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SYNOPSIS:
Even the longest marriages have their secrets . . .
Jack Chalmers is a man of few words, married to a woman of many. He and Bet have been together for seventy years - almost a lifetime - and happily so, for the most part.
All Jack and Bet want is to enjoy the time they have left together, in the flat they have tried to make their home. Their son Tommy has other ideas: he wants them to live somewhere with round-the-clock care, hot meals, activities. Bet thinks they can manage just fine.
When they strike up an unlikely friendship with Marinela, a young Romanian woman, Bet thinks she has found the perfect solution - one that could change Marinela's life as well as theirs. But this means revisiting an old love affair, and confronting a long-buried secret she has kept hidden from everyone, even Jack, for many years.
Tender, moving and beautifully told, Sarah Butler's Jack & Bet is an unforgettable novel about love and loss, the joys and regrets of a long marriage, and the struggle to find a place to call home.
My Thoughts:
This was such a charming book set around an elderly couple, Jack and Bet. Jack has his set routine of walking into town each day and stopping at the cafe for a drink before returning home to Bet. One morning the cafe is busy and a young woman offers him a seat at her table. Reluctantly Jack sits down and the two are brought together in the most unexpected way.
What I particularly loved about this book was it focused on three main characters: Jack, Bet and Marinela. At first I wasn't sure if I like the chapters dedicated to Marinela but as the chapters unfolded I really appreciated her story line. Here was a single young woman, living away from home, surrounded by strangers; sharing accommodation, studying and working in a controversial job, showing such care and warmth to an elderly couple who she had just met. I think the fact that Bet had so much time for her when she admitted she'd been a poor mother to her own son, made me adore Marinela even more. I really loved reading about Marinela, her own battles, her relationship with her grandmother and her acknowledgement of her own self worth.
Bet was the character I fell in love with the most. She was gutsy, grumpy and glamorous. I loved how she allowed Jack to go on his wanderings each day and would sit and wait for him to return. How she admitted her mistakes in life, questioned her decisions and was strong-willed. I adored the fact she still wanted to hold a party for her wedding anniversary and get dressed up. She was a force to be reckoned with and I only hope I have half her determination when I reach my golden years.
Jack: The unsung hero in this novel. A quiet man who loved his son and had a gorgeous relationship with him. Making his wife a pot of tea before he left the house each day so that she had everything she needed in his absence was touching. The way he doted on Bet was heartwarming even though he was aware of the mistakes she had made in the past he gave her his unconditional love. He could forgive and move on, which I found powerful.
Now let me just spend time discussing the front cover, from the moment I saw it I was drawn to it. So clean, fresh, in the shape of a heart with shelves of memorabilia. As I was reading I kept looking at the cover and suddenly the pictures would make sense, for example the elephant with the crown - a reference to where they lived, Elephant and Castle. I won't spoil it by revealing the others but I loved this fact that the objects were significant to the plot and slowly became apparent as the story unfolded.
For me this book was such an engaging read. I thought it was well written, it pulled on my heartstrings, the characters were well rounded and the story line was subtle but powerful. Thank you to Anne Carter for inviting me to join the Random Things Tours, to Sarah Butler and Picador Books for gifting me a copy in return for my honest review. I will definitely be shouting about this book for many months to come.
AUTHOR:
Sarah Butler is the acclaimed author of two previous novels, Ten Things I've Learnt About Love and Before the Fire.
Her writing has been translated into fourteen languages.
She is also the author of a novella, Not Home, written in conversation with people living in unsupported temporary accommodation.
Sarah is a part-time lecturer in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University and lives in Manchester with her family.
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