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A review by thenovelbook
Near Neighbours by Molly Clavering
4.0
Set in Edinburgh. A spinster lady in her 60s, Dorothea Balfour, has just lost her older sister in death. Her older sister was rather a bully, and before that Dorothea was subject to the whims of her father. Thus, for the first time in her 60-odd years, Dorothea is truly her own mistress. She begins hey new chapter by befriending her neighbors, the Lenoxes, a family consisting of a single mother and five grown or nearly grown children. The friendship that springs up between the neighboring houses changes both sides for the better. A nice story of decent people (my favorite kind!), a few romances, and gentle optimism.
There are a couple plot lines/characters that fizzle out. Some might see this as problematic, but these "slice of life" books often feel more realistic because of things like that. After all, how many people and things are there in life that pass briefly onto your horizon but don't hold a starring role there? The fact is that sometimes things don't work out like you assume they will, and when book characters experience this, I feel akin to them. (Not that I wouldn't like a couple loose ends tied up, but I could live with them in this case.)
This author was a friend and neighbor of D.E. Stevenson, and their writing styles are very similar!
There are a couple plot lines/characters that fizzle out. Some might see this as problematic, but these "slice of life" books often feel more realistic because of things like that. After all, how many people and things are there in life that pass briefly onto your horizon but don't hold a starring role there? The fact is that sometimes things don't work out like you assume they will, and when book characters experience this, I feel akin to them. (Not that I wouldn't like a couple loose ends tied up, but I could live with them in this case.)
This author was a friend and neighbor of D.E. Stevenson, and their writing styles are very similar!