Review copy provided by the publisher
Mhairi McFarlane’s DON’T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME is hilarious, insightful, and a perfect example of next generation contemporary fiction (you might call it women’s fiction or chick-lit, I won’t). And it evolves the genre with laugh-out-loud humor and a keen eye on women’s lives in 2019.
If you loved Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s show Fleabag, read DON’T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME. For me, Georgina Horspool has more in common with Fleabag than characters from authors like Sophie Kinsella, Helen Fielding or Jojo Moyes. At 30, she’s still trying to get her life on track. She’s waiting tables and quickly gets fired from what might be the worst Italian restaurant in her town. Her boyfriend is a cheating narcissist comedian, and she has a tenuous relationship with her sister, not unlike Fleabag. The saving grace is that Georgina has a great group of friends who support her totally.
One of the things I loved about Don’t You Forget About Me is that Georgina rolls with the punches. She’s wry and self-deprecating (sometimes to the point where she doesn’t give herself enough credit) and there is no whinging about adulting. I repeat, there is NO WHINGING ABOUT ADULTING! Hurrah!!!
After getting fired from the resto, she falls into a bartending job at a new pub and discovers one of the owners happens to be her first love, Lucas. But 13 years on, he doesn’t seem to recognize her. The pub becomes the backdrop for so many funny-as-hell moments (all I’ll say is: bachelorette party).
But Don’t You Forget About Me isn’t all laughs. As McFarlane moves Georgina’s story forward, we get a view into her coping mechanisms, her past, her relationship with her parents/step-parent and even how she ended up with a cheating boyfriend. It also delves into some pretty serious stuff around psychological abuse and sexual assault, though it leaves them somewhat unresolved.
I adored DON’T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME. If Georgina is an example of what’s to come in the genre, we’re in for some good reads.
DON’T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME hits shelves September 10, 2019.
Get it at The Ripped Bodice | Amazon
