British author Kate Lawson uses the title Keeping Mum (2009, Avon, a division of HarperCollins, London, 340 pages) to highlight this comedic novel's main plot and its sub-plot too.
Protagonist Cass Palmer, a widow, used-furniture merchant and part-time choir singer, strives to stay silent after stumbling onto proof that her pal Fiona's boyfriend Andy is entangled with another woman. Equally tough, Cass faces domestic turmoil when Nita, her uninhibited mother, and Rocco, Mum's “toyboy”, launch home renovations and move in with her.
Fiona holds well-founded suspicions. “ ‘Andy's seeing someone,’ said Fiona….
‘How can you be so certain?’
The question seemed to take Fiona by surprise. ‘Because he's been acting very strangely over the last few weeks. He's changed the password on his email account.’
‘And you know this because?’
‘Well, when I was on his computer I couldn't get into his email,’ said Fiona, casually.”
Meanwhile, Nita behaves differently than most mothers. “Cass was woken in the wee small hours by burglars, or maybe it was an earthquake or possibly the end of the world. The dog barked and then barked some more, there was banging and crashing and then giggling and then Nita said, ‘Sssssssh, be quiet. I'll just take my shoes off; take your shoes off, Rocco; there's people asleep.’ All this in a voice loud enough to wake the dead.”
It’s all enough to fray anyone's nerves. “And however old you are, listening to your mother having sex is never easy. Hearing your mother have really good sex was far, far worse.”
The plot thickens when Cass, Fiona and Andy travel to Cyprus for a choir competition. Can Cass guard the secrets and protect her friend? Is that even what she wants?
“Before Andy could say anything else, the door to the room next door was flung open and Fiona started throwing Andy's clothes out onto the landing, followed by his shoes, books, toiletries – a bottle of shampoo bounced across the carpet, the cap popping off before emptying itself all over the far wall in an explosion of blue-green gel.”
How far will things spin out of control back in England? No sooner does Cass depart than her “badly behaving” Mum hosts questionable parties in her home. Will Rocco remember to walk Buster, Cass's pet dog?
What about Cass's love life? Must that remain barren? “Maybe Mike was just nervous – maybe he would be all right once she got to know him. Cass picked up her bag. And maybe Elvis would bring the bill. Who was she trying to kid? Mike was good looking and nicely dressed but he was also boring and totally self-obsessed. Meanwhile the girl, who bore no resemblance to the King, set the bill down on the table between them.”
Most of Lawson's humor works, even if some tries miss the mark. “ ‘Nice dog, missus,’ said a man laden down with bags as he hurried past clutching a bacon roll. It was a sad state of affairs when your dog got more compliments than you did, thought Cass grimly.” In fact, most friendly canines routinely attract attention that their human guardians tend to enjoy too.
This story thrives on loose ends and surprising turns. Not everything appears entirely realistic, but that's true of most comedies.
Evidently, Lawson knows of what she writes. A resident of West Norfolk, she, too, raises a family, sings in a choir and walks a dog (named Beau). As a scriptwriter, she has worked on BBC radio soap operas. In 2008, she published Lessons in Love, also a romantic comedy. Using a pen-name, Sue Welfare, she wrote six earlier novels.
Anyone struggling with difficult friends, exasperating family and painful loneliness easily identifies with Cass. To those readers, Lawson deftly delivers hope and humor.
Will the author fashion a happy ending for Cass? Can readers do the same for themselves?
Approval rating: 70 per cent.
For more information: www.katelawson.co.uk
(November 30, 2009)
ARCHIVES
|
|
