The Best Things

by Mel Giedroyc

Could the worst day of Sally Parker's life be the best thing that ever happened to her?

THE DELICIOUSLY WARM AND LIFE-AFFIRMING NOVEL FROM THE MUCH-LOVED MEL GIEDROYC

'A real treat. I enjoyed it HUGELY' MARIAN KEYES
'I enjoyed it so, so much - a brilliant cast of characters and properly funny!' GRAHAM NORTON
'This book is a riot! Delicious in its detail. Had me wincing and laughing all the way along' SOPHIE KINSELLA
'Wonderfully warm and uplifting, full of unforgettable characters and so much heart' RICHARD ROPER
'Exactly like Mel engaging, uproarious and gleeful. A stonking good read' JO BRAND
'A warm contemporary fable bursting with colourful characters and comic energy' DAILY MAIL
'A warm, honest and humorous look at a family and what really matters in life. Brimming with hilarious scenes and one-liners, it is also a redemptive book, and one of hope' WOMAN & HOME

Sally Parker had a morbid fear of big social events and it was for this reason that she was crouching down low in the shoe section of her wardrobe...

Sally Parker is struggling to find the hero inside herself.
All she wants to do is lie down.
Her husband Frank has lost his business, their home and their savings, in one fell swoop. Their bank cards are being declined. The children have gone feral. And now the bailiffs are at the door.
What does an ordinary woman do when the bottom falls out?
Sally Parker is about to surprise everybody.
Most of all herself.

A big-hearted story of a family on the brink, The Best Things is a life-affirming tale of failing, falling and finding a way back up.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Book Club, Chick Lit, Humor, Drama, Womens Fiction

432 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2020

Reviews

[Ceecee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sally Parker lives in the stockbroker belt in Surrey, she’s married to Frank a wealthy hedge fund manager. Frank is a generous alpha male, a tour de force, brimming with bonhomie and cheesy bon mot. Sally has her ‘life taken care of’ with a staff of many including the lugubrious housekeeper Paloma. Their three children are Stephen, currently eating himself to death, Cleo who has square eyes from watching so much reality tv and eleven year old Mikey turns plenty of good deals at school and is a regular chip of the old block. The smartest cookie in the house is Emily, Sally’s niece who has lived with them for years. When there’s a market crash the good life in Leatherhead grinds to a screeching halt and they learn exactly what ‘the best things are’.

This is a well written story with lively descriptions and wry, dry and gentle humour as you would expect from Mel Giedroyc. Although she pokes fun at the Parker household it’s always tongue in cheek and never in malice. Sally at first, is a purpose seeking shadow but she grows into herself as the book progresses and I love some of the things she comes out with especially to the local well heeled, beautifully coiffed, designer draped coven. All they need is a broom, cauldron and a guest appearance by Lady Macbeth as they drip their poison with a malicious smile and I dance with glee as Sally bish bash boshes right back at ‘em!!! The best drawn and strongest characters in my opinion are the children especially Cleo who is hilarious without realising it with her oblivious malapropisms! Some of the minor characters are good too such as Frank’s great granny Bronwen Llewelyn. I zipped through the first two thirds with many an accompanying titter, the occasional chortle and the odd unladylike snort. However, I feel it’s just a bit too long and so loses some of its snap, crackle and pop. As it reaches a conclusion it becomes a bit cliche and predictable as we know what the message is going to be even though it’s so true!

Overall. It’s a fun, enjoyable well written read and a nice piece of escapism, so needed at this time.

With thanks to NetGalley and Headline for the arc for an honest review.

[Natalie "Curling up with a Coffee and a Kindle" Laird · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is clearly another opinion of 'didn't live up to expectations'. I have watched Giedroyc on several TV shows over the years, and enjoyed her as a personality, so was looking forward to seeing how her foray into fiction would turn out.
I'm sad to say, not well.
Like another reviewer, I was utterly baffled by the introduction. Horse manure? Really? I'm still trying to fathom why it was there. Bizarre.
The characters weren't likeable, they had echoes of Schitts Creek but I like those characters, whereas these just didn't make me care about them.
At over 400 pages, it is long, and feels like the author was just waffling to get her word count up!
I'm glad others have enjoyed it, but it wasn't for me, sadly.

[Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel sounded so intriguing. I kind of love seeing rich people get their come-uppances by thinking they'll always be rich and it turns out, they won't. Not when they buy exorbitantly expensive things just for the sake of it, and the person who brings in the money works in the financial sector of all places. However, what normally makes those novels great is that it gives the characters a certain humility. It makes them humble and appreciative and, quite honestly, the Parker family were so bloody up themselves I just didn't care about them.

There was just no warmth to this novel. The characters were hideous caricatures of themselves and it was just awful. They went to every single extreme of how a rich character could ask and I just didn't care for ANY of them. I genuinely assumed a novel written by Mel who always comes across so warm and friendly would be more down to Earth, but instead I just didn't like anything about this novel. I didn't care, and for me that's the kiss of death for any novel.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my full review, visit me at https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/...


One thing is for sure: the Parker family are filthy rich. Materialistic, out of touch and living a lifestyle that is protected by fortune. Whilst Giedroyc has created a caricature of personalities in this story, extravagance is definitely an unmissable element to the plot.

[Sid Nuncius · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like Mel Giedroyc. I find her very funny and extremely engaging, and behind that slightly daffy persona there’s an extremely intelligent mind, so I was hoping for something very good here. I’m afraid I was disappointed.

The Best Things relies on a very well-worn trope: a very wealthy woman finds herself rather bored and without purpose. She has little relationship with her husband or children who are all cocooned in their own comfortable worlds...until they lose everything and have to survive together and begin to learn Valuable Life Lessons.

It’s fine for what it is; Mel writes well, it’s decently structured and readable. The trouble is, it all seemed such old hat – to the point of being trite in places. The characters are well drawn but oh-so-familiar and I really couldn’t work up much enthusiasm for any of it.

The Best Things isn’t actively bad by any means; I may not be the target audience and others may enjoy this more than I did, but I can’t really recommend this. Sorry, Mel.

(My thanks to Headline for an ARC via NetGalley.)

[Lucy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I DNF'd this at 60% - I really wanted to finish it but I just couldn't.

The Best Things follows Sally and family - rich and living in Surrey, they seem to have it all. Until they don't one day. The stock market crashes and they lose everything. Sally's husband, Frank and his business partner Amerjit both have different breakdowns and that is about where I got to.

I found this did not have any flow at all - one minute we were looking at Sally and the next one of her four children or someone else seemingly random. This meant, for me, I found it really hard to keep up with and was a bit lost at times. I did not feel any empathy towards the characters, even though they had lost everything and just found it all a bit odd. Everything happened quite fast, but in a way it was very slow to get into.
Rich family losing everything is a trope that is well-used in books, and one I thought I could get behind in an easy to read sort of way. But I just could not.

I really hate leaving negative reviews, but I just could not get into this one. Perhaps for a different reader it would be their book of the year.

Thanks to NetGalley for their ARC in return for an honest review.

[Alayne Emmett · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a difficult review to write as I disliked this book very much most of the way through. The characters were hateful and I found it boring at times and very slow. Very disappointing I was hoping for better from this author. If she writes anymore I’m not sure I would bother as I couldn’t read another like this one.

[Samantha Luke]

DNF : 27%
I as looking forward to reading this debut novel, as I enjoy watching Mel on tv.
However I struggled over several days to read as much as I did.
The book started with a very strange piece about manure. Also I found the characters were very unlikable. I felt that there was too much trying to be crammed into the book and for me the writing was disjointed and didn't flow.
Thank you to netgalley & the publishers for this advance read in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Gem ~ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really couldn't get in to this one at all. I had zero relatable experience with the characters, they were chaotic, selfish braggarts and I couldn't care less how much their designer underwear cost. I was hoping for a light hearted, relatable, humourous story from this author but this wasn't it.

[Barbara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dreadful waste of time - cliche filled drivel.. very disappointing

[Melanie O'Neill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book a very refreshing read. Warm and funny with a really good cast of characters written in Mel’s witty style. Yes it’s a bit chick lit at times but a very good easy book for me to race through when I didn’t want something too taxing. 3.5 rounded to 4⭐️.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Warning, slight spoiler alert.

I had high hopes for this book. With glowing reviews from Graham Norton and Jo Brand, I was expecting expecting some laughs and characters I could root for.

However ...

It tells the story of Sally and Frank Parker who lose all their money from Frank's hedge fund business in an economic crash. Their life of lavish parties, in house cooks, more high end brand named household items than any book needs, and nannies in range rovers swiftly comes to an end.

From the start I found Sally to be a shallow and moany woman and I desperately hoped she would find her morals in her redeeming arc as she navigates life without her £18 sourdough from the farmers market. Instead, Sally remained shallow, capitalistic, and without redeeming features (mainly work ethic). The story jumps narrative perspective randomly, the characters dont develop at all, they learn nothing, and I was left disliking them more at the end than at the start. If anything, this is a book about what the desire to "have it all" does to people. I shouted "for gods sake why are none of you trying to find a job?!?" more times than anyone should at one book.

Overall, very disappointed. Worried that Mel Giedroyc thinks Sally is some sort of "normal" person. Even more worried that Graham found it "funny".

[Nick Brett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mel is a bit of a national treasure and immensely engaging. So I was very much looking forward to this, especially after the justified success of Richard Osman’s first book.

In my humble opinion this tries to be a blend of chick lit with the sort of characters you would have found in a Tom Sharpe novel.

Sally is the somewhat feckless wife of a very rich hedge fund manager. Life drifts by in the comfort of wealthy privilege. But when the market crashes, the world falls apart for Sally and her family. Can the docile Sally stand up and be counted and actually make a difference?
Described as “life affirming”, funny and charming, I was disappointed to find that it wasn’t. It’s okay, a slow first half and then a better second, it was hard to overly like any of the characters or be amused by the situations they find themselves in. There are some nice lines and mildly amusing situations, but not enough of them to carry the story.
Have to say it didn’t deliver in the way I really hoped it would.

[Nikos Dunno · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's such a joy to listen to Mel Giedroyc tell stories. Her use of language and the refreshing way she chooses to embellish her nouns make for a very captivating experience. Unfortunately it didn't work as well in written form for me. It took me a while to not feel the struggle of following the long winded descriptions. That combined with the myriad of caricature characters led to a difficult first half. Oddly enough, after the halfway mark, the characters started to unfold more naturally and became a lot more interesting. It was definitely a feel good story, intertwined with hints at important life lessons, and would make for a perfect summer read.

[Leeanne Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so drawn to this book because I've loved Mel since she started out on TV and her brand of comic wit is right up my street.
I'm happy to say The Best Things didn't disappoint...it was clever and funny with so many observations that were just typically Mel. The characters were full and well rounded, and the descriptions and little observations made me giggle at points and gasp at others.
I would say the style of writing is similar to Sue Townsend; wry and witty with heart underneath. There were points where it was a bit wordy and descriptions were long winded but I think that's typically Mel so I found it quite charming. It's also a first novel so the 'over descriptions' are more understandable.
Overall I would highly recommend The Best Things; it's a funny, thoughtful book about a very rich family who think they have it all and realise the best things on life are free.
Thanks to Headline, Netgalley and Mel for the ARC.

[thewoollygeek (tea, cake, crochet & books) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this, as I love Mel so much, but sadly I was very disappointed. I found it lacked Mel’s humour, or at least it wasn’t recognisably Mel in style, it was too cliche at times, wasn’t interested or couldn’t empathise with the characters, there were too many and so I didn’t feel they were developed enough to care. It just wasn’t funny and in fact I cringed at points, sadly not as good a read as the author is a comedian

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

[Lorna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel so up and down with this book. My thoughts at the end were ‘well that was a decent story’ but the first half felt so slow. The writing style was a little testing at first but I found I soon adapted to it and just needed to get into the flow of the story. I am feeling this is a high 3 star but I didn’t enjoy it enough to give a 4.

[Andrew · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really tedious, unfunny, posh tosh populated with really dry, upper class twit characters who have about as much life in them as paper bags. The plot wasn’t much better. The whole thing just came across as smug. Avoid.

[L · Rating 1 out of 5]

Seriously forgettable. Not horrendous, just bad. The problem with the pandemic is, everyone (famous) is either writing their biography or writing fiction.

[Deborah Ashton · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't feel the story got going until about half way through.
I didn't find it funny (as described) and I wouldn't recommend reading it.

[Eve Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I were to predict what a book written by Mel Gildroic would be like I would probably not be far off from the mark. Like its author, The Best Things is eccentric, warm, quirky and a little bit odd. I definitely made the right choice to listen to this as an audiobook because it was entertaining to listen to and Mel’s narration was funny, I enjoyed her different accents especially great Granny Bronwyn’s Welsh one. I think that if I had read this book as a physical copy I would have enjoyed it less.

Let’s be honest, the plot of this book isn’t groundbreaking it won’t leave a lasting impression on me. Oooh rich family go bankrupt, that’s never been done before has it Mel? Also, the characters themselves were very one dimensional and each one reinforced an overdone stereotype in my opinion: we had Cleo - a bimbo teenage girl obsessed with her looks and reality tv, Francesca Daley Jones - a snooty snob, Frank, a Middle Aged geezer who flashes the cash but falls short emotionally, his dodgy brother with dubious links in South America I could go on. These characters felt like they belonged in a sitcom not in a novel.

The character I had the most issue with was Sally herself, I just didn’t warm to her. I like female leads in books to be strong, I want to root for them them but Sally felt weak, I found her children to be much more interesting than her, especially her niece Emily who was probably my favourite character.

I do have a few other takeaways from this book:
- I had Dolores Umbridge style hatred for Francesca Daley-Jones I have never wanted to stuff a Waitrose carrier bag down someone else’s throat before so that’s a new one
- Also I was so relieved when the Parker’s finally left Cedar Vale because I didn’t have to hear the phrase ‘1812 overture’ every time their bloody doorbell rang!
- I thought it was random and a bit bizarre to make Frank’s dad trans, it felt like tokenism and was just thrown in at the end and I’m not sure what the purpose of this was

So I did enjoy the experience of listening to this book and the ending was cute but predictable so as a piece of storytelling it fell a little short. As far as celebrity novelists go this didn’t have quite the same impact as Richard Osman’s books but it wasn’t as poor as Robert Webb’s. Three stars.

[Grace J Reviewerlady · Rating 2 out of 5]

It has to be said that I was rather excited about this one - and sorely disappointed.

Sally Parker and her family are rich. When her husband loses all their money and life begins to fall apart, she knows that she should be the strong one who holds her family together - but how does she manage that when she can't even hold herself together. As life around them crumbles, so does Sally - can she find her inner strength?

I expected great things for this book - not least a few good laughs according to the celebrity quotes peppering the blurb, but it wasn't to be. Having just finished reading a book where poverty loomed large, I immediately found myself annoyed at the vast sum of money and benefits give to the au pair. I didn't identify with Sally at all and whilst I'm no prude and don't object to bad language in it's place, the characters in this one all came across as thinking of themselves as a class above everyone else on the planet and tended to show their disdain by swearing - continually. I didn't feel empathetic towards any of the characters and it was a chore to read, instead of the pleasure it should be. It struck me as a rich person's story with rich people's problems and it just didn't resonate with me at all. Not one I would recommend at all and I'm struggling to give it the two stars I've struggled to muster.

[🌶 peppersocks 🧦 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reflections and lessons learned:
“His thoughts turned to Gary Barlow. There was an example of a man who’d had it all, and then had ended up down the u bend for a few years, eating pies in his pyjamas , but now look at him. Gary had wrestled his own woebegone Greek chorus, cocked a snoop at the gods laughing down on him from Olympus and had reinvented himself into someone older, wiser, craggier, and let’s be honest, much hotter… if Gary could do it, so could he… this was day one, this was the rebirth…”

I was worried by some of the reviews of this one, as I’d always enjoyed the work of Giedroyc in presenting, comedy and non fiction books. So I was glad when I bought this one and it turned out to be everything that I was hoping for! The familiar humour, the acting range in the performance from the author knowing the nuances, and a genuine interest in characterisation and empathising whilst being realistic. Several proper belly laughs, and a twisting and moving story in parts, I’d happily revisit any follow on stories from these characters. If you’ve laughed at the Mel & Sue/Bake Off/Taskmaster m&m nose snorting, you’ll probably really enjoy this

[Zoey Curato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a Christmas read!!!

So I went on a @netgalley requesting spree again despite saying that I was so over it!! I saw this book by Mel Giedroyc and as I have always loved her on TV I thought why not? I have purely read Christmas themed books since November so I guess it was time to have a change.

This is Mel Giedroyc's debut novel and is about Sally & Frank Parker. Frank is a successful businessman and he family live in a luxurious home seemingly having it all. Unfortunately Frank loses everything on the same day he finds out he has narcolepsy which leads to some very dramatic changes to the Parker lifestyle.

It took me ages to get into the book. The first few chapters seemed really slow and "wordy" and the story just seemed to takes ages to get going, but as I perservered I found myself wanting to find out what happens. As I said I really like Mel, shes always funny on TV alongside Sue Perkins so I expected a lot of humour from this one and I wasnt disappointed, there were some really funny moments in the book. I found some of the characters a bit one dimensonal and stereotypical, and Frank Parker was really annoying and I was quite glad when he went bankrupt! The saving grace was Mikey, the 11 year old daughter who seems to save the family and be pretty much the most sensible one. I also liked the dog groomer who has a crush on Sally and is always there to help her!

All in all I found the book enjoyable, if not a bit predictable. I have given it a rather generous 4 stars.

[Helen Costello · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was sent a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for a fair an honest review.

This book has a very different feel to the comedien, Mel Giedroyc that is well known on UK tv. I do love a domestic drama so was looking forward to this but unfortunately, I felt it did not deliver.

Frank and Sally seem to have the idyllic lifestyle - Money is no object and they sure know how to spend it. They are incredibly generous and if truth be told, their children take it for granted. The introduction to this book seemed to take a long time to get into but then the story seemed to just very quickly jump to all going wrong for the family. When things started to unravel, it felt almost too quick. My main problem was that I could not warm to the characters - They didn't seem to have many redeeming features and felt completely unrealistic.

I wanted to like Frank and feel sorry for his predicament but we were not allowed really to get inside his head. The one redeeming moment of the story was the love the couple had for each other when they got together, beating the odds of a family against the,.

The family's friends were awful - Surely most people aren't that hurtful and mean? People going up to Sally's wardrobe and clearing it out of her designer gear and her not saying a word was plain silly. The staff were awful too - again, surely nobody would allow people to work for them in their home that they hated as much as these?

The narcolepsy storyline did not lead anywhere - did he recover?

Very disappointing.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rollocking, lighthearted, riches-to-rags tale that feels well-timed for the pandemic: how will the Parkers of Leatherhead fare when everything crashes down around their ears? With splendidly-drawn characters and scenes laid out like staging instructions, reading this debut feels like what you might expect from an afternoon spent with Giedroyc’s TV personality: high-speed stories, detailed descriptions, anecdotes and analogies come flying off the page and it’s an enjoyable race to keep up with the tale as it weaves from Surrey garden parties to hedge fund offices and beyond. It’s difficult to relate to any of the characters, yet it feels like that might just be Giedroyc’s point: all are fairly ghastly in their own ways, entitled and shallow and unaware of the riches they already had.

Featured in April's Book Club in Cambridge Edition Magazine – thanks to #NetGalley for the advance copy! https://online.bright-publishing.com/...

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a fan of Mel Giedroyc, I’m absolutely gutted to leave a one star review. However, this book is just awful. The plot jumps around, big moments are swept under the carpet, characters are shallow and underdeveloped and you don’t really care about any of them. The fact that I finished this book out of pure spite should tell you everything you need to know.

[Chrys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not what I expected but very entertaining none the less.
It took me a little while to warm to the characters but they soon found a place in my heart, especially Mikey and Sally. I'd love to see a follow up book with the family's progress.

[Sarah5 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the start of this novel, it was funny and engaging. I also liked the characters but I found myself a little bored about halfway through. Not enough happened for me and there was too much dialogue. Such a shame as this started so well and I love Mel.

[Melanie Johnson Horridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joy to read!