Publishers:
Allen and Unwin Australia (Bloomsbury)
Reviewer: Fran
Jessie
decides to throw a party (not a
baby shower) for her friend
Claire and has invited four of
their other friends. All
of them are running late
including the hostess.
Nina, whose mother is slowly
dying, is the first to arrive
and as she pitches in to help
Jessie get ready for the party
they share some secrets with
each other. Lisbeth is the
next to arrive and this dreamy
artist has just seen the love of
her life in passing on the way
over. Martha
the rich and powerful real
estate agent enters in a wave of
presents and judgements for all
already there. When Sue
Carol arrives at Jessie’s
warehouse home she comes laden
with her most loved personal
possessions and she reveals that
once again she has left her
fellow actor husband.
The
guest of honour finally arrives
expectedly late and proceeds to
shock and delight her closest
friends with the tale of her
baby’s conception. When
the storm of the year blows in
and strands the friends together
unexpected revelations are made
and frayed relationships are
gradually repaired.
This
wonderful novel travels
throughout the respective lives
of a group of women who have
been friends from when they were
only young.
As these women
have grown their lives and their
friendships have changed.
The beginning chapters detail
the current status of their
lives and this establishes a
rapport with the readers.
Once the group is assembled
Laura Shane Cunningham manages
to mesh the different
personalities attributed to her
characters in a delightfully
real way. The conflicts
and the resolutions of the group
are sharp and fresh. This
fabulous book kept me entranced
right to the very end.
