Ceri Radford

Constanze Harding führt ein beschauliches Leben in einem großzügigen Haus in einer beschaulichen kleinen britischen Stadt. Als Ehefrau eines Anwaltes mit Hausangestellte und Gärtner ist sie nicht wirklich ausgelastet. Also versucht sie im Leben ihrer Mitmenschen steuernd einzugreifen, ganz besonders im Leben ihrer Kinder. Die üblichen Generationsprobleme (mit ihrer altersstarrsinnigen Mutter, mit ihrer pubertierenden Tochter sowie mit ihrem erwachsenen, aber leider immer noch nicht verheirateten Sohn) verschärfen das Ganze noch.
Ihre Tochter entflieht diesem Milieu, indem sie in Frankreich Stichlinge zählt. Der Sohn, der schon außer Haus ist, versucht seine Mutter mit einem Blog im Internet zu beschäftigen. Und so können wir hautnah miterleben, wie Constanze Harding die „Probleme“ Anderer zu lösen versucht und dabei gar nicht bemerkt, wie ihr eigenes Leben nach und nach immer mehr aus den Fugen gerät.
Wenn ihr beim Manipulieren der Anderen etwas misslingt, sieht sie das als kleines Missgeschick, was sie nur noch mehr anspornt, weiter aktiv zu werden. Dabei fehlt ihr jede Menschenkenntnis; haben doch die Mitmenschen Fehler, die von ihr – der Fehlerlosen – ertragen bzw. bereinigt werden müssen. Was für den Leser sofort klar ist, bekommt sie einfach nicht mit. Sie ist in ihrer Naivität so von sich überzeugt, dass es sehr lange braucht, bis auch sie das Offensichtliche sieht.
Wenn man Constanzes Blog liest, wundert man sich immer wieder, wie unbedarft sie ist. Man kann sich über aufregen und sich vielleicht doch manches Mal ein wenig selbst erkennen.
Es ist also eine leichte, oft skurrile Sommerlektüre.… (meer)

Another book I picked up based on the cover! I love books written in diary, email, blog, letter format. This one was written in blog entries over the course of a year. The blogger is a 50 something traditional English mum & wife. She is so clueless about the lives of her children & husband. So many times I laughed out loud! I love how she always turned to a cup of tea to cope when life threw her curve balls! I read this book quickly & found it hard to put down. I loved the English background, settings & characters. I also loved how the main character changed into a stronger wiser female. I was happy that things worked out for the whole family in the end. Life isn't perfect or always the way we want it to be but there is joy & contentment in making the best with what you have & are given. That sums up this wonderful book!… (meer)

This is a really fun book. Light and fluffy and very readable. Constance is a middle-aged housewife with an adult son and teenage daughter. She is self-absorbed, somewhat snobby, very naïve and unworldly. She is so wrapped up in herself that she fails to notice that her husband is having an affair with the housekeeper, her son has a reason for not being married and that her daughter’s gap year in France is not being spent entirely in France. The humour in the book mostly derives from Constance’s blog where she describes the goings-on in the village and the ever increasing unravelling of her life as she knows it. Very amusing , would be a good book to take on a long plane trip.… (meer)

The publisher sent me this one for review enticing me by saying

CONSTANCE HARDING’S (RATHER) STARTLING YEAR hilariously observes what happens when a delightfully oblivious Surrey housewife—think Bridget Jones’s insanely daffy mother—pulls back the curtain on her chintz-covered domestic fairy tale and goes in search of a life of her own. Constance has filled her time leading a bell-ringing club on Tuesday evenings, and concocting ways to get her son Rupert to settle down and her daughter Sophie to wear appropriate clothing and snag a smart man. But like it or not, change is in the air. Constance is about to learn that her perfect home conceals a scandal that would make the vicar blush. Her Lithuanian housekeeper's polyester underwear keeps appearing in her husband's study, and her husband is—well, let’s just say his career is going south—all the way to South America. But as Constance’s family life seems to be falling apart, she begins to discover a whole new side of both herself and the world around her. And she’s putting it all in her blog-thingy. Side-splittingly funny, CONSTANCE HARDING’S (RATHER) STARTLING YEAR is a witty, sharply observed and relatable tale of one woman’s midlife crisis and self-discovery (well, sort of).

I really enjoyed this one. I'm a huge fan of Brit-lit, and this one just pushed my giggle button. The main character reminded me immensely of Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced "Bouquet") in the BBC comedy "Keeping up Appearances." In the beginning at least, Constance Harding doesn't handle change well (or maybe not at all.) She is almost too oblivious to be believable, but in the meantime, her snooty attitude, and lack of comprehension about what is happening all around her, leave readers shaking their heads, laughing at her interpretations of events, and just snorting out loud at some of the situations described. It is written as a series of blog posts, and Constance doesn't seem to understand that the world is reading her blog!!!

If you are a fan of Brit-lit, or British comedies, this one is for you. It's a quick, fun read. It was published last year (under the title A Surrey State of Affairs),in Britain, and is now available in paperback.… (meer)