Forever Home: THIS SUMMER'S MUST-READ NOVEL FROM GRAHAM NORTON

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Still, Forever Home is effortlessly readable – mainly thanks to its reliance on explanatory speech rather than descriptive prose – possessed of a super twist and full of rounded characters to keep close to your heart. Three woman who join together to rent a large space along the beach in Los Angeles for their stores—a gift shop, a bakery, and a bookstore—become fast friends as they each experience the highs, and lows, of love.

Forever Home by Graham Norton | Goodreads Forever Home by Graham Norton | Goodreads

This sounds like a depressing , somber book - and though it’s subjects are- Norton uses wit and humor to keep levity to the story. So many of the characters are unlikeable until more is revealed about their circumstances. And characters you thought you loved, you rethink that love. This story is a lot more than what I’m revealing. There is a little mystery thrown in that felt reminiscent of Finlay Donovan books.

Coronet said: “In his tense and darkly comic new novel Norton casts a light on the relationship between mothers and daughters, and truth and self-preservation with unnerving effect.” NORTON: Well, I suppose, in my head, it's sort of my quiet, happy place. It's the only thing I do that is sort of solitary - that doesn't involve a meeting... Declan's wife left him. He doesn't want to talk about it. Not to his young children, son Killan and daughter Sally, and not to the gossip mongers in the town in Ireland. No one really understands why she let. But one thing is for sure. Her children can't forgive her.

Forever Home by Graham Norton | Goodreads

SHAPIRO: What a perfect answer. Graham Norton - his new novel is called "Forever Home." It's been such a pleasure talking to you. Thank you. Norton relies on his characters to do a lot of heavy lifting – as readers, we get full insight into their thinking and fears. Sally works at a nursing home, managing the residents’ food. She lives an ordinary life. “She was careful never to post anything controversial or divisive,” Norton says, describing her use of Facebook. “Others would post the diatribes from right or left; she preferred the clip of a monkey saving a kitten from a well.” I feel the first half is stronger than the second where there are moments I caught myself daydreaming. There are secrets that are waiting to come out and twists you may or may not have guessed! The conclusion was a happy and satisfying one. Overall, I had a wonderful time listening to Graham Norton's delightful narration. 3.5⭐ Carol lives in a small Irish town and finds a second chance at love with a much older man Declan. Declan's ex-wife left him and their children long ago and is still a mystery to all.Carol Crottie, a divorced English teacher and mother of a grown son, grabs her second chance at happiness by moving in with Declan Barry, a man several years her senior. Declan's two children are cold and hostile toward Carol. Their mother abandoned them years ago, and they don't like the idea of Carol moving in and replacing their mother in Declan's affections. Skip forward years and Declan's children have left the nest. Declan himself is showing distinct signs of Alzheimer's and Carol quits her job to care for him. When events (set in motion by Declan's children) put Declan into a care facility, they heartlessly throw Carol out of the house and put it up for sale. In his tense and darkly comic new novel Norton casts a light on the relationship between mothers and daughters, and truth and self-preservation with unnerving effect. Carol is a very meek and taken advantage of main character. We learn that she began dating a fellow teacher who was much older than her and caused the gossip mill to go into overdrive. Carol has lived for years in a grand old terraced house with the “second love of her life”, Declan. Declan’s wife has long since disappeared, having left “poor Mr Barry” and their children without a trace, many years previously. That’s all in the past, or so it seems, until Declan falls ill and ends up in permanent care, and disputes over ownership of the house end up uncovering darker secrets involving, you guessed it, a dead body. Forever Home is filled with quirky characters, witty dialogue, heartbreaking realities of life and a powerful storyline of what one will do to protect their family, even when the family does not know they need protection.

Forever Home by Graham Norton: Book review Forever Home by Graham Norton: Book review

NORTON: Yeah. No, I remember I did a little talk for a youth group in Bantry, County Cork, which is a tiny town. And this girl put her hand up to ask a question, and she was like, what's it like being famous? And I was thinking, well, that's - you know, I understand why she's asking that, but how on earth do you answer that question? And then it came to me - that, oh, it's like living in Bantry. You know, everyone knows your business, and there's people you want to avoid in the supermarket.It started out strong and went on a little too long and kind of lost its way a bit some, but overall I enjoy It. It was my first book by him and it definitely won't be my last. I absolutely loved this book. The arc I received was poorly presented, with no chapter breaks, nor, at times, paragraph breaks, so a fair bit of rereading took place, but this still did not detract from a great book. I've had a soft spot for Graham Norton ever since his Father Ted days and have more recently enjoyed his novels along with his chat shows. As usual, this one starts with a gentle slice of Irish village life and characters, but soon descends into something darker. A warm, easy to read story with relatable characters and "what would I do" scenarios. Although I feel like this novel is quite a different kind of story from Graham Norton's other novels (not sure why exactly - perhaps just because we're focusing on a woman as the main character this time?), it still heavily focuses on family and community. The characters are also just as brilliant as they have been in his other novels, and feel very convincing. I can imagine knowing these people. They're written with such charm (though some of them are definitely NOT charming!) and honesty, and I would have happily read a lot more about Carol and the community of this small Irish town. NORTON: I mean, they're not autobiographical, but, you know, if you read any novel, it does give you an insight into who wrote it because, you know, it all came out of their head. So these people in this novel - you know, they borrow from me. They borrow from people I know. They borrow from people I've met. So it's kind of an amalgamation of all of that. So, you know, if somebody wanted to psychoanalyze me to the Nth degree, it's all laid bare..

Forever Home: GRAHAM NORTON: The KING of dark comedy

Forever Home was such a pleasant surprise! It's wonderfully funny, yet a bit sad, filled with secrets galore, twists and turns in family dynamics and to what lengths a family will go to protect each other. This cannot put down book has Norton's incredible sense of humor written all or it! WE NEED AN AUDIOBOOK VERSION ADDED FOR THIS NEW NOVEL PLEASE. LINK BELOW. THANK YOU: Forever Home, A Novel By: Graham Norton; Narrated by: Graham Norton When the sale is done and they go to the house, something just doesn't smell right. Carol and Moira find themselves in a horrible situation which they can't tell anyone about, especially Dave and have a mystery they have no idea how to solve.There's a large cast of characters from: Carol, a divorced teacher, her easy-going boyfriend Declan, Carol's energetic and opinionated mother, Moira (who I enjoyed and laughed about), Carol's father, her only son, and Declan's selfish, adult children: one is a gay son married to his partner and the other is a fractured daughter. SHAPIRO: You joke that, when you were young, you were getting the life experiences that allow you to write novels. How much is that literally true? I mean, how much of the life experience you accumulated does feed into your fiction? Carol is devasted knowing Declan would be against selling the family home but with no other choice she moves in with her mother Moira.