Amazing Grace Adams

Oh, man, I loved this one. A lot. I sometimes find books about motherhood to be of little interest, but Grace is a fascinating character. I loved how Littlewood wove three strands of timeline together to give us a full picture of Grace, her husband Ben, and their daughter, Lotte. Touching on issues of misogyny, parenthood, grief, bullying, and the complex emotional ties between mothers and daughters, this book made me laugh and cheer and cry.

The audio is perfect, and it's one of those books I am not sure I would have liked as much in print. The narrator imbues Grace with so much warmth and pain and humor, she really came alive for me.

5 stars

Grace is on her way to pick up a birthday cake she has ordered for her daughter's 16th birthday party. Her journey is beset with problems and in the middle of a traffic jam and sweating like mad, Grace simply abandons her car in the middle of the road and sets off walking to the cake shop. As I was reading I was thinking it reminded me of Falling Down, the film where Michael Douglas goes on a raging rampage around town and one which I often jokingly reference if things get too much, and then in the acknowledgements the author states that it was in fact an influence.

In sections from the past, everything that has led Grace to this point is unpicked, all those times she has felt lost, out of place and irrelevant. Now, in her mid-40s, she's show more witnessing a shift in other people's perceptions of her and she's starting to feel inconsequential and invisible. Where her daughter, Lotte, is full of life and just starting out, Grace feels the exact opposite.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved Grace's strength and determination and her behaviour, if not always right, felt totally understandable. She is each and every woman out there, especially those in the dark depths of the perimenopause. Just when I thought I had the measure of her there was a plot point that took me completely by surprise and added an extra layer to Grace's character and to the story as a whole. It's a beautifully written debut by Fran Littlewood, astute and intuitive, knowing and intelligent. I think I preferred the sections in the past which were more of a family drama over the years, rather than the immediate wham bam feel of the 'now' section but as a whole it's all very well executed and extremely relatable. I thought it was a moving story of life, loss and love and I'm excited for what Littlewood writes next. show less

This novel, chock full of pain, misunderstandings, selfishness, and bad parenting, made for a gripping audiobook (those Brit narrators get me every time). The titular character is fluent in seven languages and meets up with Ben, "the only other normal person" at a linguistics conference. Grace, whose mother was mentally ill and unable to care for her properly, falls pregnant and she and Ben marry. The time frame of the novel is daughter Lotte's 16th birthday, as Grace abandons her car in heavy traffic and hikes disastrously across London to deliver her cake. There are flashbacks to Grace and Ben's unstable childhoods and ultimately, to the bombshell reason for their separation and for Lottie's own troubles. Insight comes ve-e-ery slowly show more to Grace, who is a dramatic amalgamation of bravery and misplaced bravado, but the unpeeling of the plot brings some stinging and tears to the eyes of any sympathetic listener. show less

4.5 You have to love the cover. (some editions have stickers over the offensive finger) This is along the lines of Eleanor Oliphant or Sorrow and Bliss, with a sweet Bridget Jones coating. Some of what happens is truly sad and disturbing as Grace's mental health deteriorates, but it is also written with such humor and attitude that that is what stays with you. Grace is on a pilgrimage to pick up and deliver a cake for her daughter Lottie's 16th birthday. The urgency of this errand unfolds and Grace's rationality declines. First she abandons her car in traffic and decides to hoof it to the bakery and on to her ex-husband's new flat where Lottie is staying. Needless to say, it takes all day but is also a necessary journey for Grace to show more work out some major issues. The story jumps between the past and present almost too nimbly, but that could also be a factor of listening, rather than reading. In the past, Grace was a brainy badass - a translator by trade who can speak multiple languages. In that context she meets Ben, also a translator, but an academic. Lottie is the result of that meeting. All of that is very droll and sweet and great backstory, but in the present, Grace is a menopausal, angry, emotionally fragile mess who is challenged by her daughter's acting-out age and her marriage's dissolution. Despite it all, I still loved all the characters, even as they hurt each other and lost it, I was still convinced of the goodness of them all - and I wasn't wrong - there is a big reveal. The author's ability to capture the balance between the difficulty of the relationship with a spouse or child, but the love that never abandons it, is what makes this book hopeful and enjoyable. I could see where some might take issue with the almost glib depiction of mental illness, but I think there is care and empathy there too. I flew through this book - couldn't wait to see what Grace's next obstacle on the journey would be and how she would triumph. show less

Anfangs wirkt Grace wie eine durchgeknallte Mittvierzigerin, die von einer Hormonwelle der Menopause überrollt wurde und somit mehr oder weniger (nicht) ganz Herrin ihrer Sinne ist.

Abwechselnde Kapitel in verschiedenen Zeitebenen und damit Rückblenden zum Beginn ihrer Beziehung, Mutterschaft und Pubertätschaos ihrer 15-jährigen Tochter Lotte enthüllen nach und nach wirklich große Dramen und Probleme in Grace‘ Leben.

Ich hatte in diesem Roman eine unterhaltsame Lektüre mit einer ungewöhnlichen Powerfrau erwartet, die 5 Sprachen spricht und durch ein paar unglückliche Zufälle in Streit mit Tochter und Noch-Ehemann gerät. Die tatsächlichen Hintergründe waren für mich sehr unerwartet und ebenso bestürzend.

Ich konnte beim show more Lesen sehr gut mit Grace fühlen, die auf ihrem Weg durch London (mit dem Ziel vor Augen) reichlich Hindernisse zu bewältigen hat. An vielen Stellen habe ich mich mit ihr geärgert und hämisch gefreut, wenn sie „über die Stränge schlug“.

Die Figuren wirken auf mich authentisch und könnten genau so meinen Nachbarn, Kollegen oder Freunde (und deren Familien) entlehnt sein.

Leider gestaltete sich die Entwicklung der Geschichte sehr weit entfernt von meinen Vorstellungen eines unterhaltsamen Frauenromans. Der Klappentext hat mich da ziemlich irregeleitet. Ich empfehle das Buch gern Müttern in Grace‘ Alter und vielleicht auch Töchtern, damit auf beiden Seiten mehr Verständnis füreinander entstehen kann. show less

fiction - linguistical genius and working mom sets out to repair her relationship with her 16-y.o. daughter while simultaneously dealing with a divorce/separation, perimenopause, and a freelance career in trouble. Set in London.

switches between 'now' (2019), 3 months earlier when her current troubles started to get out of control, and 2003, when she met the man who would become her husband and the father of their daughter Lotte. I like the characters and the stories unfolding in the earlier timelines but got impatient with the 'now' storyline which didn't really progress, seemingly full of random obstacles that delay Grace's reaching her intended destination. It comes together in the end but in the meantime is a bit frustrating. Still, show more it's a nice light read that won't give me nightmares if I read it at bedtime (unlike the true crime book I'm also in the middle of right now), and Grace/Ben make a sweet couple to root for even if Lotte remains guarded and completely unapproachable for almost the entire book. show less

Grace Adams is an exceptional polyglot when she meets Ben Kerr at a polyglot convention and wins it with Ben coming in second. To be fair, she invites him to accompany her on the weekend at a resort that she won. A few months later, Grace finds that she is pregnant and seeks out Ben. They eventually marry. The story covers 45-year-old Grace's actions during one day, the day of her daughter Lotte's 16th birthday. Grace has had it with everything and leaves her car in the middle of a highway during a massive traffic jam and walks to pick up the cake she ordered in order to deliver it to her daughter, who is now living with her father Ben after having a major falling out with her mother. The falling out concerned her skipping school to show more have a relationship with one of her teachers. When Grace reports this to the school, Lotte disowns her. Grace plans to get back into Lotte's good graces by taking this birthday cake to her. The book details her trek on foot across London with all her frustrations. The backstory is told in alternating chapters: 4 months ago, 3 months ago...; years; and current day. This style was very hard to follow, and I think, could have been told in a more chronological fashion. Grace comes off as an angry and depressed person who seems to be unable to help herself. She seems to be her own worst enemy and has become unable to lead a stable life. show less