Monday, 4 November 2013

Jonathan Hill

This is the third eagerly awaited Maureen book.  I think Jonathan has taken her to a new level here.  Excellent!



Maureen and The Big One

Amazon.com Maureen and The Big One

My review -

Many readers have delighted in the exploits of Maureen, a lady of a certain age who can sweep into any situation leaving a chaotic wake. Here is all the humour we've come to expect but there's so much more. I feel that in this story Maureen takes on greater depths and the story is all the richer for it. I laughed at her visit to the rock shop – in order to hide from another situation she'd created. I loved her sudden discovery of a gambling addiction, her consultation with a pseudo psychic and her ride on the ghost train. There's a wealth of funny situations here. It's not just slapstick comedy though. Jonathan Hill is very good at humour based on a great choice of wording. It's clever and witty and really appeals to me.


In this story I feel that the author has matured in his dealings with his character. We are witness to her recollection of repressed childhood memories and of her discovery that she will not be able to have children. We had 'the letter' in Book 2, but there's much more here to change Maureen from 'larger than life' to 'real life' and I feel she's a better character for it. Some of the revelations about Maureen's life are unexpected and stunningly done. Jonathan Hill can hit harder with understatement than many can with a gush of words. This series is going from strength to strength. I can happily take more of this! Go Maureen!

No comments:

Post a Comment