What do you think?
Rate this book
Playing on Cotton Clouds
When arty Livy falls for her sister’s boyfriend, she knows her dreams are unlikely to come true… Sensitive Seth thinks he has hit the jackpot when the girl of his dreams finally looks his way… While laidback Aidan is every girl’s hero.
Fast forward twenty-five years as carefree youth turns into adulthood responsibilities, relationships begin and end, music and fashion change, and life moves on with its successes, failures and heartaches. As the friends grow up, they discover life rarely turns out the way you imagined it at fifteen.
The rites of passage through years are eerily familiar to every 1980s teenager in this moving, heartfelt novel.
Fast forward twenty-five years as carefree youth turns into adulthood responsibilities, relationships begin and end, music and fashion change, and life moves on with its successes, failures and heartaches. As the friends grow up, they discover life rarely turns out the way you imagined it at fifteen.
The rites of passage through years are eerily familiar to every 1980s teenager in this moving, heartfelt novel.
- GenresFiction
320 pages, Paperback
First published April 20, 2012
About the author
Michela Sacchi O'Brien
2 books25 followersMichela O'Brien was born in Milan, Italy, where she grew up, studied, worked as a teacher, made friends and wrote, commending thoughts to page, imagining plots and characters, recording events in her life, noting observations about the world: stories, diaries, letters... In an era before personal computers, internet, blogs and social networks, it was pen and paper and she still carries a notebook and a pencil with her to sketch ideas on the spot.
In the mid-nineties, she moved to England, and lives at the edge of the beautiful New Forest National Park with her husband and two sons. Here she teaches, works as an editor, enjoys some amateur photography, sings in a choir, listens to an awful lot of music, and of course continues to write.
She published her debut novel in English, "Playing on Cotton Clouds", in 2012 and soon followed it with "A Summer of Love".
Her greatest inspiration are ordinary people and real life stories and her novels centre on themes of friendship, love, coming of age and self discovery, human emotions and experiences to which everyone can relate.
Michela is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association.
In the mid-nineties, she moved to England, and lives at the edge of the beautiful New Forest National Park with her husband and two sons. Here she teaches, works as an editor, enjoys some amateur photography, sings in a choir, listens to an awful lot of music, and of course continues to write.
She published her debut novel in English, "Playing on Cotton Clouds", in 2012 and soon followed it with "A Summer of Love".
Her greatest inspiration are ordinary people and real life stories and her novels centre on themes of friendship, love, coming of age and self discovery, human emotions and experiences to which everyone can relate.
Michela is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
September 26, 2012
Playing on Cotton Clouds follows the ups and downs, joys and tragedies of a group of friends over a thirty year period from the late 1980s onwards. At the centre of the story, is the intense on-off relationship between two old school friends Aiden and Seth, and all of the characters,events and dramas that swing around and between them.
When I started reading Playing on Cotton Clouds, I didn't think I was going to like it. I thought it might be a little too soap opera-ish, too Hollyoaks for me. But a few pages in, I began to realise that Michela O Brien's carefully crafted and beautifully realised coming of (and to terms with) age novel had a great deal more to offer than my superficial first-impression.
This wonderful book is a highly engaging contemporary tale that captures the energy, excitement and tortured melodramas of young adult life. Authentic settings, a rich canvas of complex characters, razor sharp dialogues and a smart narrative structure combine to make Playing on Cotton Clouds a page-turning tour-de-force of a read. In a matter of minutes, I found myself completely hooked, journeying alongside Seth and Aiden on their roller coaster ride through life; learning, maturing, messing up, and all the while gaining and losing pieces of themselves along the way. And when I finished, I wanted to re-join the ride all over again, unwilling to leave my new found friends behind.
Playing on Cotton Clouds is a novel about growing up, about the loss of innocence and the corrosive effects of time and age on our ways of being. But at its heart, the novel is a story about the importance of holding on with both hands and for dear life to the only things that really matter; friendship, loyalty, and the love and support of those closest to us. A powerful and impressive debut!
When I started reading Playing on Cotton Clouds, I didn't think I was going to like it. I thought it might be a little too soap opera-ish, too Hollyoaks for me. But a few pages in, I began to realise that Michela O Brien's carefully crafted and beautifully realised coming of (and to terms with) age novel had a great deal more to offer than my superficial first-impression.
This wonderful book is a highly engaging contemporary tale that captures the energy, excitement and tortured melodramas of young adult life. Authentic settings, a rich canvas of complex characters, razor sharp dialogues and a smart narrative structure combine to make Playing on Cotton Clouds a page-turning tour-de-force of a read. In a matter of minutes, I found myself completely hooked, journeying alongside Seth and Aiden on their roller coaster ride through life; learning, maturing, messing up, and all the while gaining and losing pieces of themselves along the way. And when I finished, I wanted to re-join the ride all over again, unwilling to leave my new found friends behind.
Playing on Cotton Clouds is a novel about growing up, about the loss of innocence and the corrosive effects of time and age on our ways of being. But at its heart, the novel is a story about the importance of holding on with both hands and for dear life to the only things that really matter; friendship, loyalty, and the love and support of those closest to us. A powerful and impressive debut!
December 16, 2012
I really hope this book doesn't get classified as "chick-lit" because it is so much more than that. I was astonished by how the author managed to write from so many different points of view. Each character was endearing in their own way (apart from a couple who I'd have cheerfully strangled but they were not meant to be sympathetic)
The clincher for me is if I care about what happens to the characters in a novel and with this one I did - I found myself mentally shouting at them to pull themselves together and open their eyes.
It deals with all the usual pains of growing up but covers other darker topics that a lesser author might not have dared. I haven't got a bad thing to say about this novel and can't wait to read more from this author.
The clincher for me is if I care about what happens to the characters in a novel and with this one I did - I found myself mentally shouting at them to pull themselves together and open their eyes.
It deals with all the usual pains of growing up but covers other darker topics that a lesser author might not have dared. I haven't got a bad thing to say about this novel and can't wait to read more from this author.
December 16, 2012
I loved reading this coming of age novel as it follows the lives of Aidan, Seth and Livy from their teens to maturity. At times heart-breaking, at others tinged with humour, I simply couldn’t put it down and read late into the night, desperate to see how the relationships played out.
The characters are all recognisable: people we could have known and loved ourselves as we grew up. In fact, I felt as if I did know them and wanted the best for them. Events towards the end moved me to tears.
Lovely, lovely, lovely book I’ll read again and again.
The characters are all recognisable: people we could have known and loved ourselves as we grew up. In fact, I felt as if I did know them and wanted the best for them. Events towards the end moved me to tears.
Lovely, lovely, lovely book I’ll read again and again.
June 2, 2013
I read this book in less than 48 hours, which I think says it all! It has all you need to enjoy a good story; humour, romance, sadness. The writing style is brilliant, keeping you interested in the lives of the three central characters; Aiden, Seth and Livy, following their lives from their teen years in the 80's through heartache, love, loss, travel, despair, children and more to their forties in the present day. It's intelligent, poignant and deals with issues such as social class, depression and love with wisdom. Beautifully well written, and one of those books you're sad to finish.
June 11, 2012
Where to start? This is a story of a group of people, their lives, loves and downfalls. It starts on a bridge which divides the rich and poor but it grows into so much more. Each character shows their soul through out the story, sharing their passion in a way that hits you hard. There is friendship born and lost, yet found again.
Couldn't get enough of this book, bloody brilliant!!
Couldn't get enough of this book, bloody brilliant!!
June 3, 2013
I started this book thinking it would be a little light relief from some of the heavier books I've read lately; I was almost expecting chick lit. As I read, I realised it was so much more than this. It's a beautifully told story that spans 30 years in the life of a group of friends. Themes such as love, friendship, class, depression, and family are explored sensitively and in a way that shows how perceptive and observant O'Brien has been of the world around her.
Each character is so well developed, you do truly feel as if they're your friends and it's impossible not to fall in love with each and every one of them. You are completely emotionally invested in their stories and towards the end I'll be very surprised if you don't end up shedding a few tears (tip: don't read this on public transport!).
In fact you are so invested that I'd say the only downside to this book is that sometimes you'll be just on the edge of wanting to know where this particular storyline will go and what will happen next, when a few years a fast forwarded and we're in the middle of another scenario. However, I completely understand why the story was told in this way. It was great to sort of see a scene through the fog at first then suddenly the familiar details came through, the puzzle was put together, missing pieces were explained without having to be laboriously told in detail.
I love that this story was told over such a long length of time. The characters grew and changed with their experiences and suffered many a setback beyond the way, instead of neatly tying everything up in such a short time frame as most books do. Real life isn't like that and you are much more likely to go from one relationship to the next, through plenty of setbacks and actually everything doesn't always turn out perfect for everyone. You have to kiss a lot of frogs I'm afraid!
The whole story is very well written and the ending was a wonderful way to say goodbye to the characters you have grown to love. This book would be perfect for adapting into a long running TV drama series.
Each character is so well developed, you do truly feel as if they're your friends and it's impossible not to fall in love with each and every one of them. You are completely emotionally invested in their stories and towards the end I'll be very surprised if you don't end up shedding a few tears (tip: don't read this on public transport!).
In fact you are so invested that I'd say the only downside to this book is that sometimes you'll be just on the edge of wanting to know where this particular storyline will go and what will happen next, when a few years a fast forwarded and we're in the middle of another scenario. However, I completely understand why the story was told in this way. It was great to sort of see a scene through the fog at first then suddenly the familiar details came through, the puzzle was put together, missing pieces were explained without having to be laboriously told in detail.
I love that this story was told over such a long length of time. The characters grew and changed with their experiences and suffered many a setback beyond the way, instead of neatly tying everything up in such a short time frame as most books do. Real life isn't like that and you are much more likely to go from one relationship to the next, through plenty of setbacks and actually everything doesn't always turn out perfect for everyone. You have to kiss a lot of frogs I'm afraid!
The whole story is very well written and the ending was a wonderful way to say goodbye to the characters you have grown to love. This book would be perfect for adapting into a long running TV drama series.
July 5, 2012
A friend of mine recommended the book to me and I'm so glad she did because I really enjoyed it. I've got a list of things to do as long as my arm at the moment, but I forsook them all on Sunday to read this novel from cover to cover, stopping only for essential things and then returning to my kindle to pick the tale up again from where I'd left off. Trust me that hadn't been the plan. So why was I so engrossed?
The book demanded it, because my heart got utterly caught up in the trials and tribulations of these beautifully realised characters with their flaws, dreams, hopes and loves. We meet them as teenagers in the 1980s congregating on a bridge connecting two halves of a town, the geeky girl, the shy boy, the princess, the heartthrob and we follow them through life on a unpredictable trajectory, this cast of characters who I could relate to for better or worse. And the cultural references made me smile. It's really clear the writer loves her music, I do too. This was my kind of tale! There were lovely turns of phrase which sometimes pleased me so much I re-read them again just to savour them. (Seth) `And so here he was, sewn into cousin Jess's refitted jeans, thick chestnut hair falling into his grey eyes, a few jingling coins and sixteen years in his pocket.'
The story isn't rushed, It unfolds gently at its own pace. I would have preferred it to move a little faster and some of the gaps in time left me forlorn for what I didn't know. I would happily have read a longer book and had less breaks in time. But as criticisms go, those are positive ones, more a reflection on the emotional connection I felt with the cast and wanting to know more about them. This is a read that stole my heart and didn't outstay its welcome. A very solid four stars from me. A really great debut.
The book demanded it, because my heart got utterly caught up in the trials and tribulations of these beautifully realised characters with their flaws, dreams, hopes and loves. We meet them as teenagers in the 1980s congregating on a bridge connecting two halves of a town, the geeky girl, the shy boy, the princess, the heartthrob and we follow them through life on a unpredictable trajectory, this cast of characters who I could relate to for better or worse. And the cultural references made me smile. It's really clear the writer loves her music, I do too. This was my kind of tale! There were lovely turns of phrase which sometimes pleased me so much I re-read them again just to savour them. (Seth) `And so here he was, sewn into cousin Jess's refitted jeans, thick chestnut hair falling into his grey eyes, a few jingling coins and sixteen years in his pocket.'
The story isn't rushed, It unfolds gently at its own pace. I would have preferred it to move a little faster and some of the gaps in time left me forlorn for what I didn't know. I would happily have read a longer book and had less breaks in time. But as criticisms go, those are positive ones, more a reflection on the emotional connection I felt with the cast and wanting to know more about them. This is a read that stole my heart and didn't outstay its welcome. A very solid four stars from me. A really great debut.
July 12, 2012
BETH'S REVIEW
Rarely does a work of fiction portray a generation accurately, but Michela O’Brien weaves twenty-five years of love, life, friendship, tragedy, and triumph seamlessly in one novel. PLAYING ON COTTON CLOUDS is a well-written novel chronicling the lives and inter-action of four people in England from their teen years in 1980’s England into their forties.
I appreciated the way O’Brien divided the novel by year. She made it easy to follow the passage of time as well as dropping the reader into the moment without pages of mindless set up. However, she didn’t allow the time factor to overshadow her strong characters. She used it as a simple backdrop for Livy, her sister, Aiden, and Seth to live out their lives.
Ms. O’Brien’s main characters are well-developed individuals. You feel each character’s joys and sorrows as they travel through time, the world, and life. She uses her characters to expose the issues of the times. Global awareness, drugs, sex, marriage, careers, children, illness, life, and death are all touched upon by the author. My only major complaint of PLAYING ON COTTON CLOUDS was that I felt short-changed by the amount of time I spent with each character. All of the major characters easily deserved their own novel so their stories could each be fleshed out.
One small warning to non-British readers. Ms. O’Brien uses large amounts of British slang in her dialog. While this makes sense, as her characters are British, it may be frustrating or confusing for those unfamiliar with the language. Having spent time in England, I found the need to stop twice and look up phrases. However, I could see this as a distraction to some readers.
As a teenager of the 80’s myself, I feel Michela O’Brian did a brilliant job of creating a time capsule that can be read as a reminder of how a generation lived with her novel, PLAYING ON COTTON CLOUDS.
Rarely does a work of fiction portray a generation accurately, but Michela O’Brien weaves twenty-five years of love, life, friendship, tragedy, and triumph seamlessly in one novel. PLAYING ON COTTON CLOUDS is a well-written novel chronicling the lives and inter-action of four people in England from their teen years in 1980’s England into their forties.
I appreciated the way O’Brien divided the novel by year. She made it easy to follow the passage of time as well as dropping the reader into the moment without pages of mindless set up. However, she didn’t allow the time factor to overshadow her strong characters. She used it as a simple backdrop for Livy, her sister, Aiden, and Seth to live out their lives.
Ms. O’Brien’s main characters are well-developed individuals. You feel each character’s joys and sorrows as they travel through time, the world, and life. She uses her characters to expose the issues of the times. Global awareness, drugs, sex, marriage, careers, children, illness, life, and death are all touched upon by the author. My only major complaint of PLAYING ON COTTON CLOUDS was that I felt short-changed by the amount of time I spent with each character. All of the major characters easily deserved their own novel so their stories could each be fleshed out.
One small warning to non-British readers. Ms. O’Brien uses large amounts of British slang in her dialog. While this makes sense, as her characters are British, it may be frustrating or confusing for those unfamiliar with the language. Having spent time in England, I found the need to stop twice and look up phrases. However, I could see this as a distraction to some readers.
As a teenager of the 80’s myself, I feel Michela O’Brian did a brilliant job of creating a time capsule that can be read as a reminder of how a generation lived with her novel, PLAYING ON COTTON CLOUDS.
January 14, 2014
Three friends are on the verge of adulthood. Aidan thinks life’s great because every girl he meets finds him attractive; his school friend, Seth lacks confidence, but maybe he’ll find happiness when his dream girl eventually notices him; Livy longs for Seth to pay attention to her rather than her sister. Where will the next decades take them?
We follow Aidan, Seth and Livy from the nineteen-eighties into the noughties, seeing how successfully, or otherwise, they cope with adult life. Their personal and professional lives hit highs and lows, and their relationships ebb and flow.
These characters feel real. They muck up, they drift, they have dreams. As the years roll by they change, and in response I found my feelings towards them altering too. Take the two male leads, for example. Initially I disliked Aidan, believing he was a selfish two-dimensional character, but later he revealed depth and sensitivity that made me warm to him. In the early chapters my heart went out to Seth; such a sensitive, misunderstood soul, but later I wavered between sympathy and irritation and back again – many times. Both men stayed in my mind long after I’d finished reading.
Each new chapter moves the story on a few years. On occasion I found the jumps in time a little disorientating because I felt momentarily distanced from the characters. However, I soon connected with them again and this was helped by the author’s skill at providing descriptive cultural markers, such as British fashion and music, to show the passing years.
A debut novel that captures the experience of contemporary life.
We follow Aidan, Seth and Livy from the nineteen-eighties into the noughties, seeing how successfully, or otherwise, they cope with adult life. Their personal and professional lives hit highs and lows, and their relationships ebb and flow.
These characters feel real. They muck up, they drift, they have dreams. As the years roll by they change, and in response I found my feelings towards them altering too. Take the two male leads, for example. Initially I disliked Aidan, believing he was a selfish two-dimensional character, but later he revealed depth and sensitivity that made me warm to him. In the early chapters my heart went out to Seth; such a sensitive, misunderstood soul, but later I wavered between sympathy and irritation and back again – many times. Both men stayed in my mind long after I’d finished reading.
Each new chapter moves the story on a few years. On occasion I found the jumps in time a little disorientating because I felt momentarily distanced from the characters. However, I soon connected with them again and this was helped by the author’s skill at providing descriptive cultural markers, such as British fashion and music, to show the passing years.
A debut novel that captures the experience of contemporary life.
February 8, 2016
I really enjoyed reading this book! Emerging adulthood, for some, is a wonderful, carefree time with an emphasis on achieving what you daily desire. For others growing up is a painful, disappointing and distressing time where little of what you want seems achievable, and alternatives are sought. That’s the way of it for Michela O’Brien’s characters, and very true to life in general. Aiden is a likeable character, full of flaws, and seemingly successful in his love life. But does he get his just desserts? You have to read the book to decide that one. Seth is a darker, more complicated character, his dependencies intricate and heartbreaking, at times. Of the female characters Livy’s experience and maturity is gained painfully – but she’s a doughty survivor. What I loved about this book are the themes that run through it, and how those very themes can take a circuitous route at times. Loyalty is a very strong theme. How the sexually carefree Aiden presents that loyalty is well crafted, his deviations believable since that’s how life is. I rooted for Livy’s loyalty to be rewarded but was it? I’m not so sure. Love in many different forms and depths, is very well portrayed in Playing on Cotton Clouds- also reflecting life in general. I have no hesitation in recommending this book.
July 13, 2012
I loved this book. I'm a huge fan of 'coming of age' tales and this was a belter. The story is told from different perspectives following a group of friends who go their separate ways in adult life. The story is told with such heart aching truth that, at times, I forgot these characters were fictional. Michela O'Brien does a great job of detailing one of her characters descent into depression and the journey to claw themselves out of it, with tremendous subtlety and dignity. Another character, Aiden quickly carved his place as my favourite from start to finish. I absolutely fell in love with him and was always looking forward to the story flipping back to his life so I could find out what happened. I couldn't put the book down and both laughed and cried throughout. I couldn't stop thinking about it for days afterwards which is always the sign of a great book. I'd definitely read it again and certainly recommend it.
November 26, 2012
Once recovered from the first few eyebrow-raising paragraphs, this story has introduced me to the absorbing lives of four young people struggling through to maturity in a bewildering world. The characters take pleasure where they find it, grab anything going to get them out of pain, then learn to live with their mistakes and move on.
There is Livy whose “carefully tucked away feelings were now scattered around in her mind, leaving her with the painful task of picking them up and hiding them again.”
And the wonderful funny, sentimental climax when Seth somehow realised he was stealing someone else’s miracle.
Who will Seth finally commit to? Will it be Livy or Tara?
And what about Aiden – will there be reconciliation after the schoolboy-ish fall out?
The plot twists and turns in the spirit of a well-contrived suspense story. It is an easy read, which reveals the directionless meanderings of a section of today’s urban society
There is Livy whose “carefully tucked away feelings were now scattered around in her mind, leaving her with the painful task of picking them up and hiding them again.”
And the wonderful funny, sentimental climax when Seth somehow realised he was stealing someone else’s miracle.
Who will Seth finally commit to? Will it be Livy or Tara?
And what about Aiden – will there be reconciliation after the schoolboy-ish fall out?
The plot twists and turns in the spirit of a well-contrived suspense story. It is an easy read, which reveals the directionless meanderings of a section of today’s urban society
July 3, 2012
This novel weaves the narratives of three central characters, Seth, Livy and Aidan. It begins in the 80's and spans nearly thirty years. It has a whimsical feel rather than being fast-paced. The characters are well-portrayed and I was quickly drawn into their lives and cared about each one. I like how the novel is divided into years and focuses on snippets of their lives at certain points. It made me feel nostalgic, and contained a deeper message about the value of friendship and how it can be, too easily, brushed aside. Beautifully written, this is a book I'd recommend.
May 3, 2012
I normally go for fast-paced reads but it was a joy to savour this book, to walk beside these wonderfully real, flawed characters. As in life, they made mistakes they weren't able to put right and heroic acts came in unexpected packages. A thought-provoking read that makes me want to mend fences and contact neglected friends.
October 15, 2012
I love a forway into the 80's - makes me feel young again and this book certainly does capture the youth and innocence of that partiular period of time in its well rounded characters. Nicely written with some poignant moments along the way and a last chapter that is one of the best I've read in ages. Whether you're a child of the 80's, 90's or noughties, you'll enjoy this.
October 1, 2013
In this superb book about friendship and relationship, we travel with the main characters from 1983 through to 2008, with a poignant flashback to 1980. What’s interesting is that the author was born and lived in Italy until 1994, when she moved to England; yet she captures the period prior to her arrival very well indeed.
There are three teenage friends, Aidan, Livy (Olivia) and Seth who meet up at the bridge that crossed the town’s river. Even when they move away into the big wide world, the bridge has significance, sometimes in their memories, sometimes when they visit the town again. It links them, it seems. Added to the mix is Livy’s sister, Tara. First fumbling with sex and alcohol are depicted, inevitably, with humour and a core of truth. Indeed, truth shines through this book – we believe these people lived, we live with them for the duration of the novel, getting anxious in moments of crisis, becoming pleased in moments of happiness. Life isn’t tidy, there are false paths to take, wrong turns to make, and they drift apart, yet return after years, an invisible thread connecting them. ‘Can you fall in love at thirteen, one rainy afternoon, in an old faded café, and find yourself at twenty-nine, sitting in the fragrant summer sun, feeling as you did then?’ The answer, of course, is ‘yes’. That’s the human condition.
Aidan isn’t too bright, but he’s attractive to women, which is his downfall, yet as one conquest says, ‘People can’t stop loving you, even when they think they have.’
Seth is a little self-centred, wrapped up in his writing, early on suffering from depression (‘… in the small hours of the morning, when he felt himself slowly falling and darkness seemed to chase him with cold, invisible fingers’), but with the help of his friends he defeats the Black Dog, though he’s always going to be a ‘half-empty pint’ kind of man: ‘I wasn’t interested in collecting stamps, so I went for rejection letters. Fascinating. Some can be perversely creative.’ (I have to agree with his praise for Philip K. Dick).
Livy is in love with Seth, but (fool that he is) he’s infatuated with her sister, Tara. ‘Carefully tucked away feelings were scattered around Livy’s mind, leaving her with the painful task of picking them up and hiding them again… contemplating old memories as they lay on the floor of her recollection.’
The narrative is from the perspective of these three, and at every stage there’s a depth of character and an emotional resonance that rings true. Emotion in a relationship novel has to be felt by the reader, not simply observed – show, not tell, and Michela O’Brien does that brilliantly: she could have written ‘Livy felt hurt by him’ or something similar; instead, she gives us ‘Her heart had taken a dive into her stomach and she briefly held her breath to fish it out and put it back in its place.’ There are several clever allusions, to springs in beds and Jack-in-the-box and feelings like thorns, imbedded in the body, making themselves felt after time, which ‘he could not tear out without maiming himself.’
There is a birth and a death, both handled with exquisite restraint and all the more powerful and moving for that. This debut novel is excellent, the writing controlled and a delight.
There are three teenage friends, Aidan, Livy (Olivia) and Seth who meet up at the bridge that crossed the town’s river. Even when they move away into the big wide world, the bridge has significance, sometimes in their memories, sometimes when they visit the town again. It links them, it seems. Added to the mix is Livy’s sister, Tara. First fumbling with sex and alcohol are depicted, inevitably, with humour and a core of truth. Indeed, truth shines through this book – we believe these people lived, we live with them for the duration of the novel, getting anxious in moments of crisis, becoming pleased in moments of happiness. Life isn’t tidy, there are false paths to take, wrong turns to make, and they drift apart, yet return after years, an invisible thread connecting them. ‘Can you fall in love at thirteen, one rainy afternoon, in an old faded café, and find yourself at twenty-nine, sitting in the fragrant summer sun, feeling as you did then?’ The answer, of course, is ‘yes’. That’s the human condition.
Aidan isn’t too bright, but he’s attractive to women, which is his downfall, yet as one conquest says, ‘People can’t stop loving you, even when they think they have.’
Seth is a little self-centred, wrapped up in his writing, early on suffering from depression (‘… in the small hours of the morning, when he felt himself slowly falling and darkness seemed to chase him with cold, invisible fingers’), but with the help of his friends he defeats the Black Dog, though he’s always going to be a ‘half-empty pint’ kind of man: ‘I wasn’t interested in collecting stamps, so I went for rejection letters. Fascinating. Some can be perversely creative.’ (I have to agree with his praise for Philip K. Dick).
Livy is in love with Seth, but (fool that he is) he’s infatuated with her sister, Tara. ‘Carefully tucked away feelings were scattered around Livy’s mind, leaving her with the painful task of picking them up and hiding them again… contemplating old memories as they lay on the floor of her recollection.’
The narrative is from the perspective of these three, and at every stage there’s a depth of character and an emotional resonance that rings true. Emotion in a relationship novel has to be felt by the reader, not simply observed – show, not tell, and Michela O’Brien does that brilliantly: she could have written ‘Livy felt hurt by him’ or something similar; instead, she gives us ‘Her heart had taken a dive into her stomach and she briefly held her breath to fish it out and put it back in its place.’ There are several clever allusions, to springs in beds and Jack-in-the-box and feelings like thorns, imbedded in the body, making themselves felt after time, which ‘he could not tear out without maiming himself.’
There is a birth and a death, both handled with exquisite restraint and all the more powerful and moving for that. This debut novel is excellent, the writing controlled and a delight.
January 9, 2014
Good but too similar to One Day.
November 16, 2015
Great characters, nice story. Good concept of following a group of friends whose lives are intertwined. Wonderful look at how people and relationships change
January 9, 2017
This book captures snapshots of life from several angles, highlighting the importance of measuring your time and trying to understand your connections with others.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews