March book club - The Girlfriend

Yes, thank you from me too for answering my question, Michelle. This has been a very interesting Q & A session, and I will certainly look out for the film!

Thank you, Michelle, for taking the time to answer my question. I know feel rather guilty I didn't enjoy it more! I will look out for your name when you publish your next novel, and i am sure the adaptation will be successful.

I just wanted to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who took the trouble to read the book and post questions – it means such a lot that so many of you enjoyed it.

Maggiemaybe

Yes, I enjoyed this book, but with one or two reservations. The two main female characters and Howard were all so unlovable, I really didn't care what happened to them, though I liked both Daniel and Wendy. Some minor characters seemed to be introduced then fade out, serving no particular purpose: the rich kids in France and, in particular, the woman mentioned as getting close to Daniel during his recuperation, again in France, never to be heard of again. I found some of the writing uncomfortable - the judging of Wendy's world went beyond the shame Cherry felt about her background. We seemed to be invited to look down on the families shopping at Tesco and someone who would look for her mother-of-the-bride outfit at Designers at Debenhams as I did . And I agree with others that Cherry would easily have found out the truth about the central lie in the story.

It was very readable, though, not too dark, and I enjoyed the final twist. She may not wish to answer my nosy question, but I'd like to ask the author what her own background is - Laura, Cherry, or somewhere in between?

I love a nosy question! My background is neither, although there are elements of Cherry’s childhood that I drew on from my own, for example when Cherry tells Daniel the story of being so mortified at being seen in the girl’s hand-me-downs she runs from sight and gets hit by a car. This did actually happen to me in that I was wearing a skirt and top combo that had
come from an older girl at school (who I didn’t really know that well). This girl saw me in the street and I was so embarrassed I ran into the road! Fortunately the car swerved to miss me!

GeminiJen

Thanks Gransnet and Michelle.
I enjoyed reading this book.
Unfortunately, it arrived later in the month than expected, after I’d left home on a two week break....so I ended up reading it today in one sitting in order to meet the end of March deadline for feedback.
That said, once started, I didn’t want to put it down. I found that the narrative cleverly drew me in from the outset, so that I quickly become engaged. The plot moves along at a good pace and the author maintains the momentum throughout the book in an enjoyable, unpredictable way. I liked the way the atmosphere of suspicion, tension and menace was gradually built up. Also the fact that both Laura and Cherry are well drawn characters, both believable, both flawed. And my heart went out to Wendy, Cherry’s mother.
I was surprised to read that this was a first novel for the author, it was so well written. Michelle's background in television drama has resulted in a very visual narrative. I had no difficulty seeing it all unfold in my imagination.
Hence my question: are there plans for a film or TV adaptation? I hope so!

Thank you so much for your kind words. Poor Wendy does get a very rough time but it was always very important to me that she stood up for herself at the end. Although Cherry is ashamed of her, Wendy has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of – and in fact it’s Cherry who has brought shame into their family with her obsessive behaviour. I love the moment where Wendy actually has the courage to tell her daughter this. And yes! See above, the book has been optioned for film adaptation.

bookiemad15

I did enjoy this book despite the fact that both female protagonists are quite unlikeable - it was interesting to see how far both of them would go. It was a bit like a train crash as you know there isn't going to be a happy ending but you carry on helplessly waiting to see what happens.
It's an easy to read book with lovely descriptions of France and the uber-rich. it really flows and is easy to imagine as a film. I just wonder where the author found her inspiration for the mother and girlfriend?

Thank you so much. I’ve written something about the inspiration for the book above but the two main characters are completely fictitious. Once they started to come alive, the main thing for me was to keep sight of the sympathies with both – each has a valid argument. Sadly, with the combination of each of their individual backgrounds and the situation they now find themselves in, mixed in with the paranoia and nerves, things start unravelling quite quickly. I would try and put myself in their shoes and consider the levels of hurt and / or desperation they would feel and this would lead me to think what action they would take next in the story.

Gagagran

I think all we Mothers of sons could relate to Laura and her difficulty in the thought of "losing" him to another woman even though she tried hard to suppress that and to be welcoming and she was looking forward to being a friend to Cherry. Initially, that is, but as soon as she sussed out Cherry as being devious and manipulative, her tiger mother instincts came to the fore.

I thought this book was a page-turner easy-read and I that the characters of Laura and Daniel were well drawn.

I wonder if Michelle has ever come across a character like Cherry in real life or if she is purely a figment of her imagination?

Cherry is completely fictitious! I’ve not met anyone who’s deliberately engineered a situation in order to meet a wealthy man, nor anyone who’s gone to such extremes to hang onto one.

Gagagran

I think all we Mothers of sons could relate to Laura and her difficulty in the thought of "losing" him to another woman even though she tried hard to suppress that and to be welcoming and she was looking forward to being a friend to Cherry. Initially, that is, but as soon as she sussed out Cherry as being devious and manipulative, her tiger mother instincts came to the fore.

I thought this book was a page-turner easy-read and I that the characters of Laura and Daniel were well drawn.

I wonder if Michelle has ever come across a character like Cherry in real life or if she is purely a figment of her imagination?

I do find it interesting thinking about how far a mother will go to protect her child and I would continually question myself on this in relation to Laura as I was writing the book. We’re all familiar with mothers protecting young children who are defenceless, but I was interested in the lengths Laura goes to in order to oust Cherry from grown-up Daniel’s life. I think that if you know that someone is bad news – and has practically admitted this – even if you are the non-interfering type – how could you just sit back and watch it happen? I felt that any mother wouldn’t be able to do that, it would nag away at you and Laura already feels as if she’s failed her first child, so she’d be even less likely to just watch Cherry get with Daniel primarily because of his money.

annemac101

I couldn't put this book down. At first I felt sorry for Cherry then It thought the she was the type of person who would never be happy no matter what. I liked Laura and really felt for her throughout the book although I do know she didn't do the right thing.
The suspense kept going and I never quite knew what to expect next. I think this book would make a great one off tv drama and would like to ask the author if there is a chance of that happening. This book will do so well during the summer as a holiday read and you won't be falling asleep on your sunbed reading it either. Thanks for the copy gransnet.

Thank you so much for your kind comments and I’m really glad you enjoyed the book. It’s been optioned by Andy Serkis’ The Imaginarium for adaptation for film.

trisher

Of the two characters, Laura and Cherry I think Cherry actually came across as the more likeable. Yes she was a fortune hunter and hunting a man to look after her, but she was aware of this and she intended to make a bargain and stick to it. I thought Laura had very similar motivation but seemed unaware that she was in a similar situation, married to a man who didn't love her, fully conscious of this but wanting the lifestyle his money bought her. I wondered if the writer had met women who were like this.

This is a really interesting observation. I think that Laura could probably support herself if she decided to leave and I’m not sure she’s that set on clinging to the lifestyle Howard’s salary gives her but she’s lost and lonely and it’s a fear of stepping into the unknown, of rocking her already shaky boat still further that probably stops her from leaving. There are other
elements of hypocrisy in the book that I find interesting – Cherry for example feeling as if Laura is being snobby towards her and keeping her away because she’s not ‘one of them’ (which isn’t actually true) and yet Cherry is perhaps the biggest snob as she cannot bear to follow a life similar to her mother’s – but she doesn’t appear to be aware of her own hypocrisy. I can’t say I’ve met anyone who’s stayed in an unhappy marriage in order to
maintain a certain lifestyle!

rocketstop

I liked this book.there were quite a few different undercurrents running through it, and each character had their own flaw.There was a lot of co dependency happening and this obviously happens in real life too.
I like that Cherry and Laura both were not bad through and through, just in parts and I wondered if Michelle wanted us to feel sympathetic in any way to them or to despise them for their acts ? Neither started off totally bad, but both ended up that way, and both lost something along the way.Daniel seemed to lose out most of all, yes he had his money and his background to fall back on, but I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.I liked Michelle's description, and I too could feel the sunshine at the house in France, I just bet the author went there..purely for research purposes of course !!

I enjoyed reading the book, thank you Michelle.

I find it hard to despise either of them – particularly in the beginning. I want to shake Cherry and tell her to relax right at the start of the book and stop worrying so much! It’s sad really, she genuinely cares for Daniel (even though she does also like his money) and if she’d just stopped fretting about what Laura thought of her things might have worked out very differently. And Laura does the most awful thing but she has been told by the doctors that
Daniel has days – possibly hours – to live, and I can’t help but understand her actions as she’s about to lose her second – and only remaining – child. Both women have moments of possession and jealously and they are ugly, dangerous emotions that make them do despicable things. But as people I feel sorry for them both in many ways.

As a child we would go on holiday every other year to the South of France. My parents would save up and we would take the car on the train and then camp in a small town south of St Tropez. I remember being dragged around the famous town whilst my parents read all the menus placed outside restaurants, but we couldn’t afford to eat in them, we’d end up going to
a less-glitzy town instead! The memories of the area have stayed with me to this day, it’s so beautiful and in particular the scent of pine trees in the sun will take me right back there.

Waveney

I am sorry to say I didn't really enjoy this book. It is very dark, and I found myself racing to get to the end so that I could read something lighter in tone. It did rather remind me of a television serial ( it would work well as one). The most sympathetic character, I felt, was Cherry's mum, Wendy. I would like to ask the author whether any real events prompted her to write this story.

See above! There are other more detailed real events that influence the story – I read a fascinating article in the Guardian newspaper about the extraordinary underground extensions going on in London and couldn’t quite believe how luxurious, deep and disruptive they can be. Also, I remember hearing a radio programme about the difficulties some women were having with their new daughters-in- law and one story particularly affected me. A heart-broken woman had phoned in and was in tears speaking of how she was excluded to the extent she hadn’t even known her son and his new wife had had not one, but two children. She had discovered that her grandchildren existed by accident.

cornergran

I found this an easy book to finish. I became interested in the characters, speculated to myself on their histories and motivations as the dynamic evolved. I agree it would make a tv series. I would be interested to know more about the inspiration for this book.

Hi, thank you for your question. The book really started with the lie in the middle of the novel, which is completely made up but then I began to think: what might be a valid situation where a mother would not want her son going out with a particular girl? I was reminded of a conversation I’d had with a (happily married) colleague at work some years before who’d jokingly said if she had her time again, she’d spend all her money on a Chanel handbag and go and hang out at the rowing clubs in places like Richmond and catch herself a wealthy man. It was a joke but it made me think… People do say you fall for those who are around you so if you deliberately place yourself somewhere where there are wealthy people – what’s the difference between falling in love with someone rich, instead of staying in a less-affluent area and falling in love with someone poor? And then Cherry started to come alive, she’s smart, she’s lonely and she’s desperate to get out of her situation and so she comes up with her idea to work in the estate agent.

Wow - if this is Michelle's debut novel, I can't wait for the 2nd! I really enjoyed this psychological thriller - was waiting around in hospital for 2 days so managed to read it in 2 goes. Meet the Mother in law from hell who is jealous of her son's girlfriend. It is an easy read but I found it gripping - with poor Daniel, the son, stuck in the middle of a doting Mother and a new girlfriend. Thoroughly recommend.

Ok here's another one- Does she really think that most men are as easily manipulated and as useless (apart from earning lots of money) as Daniel and Howard are?

Yes, I enjoyed this book, but with one or two reservations. The two main female characters and Howard were all so unlovable, I really didn't care what happened to them, though I liked both Daniel and Wendy. Some minor characters seemed to be introduced then fade out, serving no particular purpose: the rich kids in France and, in particular, the woman mentioned as getting close to Daniel during his recuperation, again in France, never to be heard of again. I found some of the writing uncomfortable - the judging of Wendy's world went beyond the shame Cherry felt about her background. We seemed to be invited to look down on the families shopping at Tesco and someone who would look for her mother-of-the-bride outfit at Designers at Debenhams as I did . And I agree with others that Cherry would easily have found out the truth about the central lie in the story.

It was very readable, though, not too dark, and I enjoyed the final twist. She may not wish to answer my nosy question, but I'd like to ask the author what her own background is - Laura, Cherry, or somewhere in between?

Pacy, tight writing and the descriptions of Cherry and Laura matched their personalities. I found the plot believable and felt torn between Cherry amd Laura for quite a while. The ending was actually quite satisfying in a way. Cherry's background explained so much about her and that Mother-Son bond was almost too much to bear. A great page turner.

Thanks Gransnet and Michelle.
I enjoyed reading this book.
Unfortunately, it arrived later in the month than expected, after I’d left home on a two week break....so I ended up reading it today in one sitting in order to meet the end of March deadline for feedback.
That said, once started, I didn’t want to put it down. I found that the narrative cleverly drew me in from the outset, so that I quickly become engaged. The plot moves along at a good pace and the author maintains the momentum throughout the book in an enjoyable, unpredictable way. I liked the way the atmosphere of suspicion, tension and menace was gradually built up. Also the fact that both Laura and Cherry are well drawn characters, both believable, both flawed. And my heart went out to Wendy, Cherry’s mother.
I was surprised to read that this was a first novel for the author, it was so well written. Michelle's background in television drama has resulted in a very visual narrative. I had no difficulty seeing it all unfold in my imagination.
Hence my question: are there plans for a film or TV adaptation? I hope so!

I did enjoy this book despite the fact that both female protagonists are quite unlikeable - it was interesting to see how far both of them would go. It was a bit like a train crash as you know there isn't going to be a happy ending but you carry on helplessly waiting to see what happens.
It's an easy to read book with lovely descriptions of France and the uber-rich. it really flows and is easy to imagine as a film. I just wonder where the author found her inspiration for the mother and girlfriend?

This was a real page turner, I read it in about four sittings which is exceptional for me.
I found Laura a bit over the top, to the point where I began to loose sympathy with her character.
It was a good read, I think it would translate well to tv, it certainly had me taking a sharp intake of breath from time to time.
Thanks Gransnet and Michelle!

Maybe not the right thread for this. There are a lot of others about Crime novels and What are you reading?. If you haven't read Ruth Rendell she's the queen of the psychological thriller

I enjoyed the book too trisher but admit it was a bit 'tame'. I would love you to recommend some others please.

obag "one of the best" I can recommend some much better ones if you want.