When Frank Woods at number seventy-nine Primrose Square comes home to a surprise birthday party thrown by his wife and adoring children, it is his guests who get the real surprise.
Finding himself alone, he befriends the cantankerous Miss Hardcastle, who hasn't left her home for decades, and Emily Dunne - fresh out of rehab and desperate to make amends.
As gossip spreads through Primrose Square, every relationship is tested, and nothing in this close-knit community will ever be the same again...
Many thanks to Bonnier Zaffre for the copy of The Women of Primrose Square to review via NetGalley and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
I was thrilled to see that Claudia Carroll had decided to write a follow up story to her brilliant book The Secrets of Primrose Square which was published last year. I had enjoyed that story so much and felt Claudia had created a wonderful space packed full of characters with realistic, difficult but ultimately heart-warming and life affirming stories to tell. I had wondered would she write anything else set on Primrose Square as there was a real feeling at the end that there could be a lot more to come from the residents and that several were waiting in the wings to share their various stories. Thankfully Claudia felt the same and now here we are a year later and we have The Women of Primrose Square which was another fantastic, at times hard hitting and a very much thought provoking story.
This is a brilliant, dynamic and modern story with three very distinct characters at its centre all battling with problems and issues which affect how they are living their lives on a day-to-day basis but soon connections are established between the trio and it's not long before the magic of Primrose Square, the strength and resilience of the characters and above all else the bonds of friendship and community spirit start to weave their spell. Will all involved find the resolution, forgiveness, acceptance and understanding they so desperately seek and very much deserve?
As I write this review The Women of Primrose Square sits at number one in the Irish original fiction charts and this is a place it very much merits. I quickly become all consumed by the storylines and it felt like I was returning to a familiar setting even though the characters that featured in the first book very much play a secondary role in this new story if any part at all. That didn't bother me at all because this wasn't a continuation of their lives rather we were expanding further into Primrose Square to meet different people and to see how their lives have been altered by the situation they find themselves in. This can easily be read as a stand alone book but I would urge you to read The Secrets of Primrose Square at some point too simply because these are two excellent books which highlight that Claudia Carroll is enjoying her writing just as much as she ever has and that she shouldn't be classed as light women's fiction because this story has so much depth and emotion and deals with topics very relevant to the ever shifting tides in today's society.
The characters in this story are complex and flawed but never dull and they each have some unique qualities hidden deep down that when they come to the surface they can use these to help others. Sometimes you need other people's viewpoints in order to make sense of your own situations. I can't say I favoured one character over the other because they each had such varied stories that kept me interested and intrigued as to how their problems could be overcome. That's testament to Claudia's writing that I liked all of the three main characters equally because usually I am drawn to one character.
In an absolute cracker of an opening chapter, that leaves you open mouthed in shock but yet really does set the scene for the themes of the book, we meet Frank Woods. He is just about to turn 50 and unusually for his personality he would love to have a fiftieth birthday party but everyone he asks be it family members, work colleagues or the residents of Primrose Square all say they are too busy. He is devastated that wife Gracie, son Ben and daughter Amber apparently couldn't care less about this milestone birthday. As he arrives home dejected and wanting to let loose and be his normal self, he opens the door and in that moment his life is changed forever. It's not Frank who gets the biggest surprise rather it's his friends and family who have gathered to throw a surprise party. What that surprise was you'll just have to read this wonderful book and see.
Frank was such a brilliantly written character who had so many sides to his personality. Such research must have been undertaken in order to portray him in a meaningful, considerate and respectful manner. He is a multi faceted person and I was glad he wasn't over the top instead we follow him as he attempted to come to terms with the events at the party. All poor Frank wants to do is reach out to his family, to explain and to be understood but Gracie is so wrapped up in her work as a lawyer that she is easily able to compartmentalise things and she is just not that open to speaking at all.
As for Ben and Amber the words anger yet innocence spring to mind. The scene between the pair as they enjoy a movie night was one of the best I have read in a book in a long long time. Such a simple explanation if only the entire world could view things the way Amber does – uncomplicated with no strings attached and just letting things be the way they are with no need for change. To many Frank may seem staid, boring and unpredictable but he was a character with such depth and layers who as with the others showed normal and predictable don't exist. Before he knows it Frank finds himself inhabiting one of Violet Hardcastle's rooms and through his own circumstances he can perhaps set about changing the fortunes of a woman who has not left her house in years.
Violet, or 'Violent' Hardcastle as she is known, is the resident crank of the square who sits in her window yelling expletives at those she judges to commit misdemeanours. She writes letter of complaint at every opportunity and really is a woman who was old before her time and is being eaten up with something hidden very much deep in the recess of her heart and mind. The house is falling down around Violet who has a layer of armour surrounding her as well as hoards of junk and royal souvenirs but this was not always the case as the house was once one of the grandest on the square. Due to her financial difficulties and the fact she can not even cross the threshold of her own house out into the open air she agrees when pressed by neighbour Jayne to take in some lodgers to earn some money.
Violet is full of sharp comments and retorts and is known as mad and a lunatic she doesn't want to get close to anybody but slowly starts to realise she needs company and that if she continues the way she has been going she will slowly fade away in her house. She is sour, bad tempered, uptight and not someone you would wish to sit down with and have a nice cup of tea and a chat. Surely there had to be a very valid reason for the way Violet was acting? She couldn't have been like that all her life. There is always a reason behind the actions, views and opinions of people and when the truth emerges re Violet. It's bitter-sweet and heartbreaking and again another storyline written to perfection.
The final piece of the puzzle is Emily Dunne, who herself had made a very brief appearance in the previous book. She is recently discharged from rehab and deep down she knows she has an awful lot to make amends for. But she is struggling with accepting that all her cruel, hurtful and detrimental actions of the past had such devastating, far reaching long lasting consequences on those around her. I felt Emily even though she had gone through the process of rehab was still rebelling against it and that she still had a long road on her journey to getting back to the person she was before drink took a firm hold that's even if she remembered who that person had been.
Emily was eaten up by anger and resentment and she was very much down on her luck with all family doors being closed to her due to her actions that to many were very much unforgivable but when you are in the deep grips of an illness you really have no idea what you are doing or capable of not to mention you have scant regard for those around you who love you. As Emily reluctantly accepts a room with Violet the pair really rub each other up the wrong way and the reader wonders will Emily ever be able to apologise to those who are desperately waiting to hear it in meaningful way or has she gone too far down the path of hurt and destruction and doors will forever remain closed to her?
Emily was a character who was opinionated, unruly and at times very rude. It was like she couldn't leave her wild days behind her that the essence of that person still has residues left inside her. She needed to exorcise them before she could seek the forgiveness of those who had been affected most by her actions. But slowly I started to warm to her and again it's because of the way Claudia wrote her character. She really does show the warts and all of everyone and I love that everything is not all sweetness and light. That the characters are struggling for various reasons because life is not a bed of roses for everyone in reality so why should it be the same for people in books.
So many themes, emotions and issues are explored throughout The Women of Primrose Square and all are handled and dealt with so well. Never once do they feel forced or contrived instead all the strands of the story work separately when the need arises but when brought together combine to make a truly memorable and remarkable story. Honesty, equality, loyalty, acceptance, forgiveness, pain, humiliation, suffering, trauma, love and understanding. All these feelings and many more are explored in this book that has you from the very first chapter and it is impossible to stop reading once you begin. Claudia Carroll deserves every success with this superb read and please don't say it will be the last we have heard from Primrose Square.
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