The JM Barrie Ladies Swimming Society

 The JM Barrie Ladies Swimming Society

Reviewed By  Kelcey Ellis       November 26, 2014

 

Author  Barbara J. Zitwer

Distributor:     
ISBN:                 9781780720401
Publisher:         Allen & Unwin
Release Date:    

   Website:   http://www.allenandunwin.com

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You will wish you were part of this story, a real “curl up and get lost in” book! English countryside, new, old, complex and slightly eccentric friends and relationships. I must admit when reading the opening chapters feeling they were a little, dare I say it, Bridget Jones Diaries ie office romance with the wrong person gone sour. We meet career driven architect Joey who works hard but is always the 2nd fiddle, when it comes to presenting to the client.

However she is the one doing all the work. Joey gets her big chance and wows the clients; in a heartbeat she is off to the UK to oversee the restoration of a major manor house Stanway House purported to be where JM Barrie wrote Peter Pan. In reality this is just a backdrop for the main focus of the book which is relationships those: new, old, enduring, reforming, reworking, romancing.

  We meet and get to know Joeys oldest friend in the world. Although through time and circumstance their life paths have gone in very different directions both ladies struggle to redefine and see if their friendship is still intact.

Another character is that of the caretaker who we learn has a deep grief in his life but also a very sprightly teenage daughter. As you can imagine this is a complication for the central character.

 Finally we meet the the ladies of the JM Barrie Ladies Swimming Society a group of 5 women who have been gathering together for over 50 years to swim almost daily in the middle of January, winter in the northern hemisphere and boy do they have life experience! All have lived, loved and lost in very different ways. This richness is generously shared with Joey. It did take me a little while to keep these characters and their personalities straight.

 Filled with whimsy, and endearing characters this is a thoroughly enjoyable book.

Fiction