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Lizzie Vogel #3
Reasons to be Cheerful
Winner of the 2019 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction
'When people in the village heard I was about to start working in the city they tried to unsettle me with tales of woe. The sun, blotted out by the tall buildings, couldn't shine and the rain was poisoned by the toxic fumes that poured from the sock factories. My skin would be covered in pimples from the hell of it all'
So begins a young woman's journey to adulthood. Lizzie Vogel leaves her alcoholic, novel-writing mother and heads for Leicester to work for a racist, barely competent dentist obsessed with joining the freemasons.
Soon Lizzie is heading reluctantly, if at top speed, into the murky depths of adult life: where her driving instructor becomes her best friend; her first boyfriend prefers birdwatching to sex and where independence for a teenage girl might just be another word for loneliness.
In Reasons to Be Cheerful Nina Stibbe shows her extraordinary gift for illuminating the vital details which make us human. She is that rare writer who makes us laugh whilst reminding us of the joy, and the pain, of being alive.
'When people in the village heard I was about to start working in the city they tried to unsettle me with tales of woe. The sun, blotted out by the tall buildings, couldn't shine and the rain was poisoned by the toxic fumes that poured from the sock factories. My skin would be covered in pimples from the hell of it all'
So begins a young woman's journey to adulthood. Lizzie Vogel leaves her alcoholic, novel-writing mother and heads for Leicester to work for a racist, barely competent dentist obsessed with joining the freemasons.
Soon Lizzie is heading reluctantly, if at top speed, into the murky depths of adult life: where her driving instructor becomes her best friend; her first boyfriend prefers birdwatching to sex and where independence for a teenage girl might just be another word for loneliness.
In Reasons to Be Cheerful Nina Stibbe shows her extraordinary gift for illuminating the vital details which make us human. She is that rare writer who makes us laugh whilst reminding us of the joy, and the pain, of being alive.
288 pages, Paperback
First published March 28, 2019
352 people are currently reading
5914 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 489 reviews
August 12, 2020
Book Reviewed on www.whisperingstories.com
1980s Leicester and Eighteen-year-old Lizzie Vogel has been offered a job as a dental nurse. The job comes with her own little flat above the dental practice and she will be working alongside Dentist JP Wintergreen and his now part-time girlfriend and dental nurse Tammy.
Lizzie is anxious but happy to be moving away from her alcoholic, writer mother, though she has taken to using Lizzie’s flat to write. Lizzie also has her first boyfriend who doesn’t seem interested in moving the relationship along and a boss who has to get others to hold his cigarettes for him (so he doesn’t get the smell on his fingers) and he needs to use Lizzie’s toilet as he doesn’t want his patients knowing his business.
Lizzie soon learns that adulting isn’t everything it is crack-up to be!
Reasons to be Cheerful is the third book in the Lizzie Vogel series, though it is the first book in the series I have read. I’m not sure whether this is why I felt a little disconnected from the main character or not. I found it difficult to get any feelings towards her.
The book is mainly set within the dental practice and if you have no interest in anything dental related I’m not sure how you would take this book. For me, when I first left school I did train for a short while to become a dental nurse but decided it wasn’t a life for me. I also spend quite a lot of time in Leicester due to my family live there and I grew up in the 80s so it kind of felt nostalgic.
There are a lot of funny moments and scenes that had me giggling. Lizzie is quite a naive young girl just starting out on her adult life and so she is learning to become an adult. The pace was good throughout and the plot took a few chapters to come into its own, but once it did I read it in just a couple of sittings.
Overall, if you were around in the 80s I think this book is going to give you a trip down memory lane and a good giggle too.
1980s Leicester and Eighteen-year-old Lizzie Vogel has been offered a job as a dental nurse. The job comes with her own little flat above the dental practice and she will be working alongside Dentist JP Wintergreen and his now part-time girlfriend and dental nurse Tammy.
Lizzie is anxious but happy to be moving away from her alcoholic, writer mother, though she has taken to using Lizzie’s flat to write. Lizzie also has her first boyfriend who doesn’t seem interested in moving the relationship along and a boss who has to get others to hold his cigarettes for him (so he doesn’t get the smell on his fingers) and he needs to use Lizzie’s toilet as he doesn’t want his patients knowing his business.
Lizzie soon learns that adulting isn’t everything it is crack-up to be!
Reasons to be Cheerful is the third book in the Lizzie Vogel series, though it is the first book in the series I have read. I’m not sure whether this is why I felt a little disconnected from the main character or not. I found it difficult to get any feelings towards her.
The book is mainly set within the dental practice and if you have no interest in anything dental related I’m not sure how you would take this book. For me, when I first left school I did train for a short while to become a dental nurse but decided it wasn’t a life for me. I also spend quite a lot of time in Leicester due to my family live there and I grew up in the 80s so it kind of felt nostalgic.
There are a lot of funny moments and scenes that had me giggling. Lizzie is quite a naive young girl just starting out on her adult life and so she is learning to become an adult. The pace was good throughout and the plot took a few chapters to come into its own, but once it did I read it in just a couple of sittings.
Overall, if you were around in the 80s I think this book is going to give you a trip down memory lane and a good giggle too.
February 21, 2021
Unnecessarily detailed in some parts. quite boring, nothing really happens for long periods of time; some good characters - would not recommend
February 6, 2020
I got about 25 pages in, then closed it with a snap and said sternly "Nonsense."
October 28, 2021
Book reviews on www.snazzybooks.com
Reasons To Be Cheerful is a brilliant read. It features likable, hilarious characters and a story that I (and many other people) can really relate to – growing up not knowing exactly what you’re going to do with your life, or where you fit into a ‘bigger picture’, and finding your way as you go.
The novel spins a fantastic tale about Lizzie, who grew up in a village and makes that leap to a ‘bigger city’, with an – admittedly slightly random – career with extremely odd colleagues, which make me smile, laugh and – surprisingly – cry! Anna Stibbe writes so brilliantly, creating characters you really care about, plus some you don’t but who are still really entertaining to read about. Lizzie’s family, friends and casual-or-perhaps-not-so-casual boyfriend are all crafted so well, I can imagine them as people I actually know.
The completely ridiculous situations make this novel so heart-achingly entertaining; one of the most memorable for me is the many times where Lizzie has to hold the dentist’s cigarette for him to puff on, so his hands don’t smell of smoke for customers afterwards.
It’s a testament to Nina Stibbe’s writing that the story doesn’t actually have a whole lot of ‘big action’ as such, but it’s still completely addictive reading. I think this is because there are so many small but absolutely spot on references and observations from Lizzie about everyday life that made me really engage with the story. The novel’s dry wit also elevates it above other books with a similar storyline.
Reasons To Be Cheerful is actually the third in a series, which I didn’t realise before I started reading (so I’m now absolutely dying to read of the other two books, to learn more about Lizzie) and I definitely didn’t feel that I was missing anything from not having read the first two. So if you haven’t read the rest of the series, definitely give this a go anyway – but be prepared to then want to read anything and everything else by Nina Stibbe afterwards!
Many thanks to Penguin Books for providing a copy of this book on which I chose to write an honest and unbiased review.
Reasons To Be Cheerful is a brilliant read. It features likable, hilarious characters and a story that I (and many other people) can really relate to – growing up not knowing exactly what you’re going to do with your life, or where you fit into a ‘bigger picture’, and finding your way as you go.
The novel spins a fantastic tale about Lizzie, who grew up in a village and makes that leap to a ‘bigger city’, with an – admittedly slightly random – career with extremely odd colleagues, which make me smile, laugh and – surprisingly – cry! Anna Stibbe writes so brilliantly, creating characters you really care about, plus some you don’t but who are still really entertaining to read about. Lizzie’s family, friends and casual-or-perhaps-not-so-casual boyfriend are all crafted so well, I can imagine them as people I actually know.
The completely ridiculous situations make this novel so heart-achingly entertaining; one of the most memorable for me is the many times where Lizzie has to hold the dentist’s cigarette for him to puff on, so his hands don’t smell of smoke for customers afterwards.
It’s a testament to Nina Stibbe’s writing that the story doesn’t actually have a whole lot of ‘big action’ as such, but it’s still completely addictive reading. I think this is because there are so many small but absolutely spot on references and observations from Lizzie about everyday life that made me really engage with the story. The novel’s dry wit also elevates it above other books with a similar storyline.
Reasons To Be Cheerful is actually the third in a series, which I didn’t realise before I started reading (so I’m now absolutely dying to read of the other two books, to learn more about Lizzie) and I definitely didn’t feel that I was missing anything from not having read the first two. So if you haven’t read the rest of the series, definitely give this a go anyway – but be prepared to then want to read anything and everything else by Nina Stibbe afterwards!
Many thanks to Penguin Books for providing a copy of this book on which I chose to write an honest and unbiased review.
January 31, 2024
NY Times review, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/23/bo...
"The Boorish, Comic Life of an Exquisitely Awful Dentist.
Nina Stibbe’s “Reasons to Be Cheerful” is so dense with amusing detail that I thought about holding the book upside down to see if any extra funny bits might spill from the creases between the page. Or maybe I’m just a sucker for a novel that opens with a British dental surgeon named JP Wintergreen injecting himself with lignocaine and attempting to pull his own teeth."
Worth trying? Let's see what others think. OK, mixed reactions here, but with humor, who knows? Our library has it.
OK, done! Parts of it are really funny: the bad dentist, the MC's weird Mom, her weird semi-BF that she can never tell if he's really interested in her or not. Finally she "throws herself at him," tiny cleavage & all -- and nothing much happens! Except the BF(?) moves in with her weird Mom, a shoplifter & a nudist, as a roomer! Now she has to worry -- will her Mom put the moves on Andy the sort-of BF? She has a history....
Next, driving lessons! (She's 18). Her Mom doesn't want to teach her -- then she decides to teach Andy! More worry. and she's mad at her Mom again!
So Lizzie asks Andy to the Dentist's Grand Ball -- only to be told, she can't go in, because "Members Only!" They sneak in anyway. Andy goes to get her Mom's car to give her a ride home -- and never comes back! I have no idea why the author threw in a Tragic Ending for a comedy, but I didn't like it. The End. 3.5 stars, rounded down for the ending. If you stopped before that, it would be a weak 4 stars.
"The Boorish, Comic Life of an Exquisitely Awful Dentist.
Nina Stibbe’s “Reasons to Be Cheerful” is so dense with amusing detail that I thought about holding the book upside down to see if any extra funny bits might spill from the creases between the page. Or maybe I’m just a sucker for a novel that opens with a British dental surgeon named JP Wintergreen injecting himself with lignocaine and attempting to pull his own teeth."
Worth trying? Let's see what others think. OK, mixed reactions here, but with humor, who knows? Our library has it.
OK, done! Parts of it are really funny: the bad dentist, the MC's weird Mom, her weird semi-BF that she can never tell if he's really interested in her or not. Finally she "throws herself at him," tiny cleavage & all -- and nothing much happens! Except the BF(?) moves in with her weird Mom, a shoplifter & a nudist, as a roomer! Now she has to worry -- will her Mom put the moves on Andy the sort-of BF? She has a history....
Next, driving lessons! (She's 18). Her Mom doesn't want to teach her -- then she decides to teach Andy! More worry. and she's mad at her Mom again!
So Lizzie asks Andy to the Dentist's Grand Ball -- only to be told, she can't go in, because "Members Only!" They sneak in anyway. Andy goes to get her Mom's car to give her a ride home -- and never comes back! I have no idea why the author threw in a Tragic Ending for a comedy, but I didn't like it. The End. 3.5 stars, rounded down for the ending. If you stopped before that, it would be a weak 4 stars.
March 30, 2019
This was a sweet, heartwarming and quirky read that manages to be utterly hilarious! The characters in this book are very well drawn and developed through the book. I loved reading about the odd bunch of people who make up Lizzie’s workmates and some of the antics they get up to. It was interesting to read about the different attitudes and practices of dentists back in the 80s which I hope aren’t true but wouldn’t be surprised to hear they were! This gives the book a slightly nostalgic feel to it as the 80s is perfectly evoked in all its glory. I found this book really funny and often found myself laughing out loud at the ridiculousness of the situations Lizzie finds herself in. It was quite heartwarming to read about her attempts to carve a new career out for herself and I found myself completely behind her as she starts on this difficult journey. I was a huge fan of the Adrian Mole diaries so I was a bit dubious at first to hear Nina’s books described as their successor. However I’m pleased to say that I thought that this description was very accurate and I enjoyed this book as much, or more than Adrian Mole. Huge thanks to Kate from Vintage Books for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.
July 11, 2020
I don't know how this book came into my orbit, let alone onto my bookshelf. I suppose I read a review of it and dutifully ran out and got a copy in a moment of unclarity? I don't know why I kept reading it to the end. I guess I wanted to see if anything would happen.
This book is a dog, like the one on the cover, that is mentioned like twice in the text. It is set in the 80s for no reason that is discernible in the story. My guess is that it was written back then, and trotted out for publication once the author proved sellable. If you want to get the full value from this book, you will need to bone up on pop culture, British, back then. A glance at the author's bio reveals that the work is at least mildly autobiographical. I do give props for the way that Stibbe shows the the first person narrator to be about as mad as a hatter, but only by the narrator presenting her 'well-reasoned' positions.
But the mortal flaw in the book is that nothing happens in it. There are events: one big unexpected one, a few other very minor ones, but apart from these, the principal character is just the same on page one as she is on page two hundred eighty whatever, and that is outside of the scope of good booking.
This book is a dog, like the one on the cover, that is mentioned like twice in the text. It is set in the 80s for no reason that is discernible in the story. My guess is that it was written back then, and trotted out for publication once the author proved sellable. If you want to get the full value from this book, you will need to bone up on pop culture, British, back then. A glance at the author's bio reveals that the work is at least mildly autobiographical. I do give props for the way that Stibbe shows the the first person narrator to be about as mad as a hatter, but only by the narrator presenting her 'well-reasoned' positions.
But the mortal flaw in the book is that nothing happens in it. There are events: one big unexpected one, a few other very minor ones, but apart from these, the principal character is just the same on page one as she is on page two hundred eighty whatever, and that is outside of the scope of good booking.
April 1, 2019
What a delightful read!
This was the first of Nina Stibbe's books that I have read and I really enjoyed it. A light-hearted read that left you feeling good.
I have to say, as the daughter of a dentist whose family lived in a large flat about the surgery, there were some scenes that really had me giggling, like JP rushing upstairs for a quick toilet visit, or nap... like my dad!
The characters were well formed, and I loved Lizzie and her quirks.
And I have also been made aware of the fact that there are two previous books about Lizzie... may just have to get them as well...
Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Books (UK) and Viking for providing me with an arc, in exchange for an honest review.
This was the first of Nina Stibbe's books that I have read and I really enjoyed it. A light-hearted read that left you feeling good.
I have to say, as the daughter of a dentist whose family lived in a large flat about the surgery, there were some scenes that really had me giggling, like JP rushing upstairs for a quick toilet visit, or nap... like my dad!
The characters were well formed, and I loved Lizzie and her quirks.
And I have also been made aware of the fact that there are two previous books about Lizzie... may just have to get them as well...
Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Books (UK) and Viking for providing me with an arc, in exchange for an honest review.
May 21, 2020
This was really funny in parts and a quick and lighthearted read but it just lacked in plot for me.
November 30, 2019
I was very confused that I did not like this as much as everyone else did. I felt the characters were definitely uniquely developed and you felt you knew them by the end but I found the book just disturbing. She works for a dentist that is racist and treats her like a second class citizen. Her mother is just odd. The "boyfriend" isn't truly a boyfriend and by the end of the book, it honestly is all kind of depressing. I made myself keep reading expecting it to turn around but it never did. About 90% through I read the end and found the shocking event so I had to go back and skim through to see how "it" happened. By then I was just done. Sorry to all who loved this.
August 21, 2020
DNF, stopped at chapter 4.
This probably isn't a book I would be naturally drawn to but it read it as part of my book club. I just found it really dull and compounded by narrative/voice I didn't enjoy - I found Lizzie's narrative to be precocious and a bit of an ill-fit considering she is supposed to be 18; throughout I kept thinking she was about 40! Not for me personally.
This probably isn't a book I would be naturally drawn to but it read it as part of my book club. I just found it really dull and compounded by narrative/voice I didn't enjoy - I found Lizzie's narrative to be precocious and a bit of an ill-fit considering she is supposed to be 18; throughout I kept thinking she was about 40! Not for me personally.
July 9, 2019
“Extrapolating, I might research an article about all the things men don’t like women doing ... My own limited experience showed that men disliked their wives driving, eating onions and spices, having a dog, talking about sport, laughing loudly, spending money on fripperies, disagreeing with them, chatting on the phone, climbing trees, talking about dogs, mowing the lawn in flip-flops, wearing too much make-up, being too fat, being too keen, worrying and, I suspect, reading the news on TV.”Despite its title, Nina Stibbe’s latest novel has nothing whatsoever to do with the punk icon Ian Dury (although he’s name-dropped a couple of times since he’s representative of the era in which the story is set), but takes place in and around Leicester in 1980, poking gentle fun at English provincial life.
Winner of this year’s Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction, Reasons to be Cheerful is the third instalment in the endearingly dysfunctional Vogel family’s saga (following on from Man at the Helm and Paradise Lodge). The protagonist, Lizzie, has now turned 18 and is working as an unqualified dental assistant to the racist, misogynistic and frankly obnoxious JP Wintergreen. She has recently left her family home and is living in a flat above the surgery that comes with the job. Though intelligent and literary-minded, she is also entertainingly naive of life outside her small village – indeed, her descriptions of the quotidian can be unintentionally hilarious.
“The subject of contraception occupied me for a while. I wondered if the pill would suit me. I mean, my mother couldn’t have it due to vascular peculiarities, nor my sister because of her acne rosacea and fearfulness.”Lizzie begins a chaste relationship with Andy Nicolello, a handsome young dental technician, and expends much thought on how best to encourage him to go all the way. Still a virgin, she wonders if the combined socks and unisex sandals she wears to combat athlete’s foot may not be “conducive to sex”. When he becomes the tenant of her wonderfully wayward mother, the relationship becomes increasing complicated, and she’s left questioning if he was ever really attracted to her in the first place.
Regularly described as the heir to Sue Townsend, Stibbe’s novels are semi-autobiographical (she really did work in a dentist’s office), with great attention to period detail. Reasons to be Cheerful is about becoming an adult, loss of innocence and the development of self. You could call it a whimsical tale touching on status anxiety, getting above one’s station in life, salad spinners, casual sexism and dentistry in the ‘80s – but above all it’s a reflection on love and loss in a period of great social upheaval in Britain.
Stibbe’s books are cathartic and amusing at a time when we most need respite from politics and brief opportunities to chuckle over life’s little absurdities. Luckily you don’t need to have read the first two books in this loosely linked trilogy to enjoy the story, but I guarantee you will want to seek them out after reading this ingenious vintage comedy.
“Lizzie’s the type to paddle along with the tide for years and then suddenly win a dog-photography competition or something…”Many thanks to Viking for providing an advance review copy of this title.
August 1, 2019
Stopped at page 46. Strong points are clarity of voice and command of narrative. But once again, the critics have mistaken pleasant romantic frothiness for actual comedy.
Seems semi-autobiographical, like a Patrick Melrose for chipper twentysomething housewives who think they're above the siren call of the one o' clock wine box, just aren't quite ready for the harsh realities in the Bridget Jones saga.
Seems semi-autobiographical, like a Patrick Melrose for chipper twentysomething housewives who think they're above the siren call of the one o' clock wine box, just aren't quite ready for the harsh realities in the Bridget Jones saga.
March 5, 2019
Reasons to be cheerful
A story that crept up on me until the life of our heroine Lizzie became so bizarre that I just had to keep on reading. Her mother, her family, friends and in particular her work at the dentist’s - JP Wintergreen -, became part of my fantasy life and dreams too. The discussions were absurd and yet, somehow resonated of the time.
Her mother was described as being a:
Drunk; divorcee; nudist; amphetamine addict; nymphomaniac; shop lifter; would-be novelist; poet; and playwright.
In that order.
And her boyfriend was clearly asexual or gay, she assumed, because he liked having freshly laundered clothes, made fruit salads, and once experimented with lemon in his tea. And most importantly of all, never got his penis out, despite her belief that it was often intended as a compliment.
We never really find out just how many pregnancies Lizzie’s mother had, or affairs, but we do realise, that due to her addictions, as a child, Lizzie and her elder siblings, more or less raised themselves in a rather eccentric and liberal household.
The oddities of Lizzie’s family and her work and romances, are recounted in such a dry manner that I found it difficult not to become enthusiastic over the life of this town and want now to meet them all in real life please!
A story that crept up on me until the life of our heroine Lizzie became so bizarre that I just had to keep on reading. Her mother, her family, friends and in particular her work at the dentist’s - JP Wintergreen -, became part of my fantasy life and dreams too. The discussions were absurd and yet, somehow resonated of the time.
Her mother was described as being a:
Drunk; divorcee; nudist; amphetamine addict; nymphomaniac; shop lifter; would-be novelist; poet; and playwright.
In that order.
And her boyfriend was clearly asexual or gay, she assumed, because he liked having freshly laundered clothes, made fruit salads, and once experimented with lemon in his tea. And most importantly of all, never got his penis out, despite her belief that it was often intended as a compliment.
We never really find out just how many pregnancies Lizzie’s mother had, or affairs, but we do realise, that due to her addictions, as a child, Lizzie and her elder siblings, more or less raised themselves in a rather eccentric and liberal household.
The oddities of Lizzie’s family and her work and romances, are recounted in such a dry manner that I found it difficult not to become enthusiastic over the life of this town and want now to meet them all in real life please!
January 10, 2021
This is the first time I have rated a book below 3 stars and I am so upset at having to rate it so low - but I really did not enjoy this novel.
At the beginning, I thought it was slow, lacking plot and couldn't really relate to or warm to the characters. However, I did like the main character and assumed it would gain momentum and plot as the novel progressed. As I realised it was not going to speed up, I was already 75% through the novel so I thought I might as well finish it by this point.
I am so incredibly disappointed in this novel as it had such high reviews suggesting it was very funny whilst also having some sad moments. Unfortunately, I didn't laugh once, and the sad moment, in my opinion, wasn't handled in the best way. Other issues were handled well, but I just felt this novel lacked any major plot as well as any background or explanation of the characters and scenes. Very upset that I didn't enjoy this novel.
At the beginning, I thought it was slow, lacking plot and couldn't really relate to or warm to the characters. However, I did like the main character and assumed it would gain momentum and plot as the novel progressed. As I realised it was not going to speed up, I was already 75% through the novel so I thought I might as well finish it by this point.
I am so incredibly disappointed in this novel as it had such high reviews suggesting it was very funny whilst also having some sad moments. Unfortunately, I didn't laugh once, and the sad moment, in my opinion, wasn't handled in the best way. Other issues were handled well, but I just felt this novel lacked any major plot as well as any background or explanation of the characters and scenes. Very upset that I didn't enjoy this novel.
January 8, 2021
About 20% into this I realised it wasn't a book I was going to love, but still I felt compelled to finish it and often enjoyed the experience of reading it. It's not exactly a plot-driven book but the story flowed well and the 1980 setting was very well done. It only gets 3 stars however as I found almost all the characters lacking in depth/development and/or over-eccentric in a rather forced way (that's not to say that most of them weren't likeable enough). Anyway, I don't regret reading this but I don't think I'll be searching out any of the author's other books.
January 26, 2021
This wasn’t a book I would have bought, but I did enjoy it. Lots of different threads running through it and sometimes you felt sad for Lizzie rather than cheerful. A good read though which was a nice surprise
March 6, 2022
Dentistry, Christianity. Nothing happens, I had to force myself to finish it.
February 19, 2020
You don’t get many witty and funny books set in the 1970’s. I expected it to be a modern set novel, and was pleasantly surprised!
Following 18 year old Lizzie who becomes a dental assistant nurse, we follow her when she wants more with her boyfriend, learning to drive and taught by a vicar’s wife and having to wear sandals because of her athletes foot.
Lizzie grows immensely as a character through out and I so wish there would be a sequel. Nina Stibbe has a way with words and I just wanted this to be longer!
Following 18 year old Lizzie who becomes a dental assistant nurse, we follow her when she wants more with her boyfriend, learning to drive and taught by a vicar’s wife and having to wear sandals because of her athletes foot.
Lizzie grows immensely as a character through out and I so wish there would be a sequel. Nina Stibbe has a way with words and I just wanted this to be longer!
November 14, 2020
*Spoiler alert.* This does not have the conventional happy ending you are expecting; it finishes with the narrator Lizzie gleefully spotting Elizabeth Jane Howard in the street. Throughout the story things turn out other than as expected by both the characters and the reader.
Who would have thought that dentistry could be so funny? However, this is not a comic novel so much as it is a comedy of manners with a sharply observed cast of idiosyncratic - not to say eccentric - characters who are all interconnected in a complicated and sometimes surprising web. Nobody is quite what they seem at first (the driving instructor who has no driving licence), most of what they do is subject to interpretation. Almost everything is a little off kilter, events take unexpected turns.
It's very well written. From a personal point of view, and I speak as someone who remembers 1980s fashion, the frock consciouness quotient is right off the scale; the descriptions of clothing are never gratuitous but always contribute to the story.
Who would have thought that dentistry could be so funny? However, this is not a comic novel so much as it is a comedy of manners with a sharply observed cast of idiosyncratic - not to say eccentric - characters who are all interconnected in a complicated and sometimes surprising web. Nobody is quite what they seem at first (the driving instructor who has no driving licence), most of what they do is subject to interpretation. Almost everything is a little off kilter, events take unexpected turns.
It's very well written. From a personal point of view, and I speak as someone who remembers 1980s fashion, the frock consciouness quotient is right off the scale; the descriptions of clothing are never gratuitous but always contribute to the story.
February 7, 2021
I was underwhelmed by this one I nearly gave up less than 100 pages in but stuck with it. I think I struggled for two reasons:
1. I had no idea this was part of series until after I had finished it
2. There wasn't much of a storyline, just events of varying sizes but nothing really to draw me in.
The focus is on Lizzie Vogel, a teenager who gets her first job in a dentist surgery and starts her adult life. I liked that it was set in the late seventies / early eighties, that made a refreshing change. The author had clearly spent a lot of time researching the dental profession too. Being set in a dentist was a novel change from other books I've read.
I wasn't particularly fond of any of the characters and I think that was the crux. There are certainly some funny lines and a lot of great detail but sadly a little underwhelming for me.
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1. I had no idea this was part of series until after I had finished it
2. There wasn't much of a storyline, just events of varying sizes but nothing really to draw me in.
The focus is on Lizzie Vogel, a teenager who gets her first job in a dentist surgery and starts her adult life. I liked that it was set in the late seventies / early eighties, that made a refreshing change. The author had clearly spent a lot of time researching the dental profession too. Being set in a dentist was a novel change from other books I've read.
I wasn't particularly fond of any of the characters and I think that was the crux. There are certainly some funny lines and a lot of great detail but sadly a little underwhelming for me.
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October 4, 2019
My children bought me this when I was laid up with a broken foot. I had absolutely loved the previous 2 Lizzie Vogel stories - Man at the Helm, and Paradise Lodge - so couldn't wait to read it. This third book follows Lizzie as she moves away from home for the first time. Along with the humour that is as hilarious here as in the previous two stories, there is a vein of sadness running through it. I laughed and also sobbed. It's a wonderful book - funny, witty, poignant, and heartbreaking. Lizzie is such a fabulous character. I hope there will be many more Lizzie stories to come.
September 16, 2021
I do love Nina Stibbe’s fictional account of growing up in an eccentric family in the 70s and early 80s. Reasons to be Cheerful takes us right up to the point of her non-fiction book, Love, Nina. Lizzie Vogel, now 18, gets a job with a dentist, and moves out on her own, into the flat upstairs. She learns a scary amout about dentistry, tries very hard to have a boyfriend and get her driving licence. It is quirky and funny, as they all have been, though I did find this one a little slower.
August 29, 2019
Lizzie is now a dental assistant for a xenophobic dentist. The situations she finds herself in are mostly hilarious, but reality creeps in occasionally. Nina Stibbe writes humor really well.
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September 4, 2019TW: Detailed descriptions of dental procedures. DNF.
March 17, 2020
This was a gift book, and at first I was afraid it was self-help advice. Thankfully not. It is a zany, tender, coming of age novel about Lizzie Vogel. Lizzie is 18 and has no job skills or plans for college. She was practically raised by wolves in rural England, her mom being too self-absorbed and man crazy to take care of children. Fortunately, Lizzie is very bright and eager to better herself. She moves to a small town, takes a job as a dental assistant (combo hygienist, learning on the job, and receptionist) who is paid mostly in free rent above the clinic. This means she sees way too much of the disgusting dentist, her boss. There is a lot of slapstick humor, quieter wry humor, tenderness, and even heartbreak. In other words, the book is not annoyingly cheerful, but we see Lizzie learn how to pick up the pieces after each setback and move on. It’s always fun to cheer on the underdog.
January 11, 2021
An interesting, amusing - sometimes laugh out loud funny- and thoughtful read. I’ll now have to buy the first two Lizzie Vogel books and read her backstory. I always appreciate a writer who can surprise and the end of the book surprised me , shocked me even but the events were dealt with in a characteristically swerving way. I’d just begun to think her Kevin Keegan look alike friend was turning into something more and she would escape her mother forever...
Lovely capture of those late seventies / early eighties , far more innocent pre social media , times. Chelsea Girl, Mateus Rose, curl encourager hair brushes, salad spinners , walnut whips , Not Now Bernard ... I could go on but I won’t . A heroine who could almost have weirdly time travelled straight from Persuasion - but with Mrs Bennett as her mother. Lizzie Vogel , I hope she publishes her articles.
Lovely capture of those late seventies / early eighties , far more innocent pre social media , times. Chelsea Girl, Mateus Rose, curl encourager hair brushes, salad spinners , walnut whips , Not Now Bernard ... I could go on but I won’t . A heroine who could almost have weirdly time travelled straight from Persuasion - but with Mrs Bennett as her mother. Lizzie Vogel , I hope she publishes her articles.
January 31, 2020
Don’t know what made me buy this book as it’s not my usual type of read but I’m pleased I did as I really liked it. Easy to read, full of fabulous characters, set in the late 70s (when the world wasn’t quite as pc as it is today) and a couple of laugh out loud lines made this a very enjoyable read. Kind of wish I’d read the other two Lizzie Vogel books first though.
June 15, 2019
A sweet, quirky and heartwarming story set in Leicester in 1980 full of hilarious moments and relatable characters. If you’re a fan of the late great Sue Townsend, give this a read!
May 29, 2023
A perfectly good third book and a few great new characters as Lizzie moves to the city, gets a job in a dental surgery and possibly finds her first proper boyfriend.
The trouble is that, the older Lizzie gets, the more slightly irritating her literal, repetetive style of story-telling becomes.
The second book was still the best but if you want more Lizzie you won't be disappointed.
The trouble is that, the older Lizzie gets, the more slightly irritating her literal, repetetive style of story-telling becomes.
The second book was still the best but if you want more Lizzie you won't be disappointed.
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