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A Friend of the Family: The addictive and emotionally satisfying page-turner that will have you hooked

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After being made redundant, Jewell accepted a challenge from her friend, Yasmin Boland, to write three chapters of a novel in exchange for dinner at her favourite restaurant. Those three chapters were eventually developed into Jewell's debut novel Ralph's Party, which then became the UK's bestselling debut novel in 1999. [5] [6] Jewell's light style can be deceptive; her anatomisation of twenty and thirty-something urban relationships is at times uncomfortably keen . . . It's a lot of fun * Daily Mail *

I am impressed by the way Jewell tells a unique story with issues that are relevant to each of us. The male points of view were comically written and gave me an insight into just what a man might be thinking when he is deciding where a relationship is headed. The only criticism I have of A FRIEND OF THE FAMILY, is that a bit of the information about pregnancy was slightly inaccurate (such as she states that the pregnant character was unable to take any medications, not even Tylenol or a cough lozenge). Mom and Dad have three grown boys - Tony, Sean, and Ned. Their 40th wedding anniversary is coming up so dad plans a big surprise party and all the boys come home. Mom sings in a local bar for fun and meets a man one evening - Gervase. Gervase is a drifter and mom invites him to stay with them while he's in town. Brothers Tony, Sean and Ned have a great life and love their family. It's only when a new person walks in and stirs things up that you really see how 3 grown men handle life, love and family. Three brothers, three unique sets of problems. Tony is divorced, overweight, and romancing a woman he thinks is "too happy." Sean is the middle child, a successful novelist with a "perfect" new girlfriend who throws him a curveball announcement he cannot deal with. Ned, the youngest, has just returned from three years in Australia and finds that his friends have all moved on to grown-up lives and careers and left him behind. Their parents, Bernie and Gerry, are happily married and the cornerstone of their sons' lives. Bernie takes in a mysterious lodger, Gervase, who seems to be able to get to the heart of the boys' troubles and helps the men to see things more clearly about themselves, but can he help them sort out their love lives? Jewell was born in London and educated at St. Michael's Catholic Grammar School in Finchley, north London, leaving school after one day in the sixth form to do an art foundation course at Barnet College followed by a diploma in fashion illustration at Epsom School of Art & Design.

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Sean proposes to Milly, she says "yes". They announce it to the family on her first meeting the parents. Then Milly finds out she's pregnant. Sean isn't so happy about it. He likes their life of bar-hopping and recreational drug use. She wants to keep it and Sean starts avoiding her under the pretense of writing his book. He get the idea to write about how women make all the decisions in the world because they are the only ones to decide to keep a baby. Who is this friend of the family? He is quite a mystery. And the lives of the boys introduced in this satisfying story about the relationship between three sons prove to be somewhat of a mystery also. Ms. Jewell has managed to create a genuine-feeling novel about 3 very different men, the women they love and hate, the mother & father they adore, the stranger who seems to know things, and the ensuing clashes they have with each other.

During all this drama, Gervase has spent time with each of the boys. He does this thing where he holds their hands and looks deep into their eyes and they go all gooey inside and wind up spilling everything to him. Turns out he's a bit psychic, a gift he got from his mom. He advises all the boys.

Ned finds high school sweetheart, but she's all grown up and over him now. Ned's Australia girl starts sending him pieces of herself (hair, toenails, eyelashes, etc.) in the mail and texting him "cunt" over and over. He finally writes a letter to her parents and we never hear anything more from her. Ned finally decides he needs to get a job and starts working for a temp agency. He meets a girl on the job and they hit it off, but when Ned makes a move, she turns him down stating that he hasn't grown up yet. Ned and Gervase are get close. Somehow Ms. Jewell has the ability in this book to shift from one son to another through each separate chapter smoothly and without a break in momentum. When you've finished a chapter and it's now moving on to another character, you think, "Oh yes! What's happening with this person now?" But it wasn't too soon to find out or too late to be moving on. It was just at the perfect time. And I love how she has subtitled each chapter, it's a tiny appetizer to whet our appetites for the great meal that's to come. She currently lives in Swiss Cottage, London with her husband Jascha, and daughters Amelie Mae (born 2003) and Evie Scarlett (born 2007). [4] Bibliography [ edit ] Novels [ edit ] Lisa Jewell (born 19 July 1968) is a British author of popular fiction. Her books include Ralph's Party, Thirtynothing, After The Party (a sequel to Ralph's Party), [1] and later Then She Was Gone, The Family Upstairs, Invisible Girl and The Night She Disappeared. [2] Her latest book None of This is True was published in July 2023. [3] Life [ edit ] Tony is with Ness, but he really wants Milly. Milly has confided in him about what an ass Sean is being about the baby. Sean has confided in him about how he doesn't really want a baby. Tony told Sean to grow up. They have a dinner one evening and things comes to blows between Sean and Milly and Sean leaves. Ness goes to bed and leaves Tony alone with Milly. Tony tells Milly how wonderful he thinks she is and they kiss. Then Tony realizes he doesn't really want Milly and that them doing anything would be a huge mistake. And all of a sudden, he's over his crush. He makes love to Ness that night and professes his love, but in his head, it was just something he said not something he meant. He breaks up with Ness. Ness is close to mom so she heads to her house, but mom is out. Only Ned is there. Ned comforts her and realizes how great she is. He decides to escort her to the party.

In 2008 she was awarded the Melissa Nathan Award For Comedy Romance for her novel 31 Dream Street. [7] Tony is divorced and seeing a woman named Ness. Since his divorce, he's let himself go a little. He has tons of fun with Ness, but he's getting a little pudgy around the waistline. He doesn't see a future with Ness because he dreams of his brother's girl, Milly. Tony is the oldest. He started his own greeting card business and it is now well established. He's the oldest. This may be partially my fault as i only knew Lisa Jewell as a thriller/mystery author, and A Friend of The Family certainly isnt that. But i have to say i found this story just okay. It's not awful, but i was glad to have finished it. This is not what I was expecting from Lisa Jewell. The previous Lisa Jewell books I've read were suspense thrillers, this was more a love triangle and it wasn't thrilling in any way.This refreshing look into the inner workings of brothers is a huge leap forward and something I was thrilled to see. You don't usually get that man's point of view done very effectively - but Lisa Jewell nailed it. Perfectly done --- and might be the big deal of this summer. I loved it and think it's her best work to date. Can't wait for more!

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