Desert Isle Keeper
The Switch
Beth O’Leary’s 2019 début The Flatshare was just marvelous – our reviewer gave it an A-, and it was an A for me personally. But the sophomore slump has struck more than one début star, so it was with both hope and nervousness that I volunteered to review The Switch, about a grandmother from the Yorkshire Dales who trades apartments with her London-based granddaughter. The verdict? No slump here – The Switch is a heartfelt and often quite funny story that celebrates changing yourself by changing your point of view, at any age.
There are two Eileen Cottons: Eileen Cotton, of the tiny Yorkshire village of Hamleigh-In-Harkdale, and her namesake granddaughter Leena Cotton, business consultant, of Shoreditch, London. Leena, having lost her younger sister Carla to cancer, is close to a nervous breakdown. Her boss (and we should all have a boss so supportive) gives her two months leave to recharge. Leena goes to visit Eileen, recently separated from her husband and frustrated by the dearth of men in her village. Leena suggests a swap: Eileen will stay in Leena’s London flat and meet men using dating apps, while Leena stays in the village to recuperate – and maybe to find some closure about Carla with her mother Marian.
I’ve come to read ‘flawed’ heroine as a code for someone who strikes me as mean, so it was a relief to read Leena Cotton, who is absolutely flawed, but in a completely relatable way. She is in a fog of grief, and has fallen out with her mother, blaming Marian for Carla not seeking experimental cancer treatment. She is fumbling at work and in her personal life. I just wish the author hadn’t given her quite so much actual physical slapstick fumbling, which generally is a plot device (‘Fall into the hero’s arms!’). This story is above that.
Eileen Cotton is, by contrast, pretty good at just about everything, but has settled into a rut. Hers is less of a journey than Leena’s, but the chance to read a competent, sexual, fully-realized female septuagenarian whose age and desire are never played for laughs is so great that I’ll let slide the fact that she has a little less growing to do.
The book also takes a fair and nuanced look at both of its settings. In London, nobody knows their neighbors, but in Yorkshire, people know less about each other than they think they do. London has opportunities and energy; Yorkshire has traditions and comfort. London and Yorkshire both have jerks, and Yorkshire and London both have love. Both Leena and Eileen are better for having spent time in both places.
The Switch is one of those books that made me bump into things as I refused to put it down while going about my day. I’m thrilled that Beth O’Leary came back so strong in her second book, and I’m more eager than ever to see where she goes next.
Buy it at: Amazon, Audible, or your local independent bookstore
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I'm a history geek and educator, and I've lived in five different countries in North America, Asia, and Europe. In addition to the usual subgenres, I'm partial to YA, Sci-fi/Fantasy, and graphic novels. I love to cook.
Book Details
Reviewer: | Caroline Russomanno |
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Review Date: | August 7, 2020 |
Publication Date: | 08/2020 |
Grade: | A |
Sensuality | Subtle |
Book Type: | Contemporary Romance |
Review Tags: | grief | older heroine |
It’s been a long time since I DNF’d a book, but this one is just boring to me. Too bad, I really enjoyed The Flatshare.
The Switch tries very hard to be charming and quirky, but to me it feels cookie-cutter-ishly so. I tried rifling through the book to find a point that would engage me–that works sometimes–but nope. Too bad; as an older reader, I do love romances featuring older characters.
Oh, also, around page 52, Eileen mentions that “grab rails are for old ladies who can’t keep steady on their feet.”
Eileen is 79. If she were to slip just once on the path to the door and break a bone–say, her hip–her chances of suffering from complications leading to death would automatically be increased by 20% or more for up to the next 10 years. If she lived that long.
For me, her surprising ignorance on this matter outweighed what I guess was supposed to be her lovable “feistiness” or stubbornness.
Never known a older person who is young at heart and doesn’t think they’re “old”? That’s how I imagine her to be.
Oh, I’m so glad this one’s good!
Love the review, Caroline c
I love this review and am thrilled with the grade. The Flatshare was one of my favorite books last year. I can’t wait to read this one soon, as it’s been one of my most anticipated books of the year. I’ll say quickly too how happy I am that an older character such as the grandmother here has such a prominent story arc.