After the Party

by Lisa Jewell

[Leah]

It’s been eleven years since Ralph McLeary and Jem Catterick first got together and everyone, including themselves, thought their relationship would last forever. Life hasn’t turned out that way though and as a flat has turned into a house and their family has expanded to four, it seems that Ralph and Jem are drifting apart. As Ralph tries to get over his feelings of helplessness and Jem tries to remember who she was before the children came along, they both try to figure out how to recapture their love for each other. Is it too late for Ralph and Jem or is still possible for them to have their happy ever after everyone expected of them?

I am a huge fan of Lisa Jewell and have loved most of her novels that I’ve read. Ralph’s Party was amongst those and I really enjoyed it. I’ve also read ThirtyNothing and One Hit Wonder before getting a hold of Lisa’s latest The Truth About Melody Browne late last year. It seems that her writing has evolved so much since Ralph’s Party and The Truth About Melody Browne seemed so more mature than her earlier novels so when I heart Lisa was writing a sequel to Ralph’s Party – her debut! – I was thrilled because I’d loved Ralph and Jem first time around. After The Party appeared for pre-order on Bookdepository a few months ago and I placed my order for it. As soon as I saw it had been dispatched I eagerly awaited it, not wanting to start anything else for fear of it coming whilst I was half way through another book! It finally arrived and I eagerly started it.

It’s fair to say that After The Party is totally different to it’s prequel Ralph’s Party. It has a very different feel to it – as I mentioned, Lisa’s writing has evolved – and whereas Ralph’s Party featured six main characters (Ralph, Smith, Siobhan, Karl, Jem and Cheri), After The Party was mainly about Jem and Ralph. The book begins with a prologue, set in the present year, before being split into multiple parts set mainly in the year that causes Jem and Ralph to think about taking a break from each other until we ourselves come up to the breaking point in Jem and Ralph’s relationship. It wasn’t how I expected it to be but I was happily pleased with how it was all laid out.

After The Party isn’t exactly the happiest read you’ll ever encounter because for the majority of the book we see Jem and Ralph’s relationship disintegrate and, believe me, it isn’t particularly pretty. There’s no definitive starting point that marks the potential beginning of the end for Jem and Ralph, it just seems to be the way life has gone for them. They have two children – the ever lovely Scarlett and Blake – and the change in dynamics that came with having children weren’t what Jem or Ralph expected. Up until Jem and Ralph had kids, they were solely focused on each other (as you’d expect) and after having kids, their focuses changed and Ralph ended up feeling left out whereas Jem felt as if she was losing her real self – the carefree and younger version of herself.

Ralph decides to take a holiday to California to see his best mate Smith and Jem begrudgingly lets him go. Out in California, Ralph seems to find himself, with a little help from Smith’s girlfriend Rosey, and appears to have found a new lease of life. Meanwhile Jem is stuck at home alone and finding that, actually, she’s kind of enjoying it. It’s helped that she appears to have a new friend in single dad Joel – but is that all there is to it? Ralph comes back from California determined to help Jem out more with the kids but Jem is pre-occupied with thoughts of Joel and it appears that Jem and Ralph, instead of becoming closer, are moving further and further apart.

Because I didn’t read Ralph’s Party before reading After The Party, I can’t particularly say if Jem and Ralph are the same in the sequel as they were in the prequel. It’s been such a long time that I simply can’t remember their character traits. Both Ralph and Jem have obviously grown up though in the years since we left Ralph’s Party. I admit that I really liked both Ralph and Jem. Yes, they were a tad annoying at times – Ralph running off to California, for one, and Jem getting a bit gooey over Joel another – but it’s obvious to see that they both still love each other, it’s just that they don’t talk about anything. Ever. It seems that, for the most point, that a good banging together of heads may have sorted a lot out. (It wouldn’t have been as good a book, admittedly.) Jem and Ralph are the only recurring characters in the book – the rest seem to flit in and out at will: Lulu, Jem’s sister, Joel, the single dad Jem befriends, Smith and Rosey, Ralph’s best friend and Smith’s girlfriend, a few of the characters from Ralph’s Party appear but not in any real way and only fleetingly.

After The Party is an incredibly emotional read because it’s clear that Ralph and Jem belong together no matter what so to see their relationship self-destruct is horrible to read. I wanted to shake them both and tell them to stop being so silly. I rarely get so involved with characters but with Jem and Ralph I just couldn’t get enough. It helps that Lisa Jewell gives us both Ralph and Jem’s point of view, making for a very fair view of their relationship. Lisa Jewell really is a fantastic writer because, to be blunt, After The Party isn’t your usual boy-meets-girl-they-fall-in-love affair, After The Party is about what it’s like after being together for a huge amount of time and all the troubles a modern couple face these days. It was a very turbulent year in the life of Jem and Ralph and I really didn’t know how it would end.

I really loved reading After The Party. At 450 pages, it’s a fantastic book to sink your teeth into and it never gets dull, each page was not exactly a pleasure to read but it sure was addicting. My only complaint if the lack of Siobhan. I loved her in Ralph’s Party and she was only mentioned once, fleetingly and I thought that was rather disappointing but I could understand why, Ralph and Jem were the focus here, not the other (former) residents of 31 Almanac Road. After The Party really was a great read and I hugely recommend it. It’s not even really necessary to read Ralph’s Party beforehand as everything is explained very well. Hugely recommended.