This is
a very good read and lots of fun!
(Review by Caroline Smart)
Molly
and her husband David move to Hertfordshire to get away from David’s demanding
and hectic job in London. Escaping from the hustle and bustle of the huge city,
they buy a farm where they settle with their two daughters and one son. Surrounding
themselves with horses, sheep, chickens they look forward to a peaceful life in
the beautiful countryside.
Then
suddenly the peace is shattered and David is gone. Forever. The result of brakes
failure on his car.
Molly
now finds herself in deep debt and starts selling things including her
much-loved horse, Nutty. Paddy Campbell, an enigmatic vet, looks after the
health of her animals but she finds him irritating and self-righteous.
She
doesn’t get much help from her children who have their own agendas, especially
Nico who would rather smoke a bit of pot and lie supine on the couch than lift
a finger around the house let alone help to go and feed chickens and sheep.
However, they are not shy in trying to run her life and are very vocal in their
criticism of her relationships.
Her mother,
“Cosmic Pam”, has psychic powers. She uses a Romany styled caravan in Molly’s back
garden where she reads Tarot cards. One day, Pam comes to announce that Molly’s
husband’s uncle, Cuthbert, has died. Molly can’t remember him but he – or
rather his partner Robert and Robert’s son Felix – are to have a major impact
on her life.
It seems
that Molly is Cuthbert’s only living relative and therefore in line to inherit
his splendid home and possessions in London. Molly heads off to London to meet
Robert and finds him a charming man which makes her feel guilty about asking
him to leave his home of many years.
And then
there’s Felix - an extremely attractive man – and before long she is totally
besotted with him, not realising that a sinister element is attached to the
relationship. A complication arises when an old flame comes back into her life
which revives old memories of a wonderful relationship but which caused the
break-up of a close friendship with a friend.
As does
her heroine, Alliott also lives in a rural countryside area. Her introduction
to the book is highly amusing as she talks about how she became a novelist.
This opening also gives the reader a taste of what is to come.
Alliott’s
command of dialogue is strong and each character is well-defined. Her dry and
engaging humour runs throughout the book and there are hilarious scenes such as
one in a nightclub with Felix when she is discovered by
her daughters and another describing how she battled to put Nutty through his paces for a potential buyer while wearing a loose-fitting
bra. Alternatively,
she is capable of some tender and sad moments such as when a beloved sheep has
to be euthenased.
My only complaint is that Alliott tends to
write very long
paragraphs –which initially seem daunting but her style
and humour make them live. However, a few paragraph breaks here and there would
allow some breathing space.
This is
a very good read and lots of fun! About
Last Night is published in paperback by Penguin
Random House South Africa, ISBN 9780718183622. Recommended Retails Price R295. –
Caroline Smart
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