Domestic Violets

by Matthew Norman

[Leah]

The Violet family are like any other family – they’re somewhat dysfunctional. At the head of the Violet family, there’s Tom. Tom has what you would think is the perfect life – a job, a lovely wife, a beautiful daughter, an anxious dog – but somewhere along the way, Tom’s life became something else. It became mundane. He had dreams, when he was younger. Dreams to be a writer. The only problem is, if Tom Violet ever did publish a novel, he’d have to put up with the stigma of being Curtis Violet’s son. Curtis Violet, the great American novelist, who has just won the Pulitzer Prize for his latest book. So it’s somewhat understandable that Tom isn’t performing in any way, shape or form. But when the going gets tough, can the Violets pull their way out of it, or is Tom destined to live a mundane life forever?

The premise of Matthew Norman’s debut novel Domestic Violets is an interesting one. It’s one that’s been done a few times before, sure, but there’s a little added something to it that makes it stand out. Male Chick Lit novels are rare – in fact, you can count on two hands and still have fingers left with how many male Chick Lit writers there are – but it isn’t just because Matthew Norman and Tom Violet are both men that make the novel unique (although, admittedly, it helps and it does indeed make a nice change to hear from the men in a marriage for a change!), it’s the fact that the book doesn’t beat around the bush. Fact is, women spend a lot of time thinking. Or, over-thinking, as the case may be, and so some Chick Lit novels spend a lot of time simply pondering. Which is cool, don’t get me wrong; but y’know, it’s nice to just get to the point once in a while and Domestic Violets does that. It gets to the point. Maybe it is a man thing, then…

Tom Violet does spend lots of time thinking and his inner monologue is awesome (particularly the HR comments), but there’s a sense that Tom Violet gets things done. Maybe not in a roundabout sense (ie. things need to happen to him first to get him to react) but they get done. Things happen, and the novel just flies by. The characters help that massively. Tom’s inner monologue, speeds the process up no end because he’s witty and self-deprecating, but the book isn’t just about Tom. It’s about the whole, entire Violet family. His wife, Anna, for instance. His dad, the ever-present Curtis Violet. His step-dad, Gary. Heck, even the dog adds to the novel! I can’t necessarily explain why I loved the book so much, but it was just like there was some kind of spark there, that kept me hooked, kept me wanting to see just what Tom or Curtis or even Anna would do next. To wonder what Tom was going to do about Katie (oh, Katie! I loved Katie), to see if Tom could somehow get his life back on track even though there wasn’t a clear point, a clear reason as to how it had gotten off track in the first place (like I said, his life was seemingly perfect).

It wasn’t the kind of novel where there’s all kinds of crazy things that occur, I mean, crazy things did occur, but just because Tom felt his marriage was in trouble, he didn’t immediately put an end to it, he didn’t immediately push the self-destruct button. Y’know? It was a different kind of novel. Domestic Violets was just awesome. I mean, it’s hard to explain. Truly, it is. I feel like I haven’t really explained it well at all, but (thankfully) I do know what I’m trying to say (I know, at least one of us does, right?)… It had a brilliant, well-rounded feel to it. I found Tom fascinating, loved those all around him, and the best part was, I was never entirely sure what Tom would do next, never entirely sure what was going to be of the Violet family come the final page. I just let myself enjoy it and enjoy it I did. I admit, when I started the book I wasn’t sure what it was going to be like, but it hooked me somehow (I wasn’t even going to read it; I just wanted to see the first page, but I got hooked, which by the way, is an awesome thing to happen) and I’m glad I read it. It was massively enjoyable and, who knows? Maybe we’ll visit the Violet family again in a future Norman novel and, if not, that’s OK, too. This is a novel you should read, I mean the cover may not scream Chick Lit (but it’s still brilliant, the bright blue is just… wow, so eyecatching) and you may shield your eyes from a man writing Chick Lit (the horror!), but Domestic Violets is well worth your time and money.