Having enjoyed Growing Up for Beginners I am delighted to be joining in the celebrations for Claire Calman's latest novel, A Second Hand Husband, which was published by Boldwood Books on 16th June.
Natalie and Carl are newlyweds, but the honeymoon period is
over already.
Carl has just announced he has bought their first home at
auction without telling Natalie where it is, never mind showing her a picture
of it.
Natalie is horrified to discover that the dream home is in
Little Wyford, mere minutes away from Carl’s ex-wife Antonia. And to make
matters worse, Antonia’s palatial country mansion has a fully-functioning roof
(and a heated swimming pool!), unlike the ramshackle cottage Carl has bought
for them…
Antonia is Little Wyford’s Queen Bee, mistress of the book
club, organiser of the Christmas Fair and leader of the ladies-who-lunch. No
matter how hard she tries, Natalie just doesn’t fit in, and when Antonia
insists on referring to Carl as ‘Our Husband’, Natalie’s dreams of
happily-ever-after take another nose dive.
Second-hand furniture has much to recommend it, especially
when doing up a country cottage, second-hand clothes can be ever-so chic, but
second-hand husbands are proving to be a very bad idea indeed… Can Natalie ever
escape the label of Wife Number Two or is she destined to share her husband
forever?
Hilariously funny, wickedly witty, but with a heart of gold
and a warmth and wisdom that are all its own, A Second-Hand Husband is Claire
Calman’s tour de force.
My Thoughts
One of the things I enjoyed about this novel was the fact that I was never completely sure what I thought about some of the characters until quite far into the story. In particular, Carl and his first wife, Antonia, were a little hard to read and the result of this was that I was also a bit wary about Natalie herself. Natalie turned out to have some issues from her childhood which went some way to explaining her suggestion that they move near to Carl's family.
The village Natalie moves to sounds idyllic on the surface but there are all sorts of local politics to be negotiated. It is a great source of humour and there are some genuinely funny moments as Natalie has to face spiders, missing roof tiles and a gate which is impossible to open. That is before she gets to meet the locals and runs the gauntlet of the main shopping street, hoping to avoid Antonia. With lively dialogue, vividly drawn characters and secrets from the past, this is a highly recommended read.
In short: Can a new marriage survive the family?
About the Author
Claire Calman is a writer and broadcaster known for her
novels that combine wit and pathos, including the bestseller Love is a
Four-Letter Word. She has appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and Loose
Ends. Her first book for Boldwood was published in June 2020.
Thanks to Claire Calman, Boldwood Books and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.
Follow the rest of the tour!
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