I'm pleased to be able to share my review for Growing Up for Beginners today. Thank you to Boldwood Books for my digital advanced review copy via NetGalley - my thoughts are my own and not influenced by the gift.

This is the first book I've read by Claire Calman. I love the gorgeous cover, it is bright, cheerful and fits the story perfectly.

The story is told by various characters / POV's and I found it took a few chapters to get into the flow of the story. Looking at the reviews on Goodreads, some readers quickly gave up - my advice is to stick with it if you can, it will be worth it.

As the title suggests, it is time for some of the characters to grow up. Eleanor, whose children have flown the nest, has to deal with her husband Roger, who is one of the most obnoxious characters I've ever met in a book and her dad, Conrad. She meets Andrew (via Conrad), who suddenly finds himself living back with his parents (with a mum determined to feed him up) and needs to move forward with his life. My favourite character is Cecilia, who embarrasses her daughters with tales of her flamboyant past.

I enjoyed the book. Topics covered include lost love, depression, parenting issues, adultery, sibling relationships, creativity and a love of books.

An interesting look at life and relationships. I really disliked Roger. No one should put up with being treated like that.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This was a book I didn’t want to end and sadly I know that I am going to have a book hangover now I’ve read the last line. When I picked it up on the many nights it took me to get through it was like snuggling up with a hot chocolate in your comfy pj’s the word around me stopped and I was totally enveloped in the characters lives. It was an uplifting and hopeful story that filled all of my senses and left my feeling smug that each character got exactly the ending they deserved.

This was not the fast paced read that I usually enjoy but a much more calm, flowing book that got under my skin. Each of the characters touched me for very different reasons.

Conrad is a very imposing figure at the British Museum. He retired 10 years ago but still heads there numerous times a week as though he’s not actually left. He is the central character that each of the storylines branch off. Conrad has spent most of his life in a fairly loveless marriage. An affair saw him meet the love of his life and yet he gave up his chance of happiness to deal with his teenage son that was slowly going off the rails.

His daughter Elenor is portrayed as a meek and mild pushover. Her children have flown the nest and she spends her days running around and being at the constant beck and call of her bully of a husband, Roger.

Roger, I wanted to punch that character on the nose. He is vile, arrogant, pompous and full of his own self worth. The little mind games and tricks he played on Elenor although so subtle did so much harm. Don’t even get me started on what he did to her books. My blood was boiling but he gets the ending he deserves as does Elenor when she finally grows her backbone and stands up for what herself.

Then there is good old Andrew, he works at the museum and was assigned by Conrad to restore damage to one of his much loved personal portraits. Poor old Andrew all the way through the book I just wanted to hug him. He’s bumbling through life, at 35 he’s a bit lost and finds himself having to move back in with his parents. It’s his worst nightmare but could he have found love in the local coffee shop?

I could go on and on about this book all day. It was very much character driven and I just loved the feeling that I was not just reading about the characters but that I was very much involved in their ups and downs. I totally fell in love with this writers’ style and I am looking forward to reading more of her work.

This story flicks between Eleanor, who appears to be a doormat, stepford wife style wife, waiting on the needs and acquiescing to her self-centred and bullish husband, Roger; Conrad, Eleanor’s father who still works at the British Museum and appears standoffish, but is clearly hiding his emotions and maybe more; Andrew, a conservationist employed by the British Museum whose girlfriend kicked him out of her home and back into the home of his parents; Cecelia, a larger than life artist who lives behind Andrew’s parents; and Olivia one of Cecelia’s daughters, who is nothing like her artistic and outrageous mother and sister.

Gradually, as the story progresses, you see how all of their stories weave together, with each of them growing in character and discovering more about themselves and about each other.

As is often the case, I found myself getting frustrated when Eleanor and Andrew let their partners (and ex-partners) walk all over them, desperately wanting them to stand up and shout at them to bugger off and run off into the sunset to live their best life.

I guessed one of the relationship twists quite early on, but this didn’t take away from the warmth I got when it finally came to fruition.

An easy, enjoyable read.

Growing Up for Beginners by Claire Calman is a delightful and heartwarming story about several people who at first seem to have no connection to each other but as the story progresses it appears that their lives are interwoven after all.

Eleanor is trapped in a loveless and abusing marriage, but after twenty or more years, after her kids leave home, is the first time she actually admits that something is not right.
Her father is after thirty years still grieving for the lost love of his life.
Andrew's relationship has taken the turn for the worse when his girlfriend throws him out. Nothing to do but head home to his parents, even though living with his mother is unbearable.
Cecilia has problems with an apple tree and her next door neighbors and her two daughters will offer to sort it out for her.

Seemingly random people will all come together for a grand finally of this lovely book. Easy to read but so inspiring and touching it is impossible to put down. It touches on many important subjects in a gentle and not judging way. Characters are so well developed and will become so close to your heart you will be sorry to see them go. Except Rodger, I wanted to kill him after the first paragraph.
Highly recommended.

In the middle of reading this book, I felt the need to shout about it on Twitter. I drew similarities – purely in the format – to the Scotland Street series by Alexander McCall Smith.
The leading characters, Eleanor and her father Conrad, blend perfectly with Andrew and Cecilia as their worlds are gently and exquisitely drawn together.
I identified with Eleanor from the opening lines as, before I became reliant on my kindle, I loved to read the last page of a book. I felt the sheer brutality as Roger sliced through the precious pages with his knife. Eleanor’s loss of voice and her inability to take charge is heart-breaking and I felt myself silently shouting encouragement to her. Conrad’s attention to detail and his lamentable relationship with his wife and son make for a difficult read as his pain is tangible.
Andrew’s relationship with his parents is sweet to the point of cloying and it was difficult to see an escape for him but, Claire Calman is clearly a champion for the under-dog and I was grateful that he found his confidence. As for Cecilia, as I reached the final chapters, I realised that she’d featured a few times as the other characters stories had unfolded.
I laughed and cried as this book continued and I genuinely didn’t want it to end.
Claire Calman has written a modern classic and it is beautifully delivered.

Oooh, this is so good! Engaging and enticing, I really enjoyed it.

With four characters to follow, there is always plenty to keep the reader going with this one. Four very different people, in varying stages of their lives make for riveting reading . . .

I love the way this is written. Unravelling slowly, I found myself completely invested in the story. The characterisation is absolutely fantastic; there are those you will love, those you will loathe (trust me, if you read it you will know exactly which one that is), those you empathise and sympathise with and those you just want to give a good slap! The events themselves are very well thought out and beautifully written, resulting in a soul-touching, heart-warming and bittersweet novel which I'm so happy to recommend. I actually cheered for one character - you'll easily know which one! I can imagine that this author is very good at people watching. Just different enough to make it stand out and well worth 4.5*. 

My thanks to the publisher for my copy; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

Told through multiple POV, Growing Up For Beginners comes across as a gentle, light and comforting read whilst covering some heavy topics.

We meet Eleanor who is clearly suffering from childhood trauma and as an adult now lives her life constantly trying to please her husband whilst convincing herself it's normal. Her marriage takes me back to my A Level Sociology days where I learnt about The Warm Bath Theory because she is living that life fully. I'm warning you now that if you are a normal person/someone who believes in equality, you'll want to join me in taking her husband down a peg or 10.

Whilst Eleanor is ensuring her husband is living his best life, Andrew has just been dumped by his girlfriend and has to move back home to a very overbearing mum. Although he is an adult, to his frustration she still treats him like a child. Every Asian k̶i̶d̶ adult knows how you feel Andrew. We see you. You are heard.

He works with Conrad, who spent years married to the woman he didn't love. And now he's alone.

I loved following the storylines of each character and seeing how they connected to one another and I also loved how down to earth and normal they all seemed. Claire Calman did a great job of covering themes like patriarchal households and dysfunctional families without making it feel like a heavy read. I also felt a sense of comfort as it was set in London and I'm very partial to books set in my home city.

This was my first book by Claire Calman and I'm excited to read more.

Thank you @netgalley for this arc.

I loved this book - the structure with the gradual reveal of the history of the characters and the way they eventually link together, but I particularly loved the character of Eleanor and her emancipation. I cheered every time she stood up for herself! Conrad, too, was intriguing. I think there’s a spin off in Benedict’s story too. There wasn’t a character I didn’t find interesting. Recommend this book and this author who I’ve not read before but will now seek out!

I must admit to struggling a little with this book it revolves essentially around one family and their children/grandchildren
It is also a book about love and how we shouldn’t stay with someone who we no longer love. But this can be a very hard decision to come to as some in this book realise
Not the quickest fast paced novel but is interesting to see into other people’s lives

This novel set out telling the story of four very different situations and at times one might wonder how anything is going to come together; it feels like a written mess, much like it looks when you are doing a French braid and hair is flying all over the place. But as the book climbs to its apex the stories weave together and create a thing of order and beauty, the braid revealed and is glorious in design and execution.

Eleanor is 47 years of age and has been married for 21 years to her overbearing husband Roger. Overbearing might not express his behaviour adequately, perhaps it should be designated as abusive. Eleanor has slowly given in to his demands, temper tantrums and tried to avoid his nasty behaviour by becoming a ‘satellite’ spinning in orbit around him, attempting to be the perfect wife of his design, doing things his way rather than chance his ‘black cloud’ behaviours. Eleanor suppresses her thoughts and desires but as the novel develops, so does her inner rage.

Eleanor shares a quiet but meaningful relationship with her father Conrad, who although now retired, worked in the British Museum and is working on his third book in his specialty and is self-contained and perhaps a tad withdrawn from others in the world. He is estranged from his youngest child whom he hasn’t heard from in over five years; since the death of his wife, with whom he didn’t have an especially good relationship with. The one thing that means the most to him in his life is a painting of a beautiful woman that takes pride of place in his study, in which his family is not welcome. He has ‘done his duty’ by his family, but honestly only has a meaningful relationship with his daughter.

Andrew works at the British Museum in the same department that Conrad does, and appears to be a late bloomer when it comes to relationships. Unceremoniously dumped by his girlfriend at the start of the book, he moves in reluctantly with his parents. Having drifted into and out of relationships until at the age of 35, he is in danger of being ‘left on the shelf’. His mother means well, but is overwhelming in her actions and ideas and his father is basically a shell of a man who likes nothing better than to hide out in the back shed where he has a chair and peace and quiet. Life seems to be getting on top of Andrew, and is indeed in danger of becomes a ghost of a man, never really living a life of his own, but fading into the background of his parent’s existence. Andrew serendipitously meets a new woman who is different from any he has ever been with before. She appears to like him for who he is but this woman, who is the daughter of a neighbour could be the something different that he has been longing for all his life.

Cecilia lives in the house that backs onto Andrew’s parents’ house, with a contentious apple tree between the two making contact possible. She is a free-spirited artist who has brought her two daughters up in quite a bohemian manner and she is very forthright about her sexual life in the past and thinks nothing of regaling her daughters with stories of her indiscretions and one night stands. But Cecilia has her secrets that she has never revealed to anyone, much less those who should know them the most because far from being the indiscreet woman, Cecilia nurses in her heart the truth of having one true love that she has carried for 30 years. Her two daughters share a loving relationship with their mother, but often feel like she has never really grown up, which they overlook until a secret from Cecilia’s past is revealed that has major ramifications between all three.

All four stories travel along in their own manner and as a reader, one is often left to wonder how any of them mean anything to the other, until the end when all is revealed, and everything comes together in a splendid fashion. This is a beautifully written story that explores how lives blend into others, much like watercolours on paper bleed into each other to make something new and beautiful. The reader needs to make the commitment and come to it with the understanding that the story is a slow burn and that it is not a comedy with marching girls and a brass band to announce things, but rather a gradual drama played out with nuances and hidden tones along the way. It is clever and painful in turn, and the ending is unexpected, even if the reader had not realised that it was exactly what they had been hoping for it all along. The characters are beautifully written, and even the many ‘minor’ relationships’ between the characters are absorbing and entertaining.

This novel explores the effect of decisions made that always have a long-term impact, although just what they might be is never fully revealed at the moment they are made. It becomes six degrees of separation event, where all the characters are bound together in ways they never imagined. Intelligent and absorbing, the promise of the story is enough to carry the reader along, even when things don’t seem to be important or valid. A glorious read.

Trigger Warning - Domestic Abuse

Growing Up For Beginners by Claire Calman was a sweet read. I think many people will relate to Eleanor and her struggles. It’s hard when your kids grow up and you aren’t needed as much and you look around and wonder, “what next?”

Not that I’m speaking from experience!

I enjoyed the well-written characters with their struggles and I think you will like this book too.

Here is what you need to know:

It’s not easy being a grown-up, but at 47, Eleanor hoped she’d be better at it by now… When Eleanor waves her daughter off for a gap-year trip, she finds herself stuck as a satellite wife, spinning in faithful orbit around her domineering husband, with only her clever but judgmental father Conrad for comfort.

Andrew isn’t mastering the art of growing up either. But when he finds his belongings dumped in bin bags on the drive, even he can see that his girlfriend is hinting he should move out. With no other options, he moves back in with his parents.

Backing onto their garden lives artist Cecilia, living in chaotic clutter and dreaming of her ex-lovers, still acting like a stroppy teenager at the age of 66.

Four lives are drawn together by long-buried secrets of the past, and it is time for them all to grow up… before it’s too late.

Growing Up For Beginners will appeal to those who like books that explore the themes of family, aging, middle age, relationships.

This will be published on June 4!

This book wasn’t quite what I was expecting; however, it made a refreshing change to not immediately follow a budding romance but instead follow the ups and many downs of several relationships.
I enjoyed reading it & internally cheered when the main character made a specific decision about her life. Hoorah for putting an end to being a life-long door mat; however, I did find some parts of the story a little tenuous or unbelievable, but it didn’t detract from what was an enjoyable read throughout.

A nice little read, characters are well developed and relatable. Its a story about relationships between people with a realistic plot. My thanks to Net galley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, I'd read books by this author in long distant past, but evidently my reading tastes have changed.

Initially I did enjoy the opening few chapters but as the book proceeded I found that I didn't really like any of the characters, it felt disjointed and the only reason I kept reading was to see how it would all fit together.

Although by the time I got that point I wasn't sure I was that bothered anymore.. Without being compelled to read on for most it, it felt like a bit of a slog to read, and I found myself skimming Andrews sections as I just didn't get his story at all.

In some respects this could have perhaps been better as two books, each featuring a pair of the characters and them being interlinked somehow, which would have perhaps meant you got to know them all better.

I can't full put my finger on it but this just didn't work for me the way I had hoped.

This is an excellent novel, interesting and compelling. The plot involves a woman, Eleanor who is married to a domineering man. It is also the story of her father and the love of his life. They have both put others in their lives ahead of their own happiness .They come by interesting events that make them both see things differently. This book is quite formally written which reflects the demeanour of most of the characters. The characters are well drawn and the plot is engrossing. Recommended. Thanks to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for an arc of this novel

This is a very perceptive look at life for well established adults who are still finding their way in life whether it’s due to moving back with their parents after the end of a relationship, dealing with an empty nest or other reasons. It features four very different but acutely portrayed individuals who are all linked albeit tenuously. I found it told four different life stories in a very engaging style and ran them parallel in a way that worked well. It made me think about my own life but entertained me too, it’s wonderfully thought provoking and relevant.

This book didn't grab me in the first few chapters, but I did persevere with it and I did get into it eventually. There's a lot of to and fro between different parts of the story which is confusing at first until you make the connection between characters.
It's set in London and mostly in present day, however it does refer back to historical events in some of the characters lives.
On the whole, it's an interesting read if you can give it time to get going.

I thought this one was pretty cute. it was just a fun and light read with nothing super special about it. but that's just comforting sometimes. so. i'm down.

Not my usual type of book, I usually read thrillers or Sci Fi, but I do like to switch genres occasionally,and I thought this sounded like fun.However I just didn't get into it, I didn't really connect with the characters, and found it to be very slow paced.I am an impatient reader so hopefully other readers with more patience than me and more of a liking for this genre will enjoy the book more.I am afraid it wasn't my cup of tea though.