A review by kchessrice
Balancing Act by Joanna Trollope
3.0
Balancing Act was included in my most recent delivery from Hand Me Down Book Club subscription, and never having read anything by Joanna Trollope before - and in a serious mood reading funk - I picked it up hoping that it would be a light, easy read to get me back to normal!
It was exactly that, nothing unexpected and a fairly routine family-drama: Susie Moran established her pottery business (Ms Trollope taking inspiration from Emma Bridgewater and Cath Kidston!) nearly three decades ago and her three daughters (Cara, Ashley and Grace) are now on the management team in various roles. Except Susie can't relinquish control to let them grow and develop the business as they would like, which causes friction. In addition, Susie's husband Jasper is becoming increasingly frustrated at being left on the periphery of her life and gets more conversation from Polynesia, the African Grey parrot. The daughters' various relationships are also under strain and add into the mix Susie's absent father reappearing at the age of 81 and asking to get to know her, it throws everything into disarray.
This was a compelling read and I did like the drama from the family tensions, however by halfway it felt like they were just going round in circles and having the same old fights a lot of the time, so that was a little boring. There were several phrasing repetitions that were a little irritating, e.g. the characters always "wait a beat" or "let a beat fall" before responding.
The process of making China clay and creating pottery has been very thoroughly researched and I enjoyed learning more about the factory process of making a mug etc. All in all, it was the easy read that I needed and I will pass it onto my mum, who I think it will suit much more than me! Recommend to fans of Marian Keyes, Deborah Moggach or Sarah Morgan.
It was exactly that, nothing unexpected and a fairly routine family-drama: Susie Moran established her pottery business (Ms Trollope taking inspiration from Emma Bridgewater and Cath Kidston!) nearly three decades ago and her three daughters (Cara, Ashley and Grace) are now on the management team in various roles. Except Susie can't relinquish control to let them grow and develop the business as they would like, which causes friction. In addition, Susie's husband Jasper is becoming increasingly frustrated at being left on the periphery of her life and gets more conversation from Polynesia, the African Grey parrot. The daughters' various relationships are also under strain and add into the mix Susie's absent father reappearing at the age of 81 and asking to get to know her, it throws everything into disarray.
This was a compelling read and I did like the drama from the family tensions, however by halfway it felt like they were just going round in circles and having the same old fights a lot of the time, so that was a little boring. There were several phrasing repetitions that were a little irritating, e.g. the characters always "wait a beat" or "let a beat fall" before responding.
The process of making China clay and creating pottery has been very thoroughly researched and I enjoyed learning more about the factory process of making a mug etc. All in all, it was the easy read that I needed and I will pass it onto my mum, who I think it will suit much more than me! Recommend to fans of Marian Keyes, Deborah Moggach or Sarah Morgan.