Domestic Bliss and Other Disasters

Believe me; I know how hard it is to write humour. To produce a successful comedic novel with laugh-out-loud lines as a debut novelist is no mean feat, but for me, Jane Ions has pulled it off with this book. 

I found the voice of Sally Forth (I know!) engaging and hilarious from the off. There was so much for me to enjoy, from the wayward teenage son living in a lean-to in the garden to Sally’s long-suffering and respectable husband, who just happens to be an MP.

I love this kind of well-observed comedy that treats its characters, no… show more.

There are a great many comedy novels out there written in a diary format, some of them very well-known. Most of the ones I’ve read have proved disappointing: the comedy is either weak or not sustained. And you wouldn’t think the market could cope with another version of “harassed housewife humour.”

Well, you’d be wrong. Jane Ions’ book is not only original, but her style is guffaw-out-loud hilarious. A treat from start to finish. This is a really funny book, and the author’s writing style is right up my street.