If I am to be honest I must say that I picked this up on a whim, partly ’cause of the catchy title & cover blurb, partly ’cause I really enjoy discovering new authors and this happened to be a debut novel.

To begin with, it slightly reminded me of Graeme Simsion’s ‘The Rosie Project’ (my review of which can be found here) so things were already off to a great start. While I read on (which really didn’t take long, since I practically devoured this in about a day and a half!), however,  I realised that the only thing the two books had in common after all was the quirky main character angle. I also, quickly and slightly painfully, realised that Eleonor’s story would influence me deeply – in a way that Don’s story never did.

Through her, easy going but consistently interesting and vivid, writing Honeyman brings her (few) characters to life and creates a story that keeps you glued to the page and reading well into the night. I think the best way to describe this book, without giving too much away, would be to say it’s heart warming and heart breaking in equal measures. It’s fun and it’s sad – and it’s got a bit of the unexpected thrown in, for good measure. Plus, Honeyman gets all the brownie points for not going down the staple ‘and they lived happily ever after’ route (despite maybe hinting at it, in the end).

Overall, this was a highly enjoyable read that made me think, made me feel and will stay with me for some time to come. I’d easily recommend it – and will consider it a pleasure (and privilege) to pick up more of this talented new author’s work in future…

Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Harper Collins (18 May 2017)
ISBN-10: 0008172110
ISBN-13: 978-0008172114

Buy in English here
Buy in Greek – not yet available

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