When her father dies, Kay Wilkinson can't cry. Over ten years, Alzheimer's had steadily eroded this erudite man. Surely one's own father passing should never come as such a relief?
Both healthy and vital medical professionals in their early fifties, Kay and her husband Cyril have seen too many of their elderly NHS patients in similar states of decay. Determined to die with dignity, Cyril makes a modest proposal: they should agree to commit suicide together once they've both turned eighty. When their deal is sealed in 1991, the spouses are blithely looking forward to another three decades together.
But then they turn eighty.
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'Was I supposed to cry?' Kay cast off her heavy serviceable dark wool coat, for this was one of those interminable Aprils that perpetuated the dull chill of January. 1, THE SOAP-DISH BOX
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(@HarperCollinsUK, 10 June 2021, ebook, 289 pages, copy from the publisher via @NetGalley)
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I'm a fan of the author so expected to enjoy Should We Stay Or Should We Go. I was not disappointed. I had a lot of fun reading this book. The book uses a premise similar to the movie Sliding Doors in which we are shown different possible paths Kay and Cyril's life could take. One path is what happens if they go through with their suicide pact, another path is what happens if they don't. The other paths are more complex and include a hilarious chapter or two showing what could happen if Kay chickens out and tells one of their children their plans only to find her and Cyril sectioned under the mental health act living in an awful nursing home. The book is sad at times but very funny and enjoyable.
