There's a theory that what you're looking for in a partner is someone just like you - someone who shares your interests, your outlook on life, your politics. But Lucy's tried that already - and it didn't work out.
Now, over the butcher's shop counter she's met Joseph. She likes him. He likes her. That's about as far as their similarities go. Lucy's an English teacher in her forties with two children, a white 'Remain' voter. Joseph's twenty years younger, black, still undecided on so many things from career to which way to vote over Brexit. Can their mutual attraction be enough to base a relationship on?
I rather liked this book. It's the quiet gentle love story of a very unlikely couple. Insightful and funny it depicts a middle-aged woman and young man drawn to each other despite their differences. This isn't a case of Anna Karenina falling head over heels for dashing young Alexei Vronsky, or vice versa. Neither Lucy nor Joseph appear to be whisked away in a flood of passion - in fact one thing they do have in common is a gentle, cautious approach to their affair. Lucy's attitude is one of sensible middle-age, Joseph's of uncommitted youth, but somehow they fit together.
Something I particularly liked was that, although obviously not intended to be deep political analysis, it captured the confusion over Brexit well, giving an insight into why so many voted for an idea that others thought was idiotic.
On the whole it's light and fun, not a great love story or tragedy, but just as enjoyable in its way.
I haven't read any Nick Hornby for a while, though I have a well-stacked shelf of his novels. This I feel might send me back to rediscover them.
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