The Woman who Went to Bed for a Year

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In Eva Beaver's case, once she's opted for a life lying down, what surprises both us and her is not that she's there, but that we haven't, as it were, all joined her. Initially, the reader admires Eva’s Shirley Valentine-esque defiance of her husband’s outdated expectations – who will cook him dinner? The only vaguely likeable character in the whole jamboree of nutjobs is Alexander, who is in fact awarded a degree of empathetic treatment. She suffered from diabetes for many years, as a result of which she was registered blind in 2001, and had woven this theme into her work. The Woman is at its best when it focuses on the family drama, the complexity of the relationships and the human drama that comes from the situation.

It doesn't seem out of place when Ruby tells her daughter that she occasionally looks forward to death: "I'm tired of living down here since everything went complicated. Predictably, a wife and mother isn't allowed to hide in plain sight without meeting some fairly fierce opposition. The woman in the bed inspired different reactions from different readers, like a Rorschach test of reality. Adrian Mole may have been a bestseller, but this book probably wouldn’t have ever been published if it wasn’t for Townsend’s previous success. Townsend's fiction has often hinted at a darkness beneath the humour, but this novel gives it freer rein than previously.The story, albeit from a comedic perspective, is quite clearly one of breakdown and debilitating depression. None of the sub plots are resolved in any satisfying way, with threads just left dangling all over the place. I really wanted to like this book considering its title and the main character but this book is not even funny when all the one liner reviews rave about it as being hilarious. We mightn't, for example, consider that our self-imposed withdrawal from the world also included trips to the bathroom, leaving us in the delicate position of imploring friends and family to dispose of our bodily waste in giant freezer bags. When Eva refuses to get out of bed and make his dinner, Brian phones her mother to announce that Eva is having a nervous breakdown.

Vagy én öregszem és leszek válogatósabb az évek során, vagy ez tényleg az egyik leggyengébb könyv, ami valaha a kezembe került.I kind of had in mind "The woman who walked into doors" or a "Rachael's holiday" - a story to unfold. Everytime a character talks or thinks, it's about something mean or disgusting thoughts about another person.

There’s also no explanation as to why these same events hadn’t happened a year ago or what in particular triggered their occurrence now. One of my favourite lines: Eva swiftly turns into an internet sensation, with weirdos camping opposite her house, awaiting the Second Coming or something comparable. Eva’s stepmother, Yvonne, and mother, Ruby, both wait on her hand and foot, entertaining her desire to stay in bed by bringing her food and keeping her company. Award-winning novelist Hayley Long revels in the latest offering from national treasure Sue Townsend, The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year.The stupidity of Brian and Titania’s relationship mars any reflection on society; the unpleasantness and extremity of Poppy makes light of mental health issues and the mothers, Yvonne and Ruby, shift personalities so often it’s clear they are underdeveloped.