November book club

I have had too many late nights this week wanting to read just another chapter. Thoroughly enjoyed the book although i'm not sure I am happy about the ending. It seemed a bit sudden and abrupt to up sticks and move away after several generations living on the station. But now there is another whole story waiting in Adelaide!
I agree with others about wanting to give those children a good smack! especially Lindy, but then the other girls on the family thought the same.
I loved the descriptions of the area, with the huge distances between closest neighbours who thought nothing of popping over at the drop of a hat.Everything is relative!
It was a nice easy, comfortable read - and with luck might put off a few people from writing dreadful Round Robin letters - just imaging if it was YOUR letter that recipients acted out!

Monica,

I very much enjoyed the book and would be interested to know where you draw your inspiration from.

Thank you,

MaceyR

I wonder about the Christmas letters. Everyone seems to have received one but no-one ever admits to sending them- so Monica is your deep dark secret that you actually used to send these things?

hello! My question is this: The descriptions of the outback were very vivid. Have you experienced life there yourself?

Thanks!

-Suzy

I had forgotten that I also had wondered about the ages of the girls. They did seem more like twenty somethings and I wondered what else they had been doing. Was it important for the story for Angela to have been married for 34 years and for her to have had the twins so early in her marriage?

I enjoyed this book very much. Had a bit of a problem with the girls at first as they seemed more like early twenties, but when I think of my granddaughters (five sisters) all strong independent young women, as soon as they are all together in the family home they revert to how they were years ago, the petty squabbles, the in-jokes, they all re-surface. I loved the description of life on the farm.
Have never sent or received a round-robin myself, I wonder if anyone will be brave enough to send Monica one this Christmas.

I would like to ask Monica which was her favourite character and why?

Firstly, yes Granny activist, does Joan have a life? I hadn't really thought about that. I did wonder what she was going to do when Angela and family left to live in Aderlaide.

When I was about 3/4 of the way through perhaps slightly more there seemed to be a lot of unanswered questions and I didn't feel there were enough pages left to answer them all and I was anticipating a poor ending but was pleasantly surprised. It didn't fizzle out. Well done Monica. I ended up feeling a bit sorry for Lindy. Monica, did you consciously not let all the characters have a happy ending? On reflection going over to Ireland and starting to 'live' seemed a much better choice for her. Have you stayed out in the outback? I've read that every year there are fatal accidents when spiders fall out of the car sun visors. I thought that was really clever using that in your plot.

I finished them book a few days ago and am still missing it.

Thank you so much for my copy of Hello from the Gillespies.I am half way through and really enjoying it!I will be posting comments soon as I can't put it down...

I am loving the book but am just over half way through, I only read for about an hour a day.
The story just flows from page 1 and you get drawn in to the family ups and downs. I was fascinated by the idea of the Christmas letter because I receive several of these every year, I am going to pay closer attention to them in future.
No question to ask but would like to say well done this is a most enjoyable book.

Thank you for Hello from tbe Gillespies, I have almost finished it, am enjoying it. Not read this author before- will buy them. Intend to pass this book onto my daughter. So gratefulfor your book gifts- good to be intrduced to books I probably not think of buyingThe wives of Los Alamos for instance

Sat & finished book this afternoon. A very easy read. I am guessing it was written as Monica has received some of those awful Round Robins! Why on earth do people send them?? If you were that interested in what 'friends' & their families are doing then you would keep in touch through the year. I never bother to read them. We get one every year from someone we have not seen in 20 years updating us on her cats!! I have my own cats- I love them to bits but they don't DO that much worth reporting.
I found all the characters with the exception of Ig & Joan very irritating but I didn't actually dislike them. They all just needed to sit round the table & have a good talk occasionally. I found the ending predictable but that is not a criticism. It was a nice ending although I bet they miss that farm & the views.
Was the tracing of family in Ireland something Monica has done herself? If so did she actually hear of any bogus companies offering tracing services?

Hi Monica! I loved the book - it definitely got me thinking about how I can never quite make up my mind whether I like getting round robins to catch up on the news from the past year - or whether I detest them because they are egotistical, dull or self-important. What's your view?

Thank you so much for sending me a copy of this book. As I have been away I have only just got it but have made a start. So far, and granted I'm not far into it yet, it has failed to grab me and I am struggling but it sounds as if I'm in a minority from comments above. Hopefully it will win me over but for now there is some way to go. Maybe my next posting will be more positive!

Do YOU send Round Robin letters at Christmas Monica? If so is yours going to be a real run down of your year or a boast?

Many thanks for my copy of this book
I haven't had a chance to start it yet but will this week

Really enjoyed this book, kept wondering what my fantasy life could be! Thought the characters were well thought out and they held my interest through the book. One of the best Gransnet books so far.

I disagree with inishowen as I send a Christmas letter most years. I have lived in a great many places and made friendships along the way, plus I have relatives who like to keep track of my family's doings; I used to spend hours writing individual letters to put into Christmas cards until eventually the PC made it possible to write just one and duplicate it. I remember the first year I did it how glad I was not to have to write the same things over and over. Some years ago I was just too busy and exhausted to write my usual letter and I got so many phone calls and letters from people who were wanting to know what was happening with the family that I ended up sending one out in January and I've done the same a few times since when Decembers have been too hectic for me to find the time to write.
My question for Angela is, does she have a 'Joan' in her own life?

Pleasant and easy read, I enjoyed The Gillespies, Have you ever been so brave Monica, as to drop the mask and say it as you see it?
The twins were a bit irritating at times, but will pass the book on and look out for your next work. Thank you.

Thank you for my book, I have only just started it as I was already finishing off another book. Please tell Monica that I am loving everything about the book and I'm only not quite a third of the way in. What a brilliant concept for a novel as everyone knows someone who receives a dreadful round robin letter or who sends one ! I am looking forward to seeing how it develops. If there's time, I'll post again when I've finished, don't want to rush though..Am enjoying it too much !

Really enjoyed it & felt interested, involved, exasperated and irritated by the characters in turn. Angela's condition was new to me and made me think about the role of fantasy and daydreams in our lives - is it healthy or unhealthy, and to what degree should we'indulge'? Joan was brilliant. We'd all like to have a friend like her. I wonder how her own family would have felt though. I thought Ig was interesting too. Had he inherited his mother's rich fantasy life? Was it one of the down sides of growing up in such an isolated location? How would he cope with the transition at the end? This book was a real page-turner. I will look out for her books in future.

Thank you, I am loving the book. I have about 6 pages to finish it. I don't do round robins myself, not would I care to read them. They are all about showing off! Is the author Irish or Australian? I'm guessing Irish, but has lived in Australia. I found the book to be a real page turner and it's kept me reading late into the night.

A great choice of book in the run up to Christmas and I enjoyed reading about the noisy opinionated and often immature members of this family. What an amazing friend Joan was ! Stepping into the breach on almost every occasion. My question for the author is how did she discover the medical condition experienced by Angela ?
Thank you gransnet for a seasonal read.

Finished it last night. It was a galloping good read. Undemanding and enough convolutions to hold my interest and not put it down. As GMA says the ending was fairly predictable but that only added to my enjoyment as I could relax and just enjoy it. The children, I thought, were a trifle immature. More like mid twenties in age than thirties, but otherwise the characters were well drawn.

A good book. One to be passed to a friend rather than put in the charity shop bag.

I enjoyed this book, perfect for this time of year when I love to relax with a 'feel good' book.
As a mother of five children I enjoyed the dynamics between the characters in the book and I thought they were refreshingly real - all the traits you find in families but are not often written about.
I particularly enjoyed reading the acknowledgements and thought they were very informative.
I have already passed it on to fellow book club members! My question is a simple one - when is your next book due to be published and where is it located?

Good morning gransnetters! Bright and frosty here in East anglia! Finished reading "hello from the Gillespies" last night. An easy and undemanding read which I found predictable, but quite good. The majority of the characters are well drawn, although the twins, who are apparently in their 30s, needed a reality check! Certain passages , I thought, were overly long, and the ending was spotted by the middle of the book. Joan and aunt Celia were my favourite characters and would liked to have learnt more about them. But saying this, a pleasant uncomplicated read by an author I will be looking out for in the future.