A Tiny Bit Marvellous

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And yet... I found it really quite endearing. It's a novel of the "mental chewing gum" variety - no thought required - but it's a pretty good example of that kind of book. It has genuine humour and genuine warmth. While the characters were stereotypical, dull, and at times a little irritating, I did begin to care about where their stories would lead: particularly Oscar, whose part steals the show. Meet Mo Battle, about to turn 50 and mum to two helpless, hormonal teenagers. There's 17-year-old daughter Dora who blames Mo for, like, EVERYTHING and Peter who believes he's quite simply as darling and marvellous as his hero Oscar Wilde. Somewhere, keeping quiet, is Dad . . . who's just, well... Dad. Although I've left Israel, I hope to continue participating as a member of my beloved Jerusalem-based book club thanks to the blessings of technology. Only one of them is on goodreads so Randi, if you're reading this, I'll try to be a little nicer in the meeting but here I'm going to be brutally honest. This book was crap. I loved how the chapters were short and sweet. Each one shows us the thoughts and feelings of Mo, her daughter Dora, her son Peter or her husband Den. The vast majority of the chapters are told from the point of view of Mo or her children. There are also some scrumptious cake recipes at the end of the book which is quite a bonus! Characters

Dawn has appeared in dozens of TV series, theater productions, and films. You will be able to catch her as Miss Bowers in the Hollywood adaption of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile, available to stream today on HBO Max and Hulu or Disney Plus in some regions. Miss Bowers was previously immortalised on screen by Academy Award winner Maggie Smith in the 1978 film adaptation. Further Reading Suggestion: If you like the sound of this book, you may also enjoy Dawn French’s excellent autobiography Dear Fatty. Meet Mo Battle, about to turn 50 and mum to two helpless, hormonal teenagers. There's 17-year-old daughter Dora who blames Mo for, like, EVERYTHING and Peter who believes he's quite simply as darling and marvellous as his hero Oscar Wilde. Somewhere, keeping quiet, is Dad . . . who's just, well . . . Dad. She doesn't understand either of her teenage kids, which for a child psychologist is fairly embarrassing. Mo Battle is about to turn the big 50 and she is having a mid-life panic. She is fed up with her life that is the same, day in day out, she is a wife and mother to two teenagers, Dora who is seventeen and has self-esteem problems and holds her mum responsible for everything going wrong in her life and Peter who truly believes he is Oscar Wilde, his hero. Mo’s husband is not saying much and is keeping very quiet.Beautiful ice cream and cakes I recommend the vanilla its smooth and creamy.” – Evil Theadore Cakes By Eve Cakes By Eve This is the story of...what exactly? Nothing much happens for the first two thirds of the book - mum goes through a mid life crisis, whilst her 18 year old daughter and 16 year old son try to share their growing up experiences with us. And although the book livened up ever so slightly in the final third, nothing changed much. It is done in the style of a diary entry type book, but with no dates, just different chapters for each member of the household. Mo is a mother of 2, wife and child psychologist who is struggling with her own issues and errant teenagers! This book is a terrible match for me. It's squarely and unashamedly aimed at middle aged women, it's full of stereotyped characters and irritating text-speak, has a plot that's largely predictable from the blurb alone, and a "twist" that's both obvious and pointless.

However, Mo is having a crisis. She's about to do something unusually wild and selfish, which will leave the entire family teetering on the edge of a precipice. Will the family fall? Or will they, when it really matters, be there for each other? The teenage son who thinks he's Oscar Wilde is totally ridiculous without being funny. What teenagers nowadays have ever heard of Oscar Wilde? Anyway the joke falls flat and is then carried on throughout the book. Fabulous cake, fast turnaround and the decoration was just as we wanted. And the people are so friendly. Well done.” – Anita Halbe Sweet ENVY Sweet ENVY However, Mo is having a crisis. She's about to do something unusually wild and selfish, which will leave the entire family teetering on the edge of a precipice. What would be a good title for a self-help book for parents of teenagers? Two possible ideas at the moment under consideration: 1. Whatever and 2. Teenagers: The Manual. Hmm. Think the exclamation mark on the 1st suggestion might preclude it from being a serious contender."

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If you are a middle-aged mum with a teenage daughter I suspect you are going to be reflecting on how true Mo's life is, with all the crisis management and day to day worries she faces. Book Review of Destinations by Sheila O’Flanagan After reading and reviewing the Missing Wife, I was keen to seek out author Sheila O’Flanagan again. I went off to a second-hand book shop hoping to find one of her novels. Sadly the only book they had available by her was a collection of short stories called Destinations. I... There is a plot twist at the end that I did not see coming and that I definitely believe to be a tiny bit marvellous. Over the years I have become something of a Dawn French fan. She has consistently entertained and quite frankly made my sides split with laughter as an actor, comedian, and most recently as a writer with her wonderful autobiography Dear Fatty. So when I saw her first novel ‘’A Tiny Bit Marvellous’’ waiting for me on The Bookbag shelves I thought here’s another treat from this remarkable entertainer.

Insgesamt hat mir das Buch sehr viel Spaß gemacht. Man sollte jedoch wirklich keinesfalls mit den Erwartungen daran gehen, dass einen die Spannung zum umblättern zwingen wird. Es ist ein Buch, dass durch seine Charaktere und den Wortwitz lebt.

It's wonderful to hear Dawn reading the book too and expressing her own characters. I can't help wonder how much of it she bases on her own experiences. The book comes together beautifully for the finale.

Dawn has starred in hit comedies such as The Vicar of Dibley and French and Saunders making her a household name for comedy fans around the world. French and Saunders was created with her comedy partner and best friend Jennifer Saunders. Whether it is hosting a TV show in Australia or her countless guest appearances on a huge number of shows, Dawn remains a mainstay on TV screens to this day. Das Buch ist in Tagebuchform geschrieben. Zu Wort kommen vor allem die Mutter Mo, Dora und Oscar. Jede Person hat seinen eigenen Schreibstil. So lässt Dora zum Beispiel all ihren Frust in einer sehr schimpfwortlastigen Sprache ab, während ihr Bruder sich bemüht wie Oscar Wilde zu klingen. Ubuduće više neću uzimati knjige na čijim koricama piše "urnebesno smiješno". Ovog puta to kaže Sunday Times, a obično ne zaostaju za time ni New York Times i ostale "papirnate kuće". Ovdje nisam našla ni mrvicu nečega da mi usne završe bar u nekom iskrivljenom smješku. Ne samo da predmetna obitelj Battle nije savršena, prikazana je takvom da u njoj baš ništa ne štima. Dva tinejdžera od 17 i 16 godina se čude što baka još uvijek zemljom hoda, a za mamu (dječjeg psihologa) je ionako najbolje da crkne, uz pregršt "krasnih" epiteta koje ne želim ni ponoviti, a svaki ima predznak "jebeno", kao da je to jedina riječ naučena u školi. Priča je ispričana iz perspektive majke, sina i kćeri, a tata... pa on je valjda tu samo usput, obični "proizvođač sperme".

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Dad sadly does not get his own narrative, apart from one chapter, but regularly pops up in the other three. Dad seems to be the only sane member of the family, and comes across as an all-round good guy looking out for his family. I wish Dawn had given him a voice, as this would surely have made the family more complete. Funny, really enjoyable, highly recommended. A wonderful writer - witty, wise, poignant.' Daily Mail In 2005, Eve’s mother retired from the business, and Eve had a break from cake decorating to raise her two children. She returned in 2007 as Cakes by Eve – producing tailor made cakes from her custom-built, Council approved home kitchen.