Leah
Written on Apr 30, 2011
I’m no secret that I’m a huge Mike Gayle fan. I’ve read all of his novels, except for The Life and Soul of the Party and I’ve enjoyed them all except for Wish You Were Here. Dinner For Two is my personal favourite and I see a new Mike Gayle to be a brilliant thing because his books are just so easy to get into. And because he’s a man, he offers a different kind of Chick Lit. He offers it from a lads perspective and like Matt Dunn that gives them a bit of an original edge because they’re the only two male Chick Lit authors I know of. I was very pleased to receive a paperback copy of Mike’s latest book The Importance of Being A Bachelor in the mail back in February and although it’s taken me until April to read it, it was a thoroughly entertaining read.
Whereas Mike’s earlier novels seemed to focus on just one man, his later books have widened the scope a little bit and they focus on multiple characters. The Importance of Being A Bachelor focuses on the Bachelor family. There’s Joan and George, who have been married almost forty years and their three kids Adam, Luke and Russell. The family are close, with the boys spending each Sunday at their family home having a Sunday roast. So when George and Joan split up the boys are in turmoil. Sure they’re all in their thirties now (or almost in Russ’s case) but the shock of the split sends shockwaves through their own lives. I thought the plot was a very relevant one, because really, when your parents have been together a whopping (almost) forty years, it does come as a bit of a surprise. And despite how old the boys are, I could understand their confusion and resentment of knowing their parents marriage isn’t as perfect as they all thought.
The books main focus is relationships. The Bachelors relationship as a family, the lads are forced to confront just how little they knew of their father as they find themselves having to accept him into their home. And the Bachelor boys have to confront their own relationships. Luke’s not only with his girlfriend Cass but with his long-gone ex Jayne who took his daughter away. Adam is the perennial bachelor, by name and nature, dating supermodels rather than anyone with substance. And the baby of the family, Russ, has to deal with his unrequited love. I thought each separate issue was equally absorbing, and it set the lads apart easily. I liked how the lads had to deal with their parents breaking up and I thought Mike Gayle did that in a very realistic way.
I thoroughly enjoyed all of the characters. Because Mike is a man, he taps into the psyche of a man very easily and it’s brilliant getting a story from the man’s point of view for a change. My favourite of the Bachelor brothers was probably Russell, I felt so much sympathy for him over the love he had that he could never admit to and I really got myself attached to him. I also loved Adam, too, he’s the definition of man-about-town until a conversation with his mates about who will get married next forces him to confront his own dating issues. Luke was my least favourite brother, I don’t know why, he wasn’t terrible, but I wasn’t as invested in him as I was his brothers. I also really felt for George and Joan, it’s clear that despite the breakdown of their relationship, they do love each other and the revelations surprised me. What I think Mike does best though, is the way he writes his female characters. I loved Angie, Russ’s best friend, Cass, Luke’s girlfriend, and Steph, the girl Adam meets. They were all strong, confident(ish) females, and I loved all three of them.
Mike Gayle is a brilliant storyteller. After the so-so Wish You Were Here, which was the last Mike Gayle book I read, The Importance of Being A Bachelor is a triumphant return to form. The story itself was wonderful and I adored the characters. I really felt into the story and I breezed through it whilst watching the football on a Saturday afternoon. I can’t wait for Mike’s next novel and I’m gutted we have to wait until 2012 as he scrapped Turning Forty as he wasn’t happy with it, but I’m sure The Hen and Stag Weekend will be a fab read and will be worth the way. It’s a brilliantly written novel, Mike’s writing style is seems just so relaxed and I always find it a pleasure to read one of his novels because the book just flows so smoothly. I would very much recommend picking up The Importance of Being A Bachelor, it was a brilliant read and I didn’t have any faults with it at all. It was just plain brilliant.