Man at the Helm - July book club

Thank you for my copy. I am just over halfway through but, sadly, I do not find it hilarious. It is readable and I will try and continue to the end - simply because I cannot bear not knowing how a book ends - but I do not find it comical, hilarious, etc.

I've just finished the book and felt quite satisfied as I closed the cover. Lizzie and her family had obviously grown on me, because halfway through I was really struggling with the same issues that a lot of other Gransnet readers seemed to have - far too many distracting brackets, the unnecessary bad language, the purpose of the mother's play. Often Lizzie's viewpoint and phrases didn't feel authentic for a nine year old, even in her situation, and I didn't have any of the spontaneous laughter the reviews on the cover led me to expect.
But I did want to persevere with the book and I did smile at many of the situations the family ended up in.
I'd really like to know what inspired Nina to write the book and how much it changed from her first draft. And is she working on another book?

I too struggled initially with this book, the time setting seemed to be incongruous with the themes and the use of graphic words in a domestic setting. I did persevere with Lizzy's narrative and it was well written from the child's point of view, but I didn't enjoy the book.
I would like to ask Nina if she had a target 'audience' in mind, was she writing for a particular age group?
It seems that the use of some unnecessary offensive words has upset several gransnetters, I think it was unnecessary to use such language because it didn't enhance the story or the characters. Such language would restrict who I might pass the book on to.
I personally think that the book would appeal to older children who might find themselves in a similar position but the 'c' word would prevent me recommending it for this age group.

Lizzie, aged 11, is the storyteller of this tale of a manless, unhappy pill popping Mother recently separated from their homosexual Father. Left with no income, three children and a temperament unsuited to housework (her words) the children are largely left to cope with many situations that are often beyond their capabilities. Little Jack is carried through life by his older sisters who also have responsibility for caring for their Mother who substitutes caring with a sun lounger and gin and tonic. Their lives change with the loss of a cook, a chauffeur and a large house with ponies and a mundane existence is on the cards. However, the girls, (and in particular) Lizzie's acceptance of her duty to ensure her Mother has a new man in her life involves them in a very unconventional lifestyle until things hit rock bottom when their Mother has to find a job. A most curious book, unique in its style and lots of comical situations which are in many ways also calamitous and damaging to young children. Their very real fear of being made wards of court encourage the children to protect and pander to their Mother. It's a woeful tale in some ways yet curiously page turning too.The constant use of brackets (as above) annoyed me in the first instance yet as I read on I noticed them less and less.

Most gracious thanks to Gransnet and Penguin Books for a copy of this book. I seem to have received it a lot later than everyone else, looking at the dates of the above posts. As a result, I still have a bit of a way to go to complete the book, but shaping up to be a good read so far.

I'd like to ask Nina a few general questions, if I may ......

QUESTION ONE:- Do you have a personal favourite out of the two books you've had published? And out of books published by other authors?
QUESTION TWO:- What would be the first piece of advice you would give to anyone attempting to write fiction?
QUESTION THREE:- Can I ask you about your writing process? How do you plot everything? What was the initial spark for 'Man at the Helm', and was it based on personal experiences, completely made-up, or a mixture of the two?

Hi
I did enjoy the book although it took me a while to get into Lizzie's 'voice'. At first I hoped there might be a change of point of view part way through, but once I accepted that it was going to be Lizzie all the way I relaxed into it. I enjoyed Lizzie's reporting of her mother's comments and attitudes which provided much of the book's humour and the book is peppered with wry, witty and honest observations on life, families, pets, etc., 'It's like having over-diluted Ribena,' our mother explained. 'it's almost worse than having no Ribena at all.' was one of my favourite observations (although there are plenty of funnier examples in the book). There's also lots of 1970's references to enjoy.

I did get the premise of the story: that someone Lizzie's age would worry about being taken into care and that the children would 'rally round' their mother, who was clearly struggling with her personal demons. I found Lizzie's reporting of her mother's 'language' quite in character for both of them and it added to the humour and texture of the story so I didn't find it offensive at all.

Having finished the book, I find the characters of Lizzie, her sister and brother, and her mother (and dog!) remain with me and I can visualise their houses and the assortment of neighbours, friends, etc., which for me is the sign of a well-crafted book. I would recommend this for summer holiday reading, or for whenever you are feeling a little jaded with life 'as is'.

I would like to ask Nina about her reasons for including Lizzie's mother's play dialogue - it didn't seem to carry the plot any farther forward. Was it to inject some 'white space', or for another reason? And, without naming names, were any of the main characters (humans or animals) inspired by her own experiences.

Thanks Nina, and Gransnet, for a good read.

I have just started reading man at the helm the jury is out on it I am struggling with it I find it hard to belive girls in the seventies would be so muture at that age are maybe they just had to grow up quickly I was hopping for a feel good book but it is just making a little cross at the adults in the book will keep reading as it is well written and I what to see if they succeed

After my initial enjoyment of the book I began to find I was suspending belief just a bit too far. There are parts I did find funny and at first the language did indeed seem to fit a child of the age and time. The premis of the children trying to find a new man for their mother seems very plausible but the actions of many of the adults in the story, not least those of the medical profession, just seemed too far-fetched.

I agree with several others that the bad language used added nothing to the story and seemed outside of the supposed time scale, too. I would like to know if the author has personal experience of this period and if so whether it was spent in a rural location.

Not doing anything for me I'm afraid. I've read a couple of chapters and I cannot 'get into it' at all. Sorry :-(

Struggled to finish this book. I couldn't find any empathy with the family, especially the mother. I am not a prude but found some of the language used towards the children offensive. There were only one or two incidents which I found mildly amusing, not the laugh out loud others found. Sorry, but not up to the standard of other Gransnet books I've read.

Thank you again for my copy of this book.
After the first few chapters I struggled with this book. It was amusing not hilarious. Sorry I did not enjoy this book.

Unlike others I didn't find this a laugh out loud novel I'm afraid.
It was interesting that the children seemed to have a better grip on life than their mother who they seemed to be one step ahead of throughout the book. We were never told the name of Lizzie's sister but she seemed very mature for her years, a little too much perhaps.
It was interesting to read how people assume that you are wealthy when in fact it is far from the truth & that behind closed doors there often paints a different picture. I'm glad there was a happy ending & that 'mother' found her sole mate.
Has Nina got any other novels on the back burner?

Finished this. I have mixed feelings about it. It was sometimes funny but I thought some of the comedy was too manufactured. Some episodes were really successful- Maxwell the pony was one-but other situations felt forced.
I thought the ending was a bit contrived. I would like to ask Nina if she ever wrote or thought of writing an alternative ending?

I was looking forward to this book, I was in need of a funny book.
However, I didn't find it hilarious, in parts I found it rather sad for the children and I don't think I got past that.
I might be a bit of a prude but I don't feel comfortable with swearing, and the "c" word makes me flinch. I almost stopped reading the book. I think I found it uncomfortable that the mother was using such language in front of and with her children. I just wasn't brought up that way.
I was confused for a few chapters about what decade we were in, I think it felt earlier than the 70's because of the main characters turn of phrase but it caught up later.
I'm not sure if I would choose another book by this author. Sorry.

I'm surprised at some of the comments about the beginning of this book as I found it easy to get I to and really wanted to get to the end to see what hapoened.
My question is: it made me smile a lot but also made me feel quite sad in parts. Was it deliberate to try to bring out both emotions in your readers?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it amusing and fascinating from beginning to end ( though I have to admit I could have managed without the detailed description of the men's toilets !! )
I have read that it is a semi-autobiographical book - in that you moved with your family to a country village under similar circumstances .

This prompts the question :-
Is it easy / hard to start writing about your own childhood and then put in all these imaginary characters and events?

I love the idea of the "heavy pig" on page 278
Have you had many of these " weighty pig days " ?

I'm glad the mother found a "Man at the Helm " and I agree that she turned out to be a hero.
Thank you Nina and Gransnet......a brilliant book.

P.S. The last few sentences of the book are absolutely priceless !!!

I was very pleased to be one of the people who was sent a copy of this book " Man at the Helm" and I must say it would not normally be one I would pick off the shelf. I found the first chapters a bit of a struggle and was tempted to give up, but as time went on I wanted to find out what happened next to this very exceptional family. I was surprised the author made the children so " street wise" but it all added to the plot of the book. The author must have either a good idea of children of that era or did she base it on any personal problems in her life? Sometimes I found it over descriptive at times and it was not for me the hilarious read it was advertised to be, but that does not mean it did not make me smile at times.
I will pass it on to one of my daughter-in-laws to see how she views he book as a younger person.

It did take me a while to get into this book but when I did I enjoyed it. It must be difficult to write from the point of view of a young girl but I think the tone was just right. I loved the children,wanted to give the mother a shake but she had depression and I suspect many children are in the same situation. They did what they had to do to get by and I'm glad of the happy ending. I would like to ask the author what made her decide to write from a child's prospective ? I' m on holiday in Turkey so I have left the book in the hotel's library for other people to enjoy and spread the author's name.

Hello Nina,
First of all , I'd like to thank you for such a brilliant read.It was different from anything I've read before.I have to confess that I haven't read 'Love, Nina' So I didn't know anything about you prior to reading this book.

I loved all the characters, the flawed Mother who you couldn't help but like.The feisty elder sister, Lizzie who narrates and little Jack who may even be a shred Autistic.I could see them all ! You not only made the main suitors real, but brought to life the neighbours and shopkeepers.

I grew up in a village, and in it's early days, it was just like the village you have crafted, so I really could relate to some of the insular behaviour of it's inhabitants since I wasn't actually born there.

Did you grow up in a village ? I feel you must have, if not you have been extraordinarily clever in reproducing that feel here.I don't want to say too much about the story here in case some people haven't finished reading it yet.
Have you another book in the pipeline ? I hope you do, I shall buy it, and am now off to look for 'Love Nina'.

This would make a fantastic stage play, I bet you get approached about it !
Good luck to you and thanks for a superb read.