Clever Girl (P.S.)

by Tessa Hadley

The fifth novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Free Love, The Past and Late in the Day, Clever Girl is a tale of an ordinary life made extraordinary by the gifts of Tessa Hadley.

Stella was a clever girl, everyone thought so.

Living with her mother and rather unsatisfactory stepfather in suburban respectability she reads voraciously, smokes until her voice is hoarse and dreams of a less ordinary life. When she meets Val, he seems to her to embody everything she longs for - glamour, ideas, excitement and the thrill of the unknown. But these things come at a price and one that Stella despite all her cleverness doesn't realise until it is too late.

'Tessa Hadley writes like a dream' Daily Mail

• ISBN10: 0099570521
• ISBN13: 9780099570523
• Publish Date: 6 March 2014 (first published 2 May 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Vintage
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/isbn/9780099570523

Reviews

[lovelybookshelf]

Originally posted on my blog, A Lovely Bookshelf on the Wall:

Clever Girl follows the life of Stella, the daughter of a single mother, from her childhood through middle age.

The writing is spectacular. Hadley's prose made me feel as if I could see Stella's history and her current life all at once: Stella as the young girl I met at the beginning of the novel, and at the same time, Stella as the adult narrator, a mother with two children.

However, I had issues with Stella's relationship with her mother and stepfather, as well as her connection to a creepy teacher who turns into a dear friend. The dynamic between Stella and these characters shifted suddenly and without much (if any) explanation. I had trouble believing or understanding these shifts; a bit more detail would have remedied that.

This novel has a definite sense of ennui throughout, which may not be appealing to some readers. There is plenty of drama in Stella's life, but plenty of ordinary as well. I think readers who enjoy character-driven novels (I couldn't help but think of Meg Wolitzer's The Interestings) will enjoy Clever Girl.

3 1/2 stars.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.