Why Do We Have To Live With Men?

by Bernadette Strachan

[Leah]

When Cat O'Connor finds out that her lover of four years is married, with a pregnant wife no less, and ends up losing her job over it, she no longer knows how her life is going to pan out. Until one of her best friends Germaine decides to set up an experiment: a group of women will rent a house in the countryside and spend six months without men. It's perfect; all the cleaning done without complaint, no wet towels left on the floor or the bed, and being able to talk about feelings without worrying. And while everything goes to plan for a short while, it isn't long before Cat and everyone else involved in the commune, realises that women aren't exactly perfect either.

I've previously read two books by Bernadette Strachan - Handbags and Halos and Diamonds and Daisies - and I thoroughly enjoyed both books. I thought Bernadette had a very distinctive writing style and I looked forward to getting myself the rest of her novels. When I received a proof copy of her latest book Why Do We Have To Live With Men? I was intrigued because the plot line was something I had never heard of before. So one weekend, I decided it was exactly what I wanted to read and I was pleased with the read I got.

The question 'why do we have to live with men?' is probably one a lot of women find themselves asking every now and again, and one Cat O'Connor finds herself asking many a time during the nights she spends drinking wine with best friends Germaine, Mary and Jozette as they each share their horror stories about men. After all declaring that it would be fantastic to share a house together without men, Germaine decides to do something about it and rents a house in the countryside for six months. Cat is reluctant at first to do it, until she finds out her lover, Hugh, is married with a pregnant wife and ends up out of a job, and she realises that she needs to get away. So Germaine, Cat and Mary set off for Lyme Regis along with three other women destined to spend six months sans men.

The plot of Why Do We Have To Live With Men? is one of the uniquest I've ever come across and I think Bernadette Strachan pulled it off with aplomb. Each of the women - Germaine, Mary, Cat, Lucy, Antonia, and Sarge - have their reasons for giving up men and for a little while, as they all settle into the house and life without men, all goes well. There's home-cooked food on the table, the chores are done in an orderly fashion (thanks to Sarge) and there are no towels or anything left anywhere except the bathroom. Of course, such happiness and what not doesn't last forever and it's interesting to see how the women split up into their small groups and how the relationships develop. We also have the addition of two extra women as the book progress, Beulah, an elderly lady, as well as Jozette, Cat, Mary and Germy's friend. It's an interesting mix of people and it was interesting to learn their reasons for being there via Germy's group therapy.

Of all the characters Cat is probably our main character as a page doesn't pass without her in it, but each of the women make their own impact on the book. I liked Cat, but I didn't love her. I found her fixation with Hugh annoying despite the fact he lied to her and had a pregnant wife. I wanted to hit her over the head and give her a shake to make her wake up and smell the coffee. Apart from that, though, she was a great character and she definitely helped to keep the group centered. Mary, Jozette and Germy were all great, too. There were moments when I didn't like Mary, in particular at the end of the book, but on the whole she was OK. Jozette and Germy, as I said, were great and the dynamic of the four was a great one. As for Lucy, Antonia, Sarge and Beulah, I found them all incredibly interesting. Beulah was by far my favourite, she was a fully grown woman but seemed so, so vulnerable and I really admired her. I thought Lucy was the most interesting, she was snipe-y and short with everyone but there was more to her than meets the eye. The same could be said for Antonia but for completely different reasons. She really surprised me, did Antonia. As for Sarge, I was rather bemused by her. Despite so many different characters to keep up with I found it incredibly easy as they were all so different from each other!

I thought Why Do We Have To Live With Men? was very well written. Berndette, as I've said, has a very distinct writing style and it definitely sets her apart from a lot of Chick Lit writers. She's a great story-teller and I could barely put the book down. As well as making all of the female characters real, she also carried that on with Dave, the female pig! I've never gotten so attached to a fictional pig before! Despite the book being about a group of women, there is some romance which I thought was very well done and introducing Will the vet was great as he seemed like a fantastic character. Bernadette covers many topics throughout the book, most of them quite hard-hitting, and the book really made an impression of me. I did have a few niggles, Cat's obsession with Hugh, and I did think there could have been an Epilogue at the end set a year in the future to let us know how everyone had gotten on. There's definite sequel potential if Bernadette ever wanted to go down that route. I hugely recommend Why Do We Have To Live With Men?, it's one that will have women everywhere nodding their heads in agreement.