet want is to enjoy the time they have left together, in the flat they have tried to make their home. Their son Tommy has other ideas: he wants them to live somewhere with round-the-clock care, hot meals, activities. Bet thinks they can manage just fine.
When they strike up an unlikely friendship with Marinela, a young Romanian woman, Bet thinks she has found the perfect solution - one that could change Marinela's life as well as theirs. But this means revisiting an old love affair, and confronting a long-buried secret she has kept hidden from everyone, even Jack, for many years.
Tender, moving and beautifully told, Sarah Butler's Jack & Bet is an unforgettable novel about love and loss, the joys and regrets of a long marriage, and the struggle to find a place to call home.
My thoughts?
The story is told through the eyes of Jack, Bet and Marinela. Jack and Bet have been married for 70 years and are having a party to celebrate. Like every marriage there have been ups and downs. Bet's very excited about the party - it takes her back to her past, a whirlwind of fun, cocktails and beautiful dresses when she worked as a Hostess at the Club.
Everyday Jack walks to the cafe at the shopping centre. He never changes his route, he always goes past the old estate which is being bulldozed to make way for a series of modern glassy buildings. It's there he randomly meets Romanian girl, Marinela who is hoping one day to be a famous photographer and chased her dreams by moving to London.
Jack especially wishes they'd had another child but he loves their son Tommy with all his heart. Tommy is wanting his parents to go into a nursing home but fiesty Bet is having none of it! Marinela comes into their lives and in her Bet sees a way for her son to stop pestering her. She offers the girl something in exchange for her help with some housework and cooking. As they get to know each other they tell each other their secrets and Bet relives something in her past which is bittersweet, making her happy and heartbroken at the same time, and it's something Jack knows nothing about..
It's a richly drawn tale with laughter, sadness, friendship, love, contentment, happiness, family ties, forgiveness and new beginnings with characters I grew to really care for. I can't recommend it highly enough. A must-read.
Everyday Jack walks to the cafe at the shopping centre. He never changes his route, he always goes past the old estate which is being bulldozed to make way for a series of modern glassy buildings. It's there he randomly meets Romanian girl, Marinela who is hoping one day to be a famous photographer and chased her dreams by moving to London.
Jack especially wishes they'd had another child but he loves their son Tommy with all his heart. Tommy is wanting his parents to go into a nursing home but fiesty Bet is having none of it! Marinela comes into their lives and in her Bet sees a way for her son to stop pestering her. She offers the girl something in exchange for her help with some housework and cooking. As they get to know each other they tell each other their secrets and Bet relives something in her past which is bittersweet, making her happy and heartbroken at the same time, and it's something Jack knows nothing about..
It's a richly drawn tale with laughter, sadness, friendship, love, contentment, happiness, family ties, forgiveness and new beginnings with characters I grew to really care for. I can't recommend it highly enough. A must-read.
Huge thanks for the blog tour support Sandra xx
ReplyDelete