BOOK REVIEW: According to Yes by Dawn French

Manhattan’s wealthy Upper East Side has it’s own rigid code of behaviour. One strictly adhered to by the Wilder-Bingham family.
Emotional displays- unacceptable.
Unruly behaviour- definitely not welcome.
Fun- no thanks.
So when Rosie Kitto, an eccentric primary school teacher from England bounces into this fortress of restraint with a heart as big as the city, the family quickly discovers that she hasn’t read the rule book.
After a life-time of saying no, what happens when everyone starts saying …yes?

Publisher: Penguin

Pages: 376

I have a huge girl crush on Dawn French and I loved her autobiography Dear Fatty so I thought I would try one of her fiction books. According to Yes is a beautiful book, there is really no end to this woman’s talents!

Rosie Kitto leaves her life in Cornwall where she is a primary school teacher and boards a flight to Manhattan. She is running away from her current life and she has decided that going forward she is going to live according to Yes, she is going to take more risks.

The Wilder-Bingham family have no idea of Rosie’s life plan; they have employed her to care for the two younger members of the family, Red and Three. Glenn Wilder-Bingham is the matriarch and she runs a tight-ship; she is in no way ready for this eccentric English lady who is going to turn all their lives upside down.

This book is such a mix, there is a great deal of comedy but so much warmth and poignancy too. Dawn French creates characters that you feel greatly for, even some of the unlikable ones. I was surprised by how much I deeply cared for them all by the end of the book.

Rosie Kitto is a magnificent creation, she is fierce, eccentric, kind-hearted and incredibly brave. She does a few things in the book that will undoubtedly raise a few eyebrows but overall I decided by the end of the story that I needed to be more like Rosie. To appreciate joy in the small things and the beautiful world we live in  and most importantly, to search for and celebrate the good in people- however small that may be.

According to Yes by Dawn French is an emotional and comforting read. I loved it!

Book Review: Oh Dear Silvia by Dawn French

Who is in Coma Suite Number 5?
A matchless lover? A supreme egotist? A selfless martyr? A bad mother? A cherished sister? A selfish wife?
All of these. For this is Silvia Shute who has always done exactly what she wants. Until now, when her life suddenly, shockingly stops/
Her past holds a dark and terrible secret, and now that she is unconscious in a hospital bed, her constant stream of visitors are set to uncover the mystery of her broken life. And she must lie there, victim of  the beloveds, the babblings and the plain bonkers.
Like it or not, the truth is about to pay Silvia a visit. Again and again and again...

I missed Dawn French's first book A Tiny Bit Marvellous so I wasn't really sure what to expect from Oh Dear Silvia. It was such a good read though, exceptionally witty and observant  with a very poignant edge.
Silvia Shute fell off her balcony and is now deep within a coma. Obviously Silvia is unconscious so the only way we get to know her is through her visitors and in the main it is not that favourable. There are the children who won't even visit and the ex-husband who is still looking for answers as to what happened to their marriage.
I think my favourite character was Winnie who is Silvia's nurse. Whatever she has going on in her own life, she goes out of her way to care for and protect Silvia. It is easy for coma victims to be treated like objects but Winnie is always striving to make Silvia comfortable and dignified.
I think that Dawn French has been extremely clever in setting up the book as she does. Each chapter is from the individual characters' perspectives but we do  not get a chapter from Silvia until the very end. Therefore you have to interpret what each character is saying about Silvia as she is not able to contradict them. The chapters are almost like streams of consciousness and this allows for a great deal of honesty. Silvia's sister Jo is particularly interesting; she almost only wants Silvia to wake up in her presence so that she can take the praise, she is not too bothered about her sister's well-being.
You are very aware of Silvia's presence as people make their visits. I found myself wondering what she would think about what they were saying. Would she be angry, embarrassed, remorseful, content?
Oh Dear Silvia is a very interesting book. Dawn French, as you would expect, writes with plenty of humour but I loved how observant she clearly is about people and their ways.

Dot Scribbles Rating:  4/5

Many thanks to the lovely people at Penguin for sending me a copy of this book to review, Oh Dear Silvia is out now.