absent criminal father sends stolen daughter yearly letters, which she doesn’t receive until she is 17. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. The profound effect on Anna was so trivialised, and I wonder if this was a whack at "white privelege".

I will have to go and reread “A Tiny Bit Marvellous” to reset my usually very strong appreciation for Dawn French. I mention this by way of ameliorating my negativity, perhaps had I read the DF in isolation I would have enjoyed it more. A few hours later as Hope is heading home she goes past Anna’s room where both she and her partner are asleep and she sneaks a peek at the baby. The Irish mid-wife, the African American politician father who only cares about what people think of him; (the African American aspect was merely a cheap and obvious device to ensure the child was mixed race).

What should have been a beautiful and celebratory day is marred by the tragedy and what follows only compounds the tragedy further.

I'm finding it difficult to review this novel as I'm not sure I read the same book as other people, I certainly didn't find it life affirming, warm or witty as the reviews suggest. One moment you were empathising with a woman going through every new mother's nightmare, the next you were supposed to engage with banter between a dim policeman and a vile politician. It examines relationships between mothers and children, between husbands and wives and fathers and children. There are some funny and tender moments within the story but overall it felt a bit too forced for me to fully enjoy it or find it impactful. It's impossible not to warm to Rosie, a funny and open-hearted woman who acts as a salve and comfort blanket for this unhappy, inhibited family.I have to say that I wasn't utterly overwhelmed by the plot line and found the writing style to be a bit too 'chick lit' for my taste but I persevered and I did warm to the book soon enough. Julius, is a first rate egotistical idiot politician; his wife, Anna is grieving and bereft, for almost the whole story and hates her husband. I had seen so many good reviews of this, I couldn’t pass this by, especially as it was narrated by Dawn French. Julius the politician appears to be without a humane bone in his body (I guess Trump proved that is actually possible but it just didn’t stack up with Julius). Hope and Minne become more than just mother and daughter, they are inseparable and are best friends, talking about everything under the sun and creating their own secret language.

I read this book due to its surprise (to me) longlisting for the 2021 Women’s Prize – an explicit sign from the judges (the chair of whom blurbs the front cover of the book) that they were looking for a range of books from literary to storytellers. Really, save your time and don’t bother - how can complex and sensitive subject matter be treated in such a blunt way? If this story wasn't written by a major celebrity, it would be found in a copy of a women's' own magazine rather than languishing in the top ten best seller lists.

She will have you believe that a baby is taken from a hospital, and the crime is being investigated by a lone detective sergeant and a couple of detective constables. These early scenes set the story up perfectly, with some heartbreaking moments, but also some humour, and it made me really invested in the lives of the two women right from the start.

In contrast to the three main characters, all of whom I liked and felt genuinely invested in, the male supporting characters (the women’s respective partners) are all very one dimensional, to the point of feeling like caricatures: we have the terrible husband, the wonderful, selfless husband, and the comic-relief joker. There is an absence of any complexity , ensuring that the reader is not unnecessarily taxed by thinking. I'm going to keep this short because I don't feel like writing a proper essay for Goodreads, and the other long option would probably be rambling and vitriolic.I like the fact that the Women’s Prize consider all books, literary and storytelling, for the accolade.