Tennis Lessons

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Overall, it was a great exploration of character as there wasn’t much in terms of plot. But I loved the writing style and how their pasts were explored, especially Lily’s through mundane memories and conversations with her mum. These moments were witty and full of emotion and that’s what won me over.

The author interweaves questions on human nature, class, religion and identity into this complex story, and I found that interesting and engaging as well. But at the end of the day, the book is about how our relationship with our parents formed who we are today and still impacts our view of ourselves and our relationships with others. Lily seems to have reached peace, but Siobhan is still processing. It’s a hard read. But this author has a really good sense of cynical humour which helps. And you see that in the epilogue as well. elevating the ordinary with luscious prose . . . [Tennis Lessons] gives us the magical ability of seeing this tired old world with brand new eyes. What an invaluable gift, and what a beautiful book. Culturefly But Lily is keeping a close eye on her neighbour, whose life seems so much better and more fulfilling than her own. When resentment evolves into something darker and more urgent, she decides to teach Siobhan a lesson... In the hands of a skilled writer that lesser-spotted animal, the second-person voice, can be used to great effect in fiction.

I liked the structure of this book - rather than the traditional chapters, you read about momments in her life, from childhood until the age of 28. Some are short, and only minutes apart, whilst at other times a year may pass. With its quirky, outsider narrator and atmosphere of discontent, this first novel has echoes of Tessa Kavanagh’s Things We Have in Common, Lottie Moggach’s Kiss Me First and Michelle Gallen’s recent debut Big Girl, Small Town.

Upstairs, Siobhan is consumed by her affair with a married man. Her days revolve around his sporadic texts and rare visits. She barely notices the strange girl who lives below and dawdles in the foyer. One wonders why we can’t just have the information, particularly as the book is narrated in short titled sections that give the month and age of the character. While initially helpful, these seem to grow more random over the course of the novel, drawing attention to the artifice of the story and away from the world of its narrator. Brilliantly vividThis was a book I struggled to write a perfect review about so I do apologise for the ramble that I have put together. It’s very rare that a book leaves me like this but nonetheless it was a very well written novel. It’s about low self esteem and feeling you don’t belong anywhere, a misfit. And then it’s about shame and trauma, burying yourself deep. About stumbling between alcohol fuelled sexual encounters that generally don’t end well. In the expert hands of this writer, it becomes increasingly difficult to decide which character is speaking until they almost become synonymous.

Our unnamed narrator takes us through her life, from the age of three to twenty nine. In short vignettes, we glimpse her desperate insecurities, her inability to fit in, her awkwardness among her peers and with her parents, and her slowly finding what it means to be happy in your own skin. I loved Common Decency . . . a surprising, clever, sad and strange book . . . such a propulsive joy to read too.' MEGAN NOLAN I really adored the protagonist of this story. I found her warm and although sometimes troubled, highly likeable. I was rooting for her throughout to forge her own path. I was sad when this book ended as I could have kept on reading to find out what happened next in her life.Lily and Siobhán are two young women living in the same apartment building, but who don’t know each other really at all. Lily is still reeling from the recent loss of her mother, and Siobhán is a teacher navigating her relationship with a married man. Fundamentally, this is a book about relationships, and how the relationships we enter, whether they’re platonic, familial, or romantic, end up defining us. This is the voice that rings in your ears. Because you never say the right thing. You’re a disappointment to everyone. You’re a far cry from beautiful - and your thoughts are ugly too. A beautifully written and psychologically incisive bildungsroman...the arrival of a young writer to watch, Observer The so-called “pathfinders” were one of the lesser-known elite units of the second world war, but, as Will Iredale reveals in this mesmeric account, their contribution to Britain’s victory was vital. Their dangerous, often deadly task was to fly ahead of allied bombing raids into Germany and drop flares illuminating the key military targets. Iredale skilfully interweaves details of the brave pilots’ lives with a weighty account of British military strategy, which, as this book details, was risky and successful.