Um ihr Taschengeld aufzubessern, jobbt die 15-jährige Lizzie Vogel neben der Schule in einem Altersheim. Auch wenn sich ihre Kenntnisse über den Umgang mit Senioren auf zwei Regeln beschränken: Man sollte ihnen möglichst kein Vollkornbrot servieren und sie nicht wie Kleinkinder behandeln. Als plötzlich ein neues Heim aufmacht, ist Lizzies Arbeitsplatz allerdings in Gefahr. Denn die Konkurrenz macht dank des schöneren Parkplatzes, der Bingoabende und regelmäßigen Pfarrerbesuche dem maroden Paradise Lodge die Pensionisten streitig. Ein Plan muss her – und zwar schnell ...
Nach der Scheidung ihrer Eltern ziehen die neunjährige Lizzie, ihre beiden Geschwister und ihre Mutter in ein kleines Dorf auf dem englischen Land. Dort empfängt man den vaterlosen Haushalt allerdings mit großem Misstrauen. Und für Lizzie und ihre Schwester steht bald fest, dass es nur einen Weg gibt, um in Flatstone akzeptiert zu werden: Sie müssen einen neuen Mann für ihre Mutter finden. Also erstellen sie eine Liste möglicher Kandidaten, schicken diesen Briefe – unterschrieben mit dem Namen ihrer ahnungslosen Mutter – und bitten die Auserwählten zum Tee. Eine geniale Idee, wenn sie funktionieren würde …
In 1982, 20-year-old Nina Stibbe moved to London to work as a nanny to two opinionated and lively young boys. In frequent letters home to her sister, Nina described her trials and triumphs.
From the prize-winning author of Reasons to be Cheerful comes a story about the ebb and flow of female friendship over half a lifetime'A true gift of a novel, I utterly adored it. For as long as I could make it last, the world just felt a bit nicer' Meg Mason'Stibbe turns out more perfect, sharp, unique sentences than anyone else' Caitlin Moran'Stibbe has an extraordinary gift' Marian Keyes'Nina Stibbe makes being funny look easy, but that's just because she's very, very good at it' Clare Chambers________________________________________________Susan and Norma have been best friends for years, at first thrust together by force of circumstance (a job at The Pin Cushion, a haberdashery shop in 1990s Leicestershire) and then by force of character (neither being particularly inclined to make friends with anyone else). But now, thirty years later, faced with a husband seeking immortality and Norma out of reach on a wave of professional glory, Susan begins to wonder whether she has made the right choices about life, love, work, and, most importantly, friendship.Nina Stibbe's new novel is the story of the wonderful and sometimes surprising path of from its conspiratorial beginnings, along its irritating wrong turns, to its final gratifying destination._________________________________________________'Nina Stibbe's very funny novels are full of charm, and her latest brilliantly captures the mordant humour of British suburban life' Evening Standard'I absolutely loved every single page of it! I honestly think it's the funniest thing she's ever written' Garth Jennings'I'm not surprised to see that Stibbe's writing has been compared to Jane Austen's' Emma Healey'I am already longing for Nina Stibbe's next book' Observer'Stibbe is one of the all-time greats' Daisy Buchanan'Clever and funny, it takes a sharp look at the intricacies of marriage, friendship, work and driving. As with all Stibbe's writing there is a pleasingly perfect balance of wisdom with jokes' Cathy Rentzenbrink'Nina Stibbe is not just very funny but absolutely life-affirming' Jenny Colgan'For beautifully funny and well-observed comic writing, Nina Stibbe is your go-to author. In her latest release, a tale of lifelong friendship between Susan and Norma, she explores the mistakes, rivalries and love we all experience in life' Stylist'One of the great comic writers of our time' Irish Times
'When people in the village heard I was about to start working in the city they tried to unsettle me with tales of woe. The sun, blotted out by the tall buildings, couldn't shine and the rain was poisoned by the toxic fumes that poured from the sock factories. My skin would be covered in pimples from the hell of it all'So begins a young woman's journey to adulthood. Lizzie Vogel leaves her alcoholic, novel-writing mother and heads for Leicester to work for a racist, barely competent dentist obsessed with joining the freemasons.Soon Lizzie is heading reluctantly, if at top speed, into the murky depths of adult life: where her driving instructor becomes her best friend; her first boyfriend prefers birdwatching to sex and where independence for a teenage girl might just be another word for loneliness.In Reasons to Be Cheerful Nina Stibbe shows her extraordinary gift for illuminating the vital details which make us human. She is that rare writer who makes us laugh whilst reminding us of the joy, and the pain, of being alive.
Román S láskou, Nina nás přivádí do anglické intelektuální rodiny v 80. letech 20. století. Autorka Nina Stibbeová čerpá ze své vlastní zkušenosti, kdy se jako mladá a nezkušená dívka stala chůvou v rodině Mary-Kay Wilmersové, která je známá editorka London Review of Books. Pečovala o dva syny Mary-Kay a sžívala se s poněkud zvláštní rodinnou situací, názory, poznávala zde nové lidi, především z okruhu tehdejší literární a filmové elity. Dopisy, adresované její sestře Viky, nás vtahují do zcela obyčejného života a každodenních radostí i strastí, jež jsou součástí mnoha podobných rodin. Ukazují nám také samotný vývoj autorky, ze které se postupem času stává samostatná žena, pevně rozhodnutá vystudovat literaturu.
