Joséphine
Written on Aug 9, 2018
Initial thoughts: "Adventures of an Impulsive Landlady" would've been a more fitting subtitle for Tenemental. After all, Warner chose to buy that house on Rhode Island and she made those mortgage calls out of her own volition. That aside, she had no clue what she was getting herself into, so maybe in that regard, she could be compared to a reluctant landlady.
Tenemental chronicles her first decade as a landlady, how she stumbled into it, the hardships she faced, and the tenants she's had to deal with during that time. I enjoyed her wry self-reflection and her honest admission to not always thinking things through. She knew she didn't always make the most sensible decisions but she took that in her stride while still growing.
As much as she prized making friends with her tenants, she also realised the importance of being firm. She learnt to be the boss of largely men in her house and also took on sudden responsibilities land lording flung her way. She didn't have any ambitions to build a real estate empire but she still relished the power that came with being a tenemental landlady. That candour and self-awareness translated well into the audiobook and kept me entertained this public holiday afternoon.