Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Three British mothers decide that it's time their 34-year-old sons start to act like mature grownups. And if their sons aren't going to get with the program on their own, it's high time for a little maternal nudging. Each son has problems: Daniel has just been through a bad breakup and can think of few things worse than his mother, Gillian, nagging him about his bachelor state; Paul, Helen's son, who reminds her of her first husband, has never come out to her even though she knows he's gay; Carol's son, Matt, seems stuck in a life as shallow and glossy as Balls!-the magazine he works for. The result is an excellent comic novel that interweaves the romance, humor and pathos of three complicated families. Though it at first appears to be a simple roast of overly interfering mothers, the novel reveals itself to be a story of every mother's desire to receive in return some small measure of the love they have given. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Sutcliffe's (Are You Experienced?) latest lad-lit novel explores the lives of a group of young British layabouts and their concerned mothers. At age 34 with decent jobs but no wives or families to complete the package, Matt, Paul, and Daniel need to grow up, decide lifelong friends Carol, Gillian, and Helen. When another Mother's Day passes without a card or flower, the women hatch a plan to each drop in on her son unannounced for a week's visit and get some changes in motion. The scheming moms all have some luck, from Carol setting up a new romance for Matt to Helen finally facing Paul's homosexuality and meeting his boyfriend. Told from each mother/son pair's perspective and written in a quirky, quick-witted style reminiscent of Nick Hornby, Sutcliffe's book keeps you chuckling and turning pages to see if these mothers' outdated antics will make a difference in their slacker sons' lives. Recommended for public libraries.--Beth Gibbs, Davidson, NC (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
London-born author Sutcliffe (Bad Influence, 2004, etc.) takes a look at immature men and the mothers who love them. Gillian, Helen and Carol have known each other since their sons were in the same playgroup. Now those sons are grown-up--sort of. In their mid-30s, Daniel, Paul and Matt have not only become strangers to their mothers, but they've also maintained a sort of protracted adolescence that these women barely recognize as adulthood. During one fateful coffee klatch in a London suburb, this maternal trio decides that fixing their offspring--or at least reestablishing a parent-child connection--requires extreme action. Each of them appears, unannounced, at the home of her son and declares her intention to stay for a week. What ensues, of course, is farce, but what makes this novel exceptional is that Sutcliffe doesn't take sides. He depicts the terror of these young men with an accuracy that is no less chilling for being funny, but he also clearly understands the fathomless desperation of motherly love. The best-drawn pair is Matt and Carol. The latter is so stolid, so matronly, that she's nearly ridiculous, but Sutcliffe doesn't let her turn into a cartoon, and her mission to save her son allows her to discover unknown reserves of vigor and dash. Matt is the editor of a magazine called BALLS!, and his life has all the flash--and all the depth--of an issue of Stuff or Maxim. To the extent that his mother even comprehends his existence, she finds it appalling and sad, and it's both comic and poignant to see him look at himself through his mother's eyes. The book isn't perfect--for example, the arguments between Daniel and his girlfriend have a protracted, self-perpetuating, inescapable quality that makes them both authentic and tiresome to read--but Sutcliffe demonstrates a sharp wit and generosity of spirit that more than make up for this novel's minor shortcomings. A sweet, funny and refreshingly original look at generational conflict. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
