April 2021
The funny thing about Norman Foreman by Julietta Henderson
With his mum Sadie he travels from Cornwall to Edinburgh to perform (hopefully) at the Fringe Festival and fulfil part of his 5 year plan with Jax.
The other part of his plan is to find his father.
Sadie's elderly work mate Leonard has taken all the community college courses anyone could need to help them. He's a whiz at making a Facebook fan page, using google maps and searching the net for lost fathers. In his vintage Austin Maxi they set off to finish what Jax and Norman started.
This is a debut novel for the author and the funny thing is, while the feel of the story is nostalgic, quirky English, surprisingly she's from north Queensland. It turns out she lived in the U.K. for 10 years, which explains the very Englishness.
The book's an easy and funny read.
Margaret describing as a tra la la la book, which is spot on. It has serious moments but doesn't leave you disturbed.
Megan liked Norman, and other stuff also noting that the many references to Dave Allen and Morecambe and Wise, the book might be targeted at English and probably older readers.
Phil liked the first four pages the best, and felt it should be classified as a teen book rather than adult fiction. I was originally surprised that it wasn't, but after reading it I think it crosses both.
It made Deb laugh, she loved the growth of the characters throughout the journey and the wisdom in so many quotes. She also noted the opening of the book, Sadie being born with all her insides out, and questioned what meaning that had for the story.
Scores:
Anna 7
Deb 9
Margaret 7
Megan 7
Phil 5
