Our book of the month is Away With The Penguins by Hazel Prior. We give you our Big Review below.
***Our Big Reviews are written from the point of view that you have read the book. If this is not yet you, bookmark the page and come back once you have***
Penguins – the blurb
Veronica McCreedy is about to have the journey of a lifetime . . .
Veronica McCreedy lives in a mansion by the sea. She loves a nice cup of Darjeeling tea whilst watching a good wildlife documentary. And she’s never seen without her ruby-red lipstick.
Although these days Veronica is rarely seen by anyone because, at 85, her days are spent mostly at home, alone.
She can be found either collecting litter from the beach (‘people who litter the countryside should be shot’), trying to locate her glasses (‘someone must have moved them’) or shouting instructions to her assistant, Eileen (‘Eileen, door!’).
Veronica doesn’t have family or friends nearby. Not that she knows about, anyway . . . And she has no idea where she’s going to leave her considerable wealth when she dies.
But today . . . today Veronica is going to make a decision that will change all of this.
Ove, Eleanor….Veronica?
Upon picking up the book I was immediately reminded of the brilliant Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. Or the awesome A Man Called Ove. The concept? Introduce an emotionally cut off person functioning seemingly well. Add a slightly unconventional character, in this case penguins and a weed smoking grandson, to help them reconnect emotionally and live happily ever after. It’s a format I’ve loved previously so was really looking forward to reading it. Plus there were penguins, in a place called South Shetlands and Veronica loved tea. It looked like a match made in heaven.
80 in Antarctic?
Except it wasn’t quite. It started well. Eileen and Veronica proved a humorous partnership and I could have read a book about them two alone. However it wasn’t long before little doubts crept in. The box containing the locket hasn’t been opened in 70 years yet she often took out the hair out of the locket to kiss it? Veronica suddenly has doubts that there is no other family out there for her, checks and finds a grandson? And that’s not even touching upon the fact an 86 year old woman virtually forces herself upon a team of scientists in the South Shetlands. Eleanor Oliphant was good because it was believable and didn’t veer into the silly or sickly sweet territory. Penguins almost did both.
No more ginger thins
That sounds quite harsh yet I don’t mean to be. The book was easy to read and had genuine feel good vibes. It was also a good time of year to read it. No it wasn’t Christmassy but the penguins certainly gave it a winter feel. I also appreciated the nod to climate change and how we all could be doing more to help. Be it donating to a good cause, litter picking or giving up ginger thins. And who can review this book without mentioning the penguins! They truly were the stars of the show and led to much googling of ‘baby penguins’. I mean, look at them:
Get Involved
If you would like to get involved with our book of the month try answering our book club questions published every month. Just search in our footnotes section for the ‘Get Involved’ articles. We review a new book every month so keep your eyes peeled for the Lowdown on January’s book of the month soon.
