November book club

I too thought I would love to have a Joan in my life - could really do with the support and advice.

Enjoyed this book, thanks and very good timing as the first Christmas card arrived today - it's not even December yet!
I found it a bit predictable but a good light hearted read all the same.
My question is do you have a Joan in your life or are you the 'Joan' figure?

Unfortunatley my Celia figure was my own mother, so we won't discuss that any further.....I have never sent a round robin but received a few and have never took much notice of them as they are known to be glossed-over versions of people's life and just tend to ignite jealousy or boredom! I was interested to read of the secret life fantasy she slipped into to get through stress times as I have one of these but was not aware it was a common practice as I have NEVER EVER admitted it to anyone.
My Question is do you have a parallell universe escape world of your own that you drew upon for the story?
A brilliant read, thank you.

Hello from the Gillespies by Monica McInerney came through my letter box without any cover note (or e-mail) – pity, I would have liked to thank the provider for an excellent book which I really enjoyed reading!
I always look at the cover first – a Christmassy, glittery feel, obviously reflecting Christmas news, with a letter coming through the letter box. It was a surprise to realise it was set in the Australian outback in a Christmas heatwave, and the news referred to an e-mailed Christmas letter.

I’m sure we are all familiar with Christmas letters. The best are the witty, amusing rambles, where you have to read twice to unearth the news. The worst are the catalogue of achievements of precocious offspring, their parents pride verging on boastful. The golden rule is be positive and upbeat, and if possible light and amusing.

In the outback farmstead, Angela has a problem. Throughout her 30 year marriage to Nick and the arrival of four children (twins Genevieve and Victoria, Lindy and Ig), she has always written a Christmas letter. This year is different, there is so much tension in the family she really cannot think what to put which is positive. She has writer’s block, so decides to put down all her unhappiness into word, get it out of her system, before writing the letter. Unfortunately, it gets e-mailed out to all her friends and family instead!

The book is about the repercussions of this disaster. Friends are shocked, but also amused to receive such an unusual letter, and some in fact offer advice and support.

The family members are appalled by Angela’s assessment of their lives.
All of the family members are reacting to the stress within the family in different ways, all showing classic displacement behaviour. Angela feels neglected and day dreams what life would have been like if she had stayed in London and married a previous boyfriend. She has very bad headaches, with no physical cause. Her husband Nick can’t face talking about his problems, so ends up being depressed. To try to cope with this he tries to develop an interest, in family history, not realising that there is a fine line between enthusiasm and obsession. Lindy regresses into childlike behaviour, becoming insecure and demands constant attention. Ig has run away from boarding school and has an imaginary friend. Genevieve and Victoria spread their wings and left home, but have had to return when both lost their jobs. They are both trying to rebuild their lives, but Genevieve’s indiscreet nature, and Victoria’s comfort eating aren’t helping.

You know the book will have a happy ending, but how on earth will all the problems be resolved? The plot runs smoothly and is well structured, with enough twists and turns to keep interest up. In fact, it is the kind of book you feel you must read another chapter to see what happens next. The characters are well described, you can imagine them, and the descriptions of the countryside are vivid. I have never been to Australia, but could imagine the wide vistas, the dust and the heat.

Thank you so much for this book. I have only just started reading it but am already into it and are taking every opportunity to immerse myself into it. I used to sometimes write 'round robins' but with all the hell that's gone on in my life in the last few years, I decided not to pass it all on!!

I absolutely loved this book-the characters are easy to relate to,with their common bond being the love for their family,come what may.I think the idea of "getting it all off your chest" as Angela does in her letter,is one that we could all imagine doing.The consequences for the Gillespies are life changing and each family member deals with it in their own way.For Angela and Nick,the road is a rocky one but it eventually brings them back together,happily planning a new future.
Angela's accident is a great twist,when the reader is thinking maybe she has a brain tumour.
The twins and Lindy have their own dramas and problems to deal with but the family always come first.Even the twins possible pregnancies are put on the back burner.I love the way that the girls include Ig in all the family discussions and indulge his "fantasy" friend.In a way,I think that Ig is the glue that bonds the family together,perhaps because he is the only boy and came along as a late,unplanned bonus.He is clever and mature but still a little boy,as we see in the thunderstorm and his reaction to the snake.
Most people probably to want to "escape" at some point in their lives,when life is humdrum and boring.Also,there are "what-if's" in all our lives,whether or not we dwell on them.
Nick's depression seems to be triggered by losing a large amount of his inheritance,so he throws himself into researching the lives of the ancestors who created it.I know how hard it is to talk about depression with your family,so I empathised strongly with Nick and his need to withdraw into his new obsession.
A great read,holds your interest and ends happily if predictably.Just the kind of book to curl up with on a miserable day.
My only question for Monica McInerney is when's your next book coming?

Thank you for my copy of 'Hello From the Gillespies', which I am thoroughly enjoying (I am just back from a trip away and am yet to finish the book).

Reading some of the comments here I feel a little guilty as I have sent a 'round robin' letter to ‘friends’ (who live far away and don't regularly see). Thankfully, I have not (yet...!) committed myself to being completely and utterly truthful, warts and all, but do try to give an update of our life and times over the past twelve months. I certainly do not try one-upmanship or outdo the Jones etc., and conversely, I enjoy receiving similar letters from others. It is lovely to see what other families have been up to in the intervening months. We don’t all want a close relationship with all our friends and these letters give the right amount involvement. Life rushes by so quickly that it is not always possible to keep the level of contact that we might wish. Everyone to their own etc!

Back to the book: Angela was portrayed as a slightly dippy figure and at times I wanted to give her a good shake and I feel she made some odd decisions. Yes, I would love to have a 'Joan' in my life, how wonderful that would be! Angela's children seem very childlike although I can envisage adults reverted back to their childhood personas in that type of family dynamic, living so far from urbanisation, as they do on Errigal. I very much enjoyed the character of 'Ig', which Monica McInerney brought to life very well. Oh, and Robbie, too! Nick seems rather dishy and it was interesting how one could see his descent into depression spiralling downwards. It was pretty obvious, however, that the character of Carole was a scam. That screamed out from the first contact with her. At least, I think it is a scam - haven't yet reached that section of the book! The character of Celia, well, I am sure that we have all met a Celia in our lives. I was torn between being cross with her and wanting to give her a hug and tease out the real person underneath the brusque persona. On the other hand…..!

Hello…. gives the reader a vivid sense of outback Australia and made me feel as if I had visited the homestead of Errigal and to that end, Monica McInerney has achieved an outstanding success with her book.

Thanks again Gransnet for my copy.

PS. For Monica: is the homestead Errigal a fictitious name? Does it have a meaning? Thanks.

Just finished reading it. I really enjoyed it. I think it is the best book I have read in ages. I will be looking for more books by Monica.
Thanks again Gransnet and thank you Monica McInerney!

Thank you very much for this book GN, I have really enjoyed it. I thought the characters were very well drawn. My favourite was Ig. The twins needed to grow up a bit. They are a bit old to just land back on Mum and Dad when things go wrong - but maybe that is what people from homesteads in the Australian outback do.

I would like to ask Monica what inspired this book. Does she receive these long glossy letters every year, or, in fact, does she send them?

Thank you for a very good read which I have passed on to my DD.

Just finished reading this book - a good read. Loved Angela and all the family.

Was not sure about the character of Celia - she just seemed to be transformed too much into a much kinder relation.

I do love having a letter at Christmas from friends who I rarely see, and do not mind at all if it is a 'round robin'.

I have just finished 'Hello from the Gillespies' - it was a thoroughly enjoyable book and so true to life. Although I would not admit it to anybody I know, I too (like Angela) sometimes wonder what my life would have been like if I had followed my heart when I was in my late teens - but that would have meant going against my parents. I also received a Christmas lettering year and, yes, it did sound to good to be true! All things considered I felt great empathy with this book and I think this is one reason why I enjoyed it so much. More from this author please!

Thank you for my copy, which I have just finished reading. It made me laugh and made me cry. It was the sort of book I wanted to finish and at the same time, didn't want to! I have now passed it on to fellow Book Group friends.

I am enjoying reading this book. Will add further comments when I have finished reading it.

Just an update,I finished reading this book last night and found it to be one of the best I have read in a long while. Thanks so much.

A great read, thank you
I have never written a Christmas newsletter, but enjoy reading the ones I receive.
I liked the fact that I could not guess how the book would end.
Thought Angela was very brave leaving the UK to live in Australia, must have been true love.
Wonder where the idea for the book came from. A nice balance of characters ,wondered if the author based them on people she knew or had met. How much research was done before writing the book
Will look out for more books written by this author.

I really enjoyed this book. I'd heard the author on Woman's Hour just after the book arrived which whetted my appetite. Very well written and engrossing - I finished it at 1 am this morning! I found the characters very believable and engaging and the whole picture of family life was fun, especially in such a different setting from my own experience. I'm not sure I will ever write a round robin again, though I always tried never to blow anyone's trumpet! And it does make you think how careful you need to be on a shared computer, and to think twice before hitting send! Thoroughly recommend this book as a good read! Thanks for introducing me, and my friends and family, to it!

Sorry to be a bit late with my review but I had to finish another book first.
I thoroughly enjoyed Hello from the Gillespies.I felt it was a similar style to Jo Jo Moyes in that it involved relationships between family members.
The accidental loss of memory was a clever twist and helped the reader to look at the daughters from a different perspective.Ig was the nicest character,a lot less self centred than the girls. Livvy was a trifle annoying but I suppose that was because she was the odd one out (with the twins)
Thank you for sending me this lovely,engaging book.

Ah! I seem to have missed the deadline but Ireally needed to finish the book first. As one who still sends - and recieves - round robin letters annually I had to see the outcome. A great read, well paced with believable characters. One of my worst nightmares is clicking send on an email only to discover I have sent the wrong version so this really resounded with me.
Sometimes when problems are going round and round in our heads writing them down can help. Putting thoughts into words helps us arrange them in a logical order and see the wood for the trees. This letter was a real stream of consciousness and so believable. The author must have experience of living in a remote area to paint a picture so vividly and maybe even of being a twin as she has captured that unique bond so well. In fact it would be interesting to know just how much the whole plot relies on personal experience or that of people she is close to. At the very least I am sure she must have pressed that fateful send button on an occasion when she wished she hadn't!

Only on page 180 of this chunky volume. The opening,being a Round Robin letter, introduced us to the main character and gave us snippets of information about all her family ( from her point of view of course). But for now I must go back to reading,can't wait to see what happens next. ps thank you for my copy which arrived in a brown envelope and which I had completely forgotten I had asked for. ( I guess my status as village elder had something to do with that bit.) I puzzled for days, asked friends, and then in an idle moment, taking a break from writing my second novel I escaped to Gransnet and the name of the book jumped out at me. Silly me.

I am finding this an interesting and enjoyable read. One of the very few novels I have read, that is set in Australia. (I loved On The Beach).
I don't think I would have welcomed three girls in their 30's back to the nest, with no jobs. Angela and her husband seem much more generous people than DH and myself !

I am finding this an interesting and enjoyable read. One of the very few novels I have read, that is set in Australia. (I loved On The Beach).
I don't think I would have welcomed three girls in their 30's back to the nest, with no jobs. Angela and her husband seem much more generous people than DH and myself !

I have not quite finished the book but just wanted to say what a great and entertaining book it is, at times I thought I was looking into a mirror but then of course, I do not write Christmas letters. I always found them boring just like Angela's family, but "what if".....

Thank you so much again for your suggestions, there has not been a single book I did not like, it's fabulous when you can rely on a recommendation; your children's book recommendation also were very enthusiastically received by my grandchildren. A very merry Christmas to all !

Many thanks for my copy. Have not finished it yet - 500+ pages! - but am enjoying it very much.

I am only half way through too. So much to do, so little time.............