Nicole zachowywała się jak zbuntowana nastolatka, która rzuca wszystko i wybiega na wieść o separacji. Compelling, immersive, often relatable, sometimes less so (wait til you get to the part where Nicole is with her boss after a night out! Whilst this is a family drama told through scenes where people are eating/drinking, Claire Powell handles the choice subtly and it doesn't stick out as a gimmick. The complexities of any family dynamic are varied and they are many; a large scoop of fraught mother/daughter, a spattering of father hero-worship, a dollop of sibling fuelled inadequacy and four human beings who love each other.

When Gerry and Linda announce their separation after over thirty years of marriage the family are plunged into turmoil. This book seemed to be everywhere in 2022 and was recommended in many of the lists produced at the end of the year. Its themes are unremarkable - love, self-knowledge, the feeling everyone else is living while you are standing still . I was intrigued by the gaps in the story, and enjoyed getting to piece together what really did go on from what is gleaned through the next chapter.

The events felt, on occasion, as if they were washing over me but I found myself touched by the attempts of the author to show the characters shifting and developing. The kind of rare story you want to nosedive into on a hot hungover weekend and slurp down like iced coffee - cold, sweet and quenching . Chociaż lektura należała do całkiem przyjemnych, obawiam się, że nie jest to historia, którą zapamiętam na długo. The title to be read and discussed is sign-posted and on sale for the whole of the previous month (with a discount for those who make it known they intend to come) and everybody is welcome, whether first-timer, part-timer or regular-timer. but overall foun the story and characters never came properly alive although Nicole came closest but perhaps that is more revealing of my own back history than is comfortable but, in contrast, ccould find no connection with Linda who is much the same vintage as my current age.

Claire Powell's great skill is to reveal to the reader what her characters struggle to realize themselves . To bardzo fajnie łączy całość i oczywiście trochę popycha do małej refleksji na temat tego, ile naszych własnych wydarzeń miało miejsce przy tytułowym stole. It's full of dry humour and wit, as well as astute psychological observations of what it is to be human.Story was OK, if a little miserable - but reflective of what a normal life can be like, characters not really very likeable, and just as you thought that it was going to get a bit happier, the book abruptly stopped. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because of the occasionally dodgy English ("was sat", "slithers of prawn toast", some clunky writing in places) which was a bit annoying, but apart from that, it's a brilliant first novel. She’s on a permanent quest to find the right man, remaining furiously unsuccessful while her friends settle down around her.

A gripping yet tender depiction of family dynamics, love and disillusionment, At the Table is about what it means to grow up – both as an individual, and as a family. Bo choć doceniam wiele elementów powieści, to jako całość mi się nie podobała, często irytowała, a jednocześnie była na tyle okej, że nie mogę powiedzieć o niej nic złego. This is the story Linda and Gerry Maguire who separate and the effect it has on their adult children who are really old enough to be able to deal with it without all the histrionics which follow. Sometimes the novels chosen are new, often they are from the backlist and occasionally re-issued from way back. A year of lunches, dinners and drinks we become acquainted with the Maguires, Powell’s witty, smartly observed prose gives us a sense of them all.Tää oli tosi koskettava kirja, Sally Rooneyn tyyliin sellainen, että tässä ei oikeastaan tapahdu yhtään mitään, mutta hahmojen elämässä tapahtuu paljon! The food and drink theme as an ongoing connection starts strongly but weakens quickly as you realise that virtually every social interaction has the same link - from a cup of tea to a full restaurant meal and everything in between. Painfully funny, acutely well-observed, powerfully resonant in its humanity and emotional accuracy .