Second Honeymoon

I love reading Joanna Trollope. It's the same thrill that comes with reading a mystery novel -- you're looking for the bad guy. Except that instead of trying to figure out who committed a crime, you're trying to decide which character will end up being unforgivably vile.

--Okay, nobody's vile in this one. Ah, well.

I have said this before....I love the way Trollope writes and I continue to be amazed at her ability to weave a story and develop her characters and in, now, SO many books she has written. Her characters have personalities that are so easily pictured with her descriptions---from Edie, to Russell, to Rosa...to Lazlo---even the cat, Arsie, is a cat with opinions! I do wonder if there is an age factor at work in those of us who love her books---she's writing about people we can relate to.

A mothers empty nest journey, a father who cannot wait to have his wife to himself after 26 years, three grown children who has left the house but returned due to mordern domestic dilemmas... Trollope's writting is compelling and enjoyable!

Finding books about older women seems virtually impossible so I was glad to find this one. There are times in the book when the prose so accurately captures the feelings of being an empty nester that my heart broke a little while also rejoicing that it wasn't just me that had trouble adapting to this next stage of life.

I should have anticipated that Second Honeymoon wasn’t a book for me, having read the blurb and come to the realisation that it was largely focused on a couple, close to retirement, dealing with the fact that all their children had left home.

But my mum, having raved about it, convinced me to read it, and I at least came to some understanding of how she might be feeling about both my brother and I having left, and indeed also, how I might feel about my home, am I ever to go back.

That aside, however, this book was an annoyance. The three children, all in their mid-20s, find themselves struggling with money and relationships, and have to face themselves and the reality that they are getting older, and that they have to come to terms show more with their independence and make their own decisions about how they’re going to live their adult lives.

The author seems intent on drilling this message back time and time again, but the novel really never gets off the ground. None of the characters are clearly defined enough to warrant liking or caring much about, and the relationship between Edie and her husband Russell, which you’d think would be the key element explored in this book, is barely even touched upon.

I wouldn’t read anything by Joanna Trollope again, at least until I’ve matured well into my early 60s. Second Honeymoon was boring and more than a little patronising. show less

This was an enjoyable and thought provoking read.This book is about a woman whose youngest child has finally left home. Edie has defined herself as a mother for so long that she has no desire to be anything else. Her husband has his vision of how life will be now, and is eager for her to conform to his view.Edie half-heartedly auditions for a role in a production of an Ibsen play, and (to her great surprise) gets the part. Just as she is rediscovering the actress in herself, who she had put in the backseat for many years, her children return home. As much as she's wished for this, the experience isn't what she expected.Each child had their own story. I was particularly interested in Matthew, the oldest. In many ways, he is the opposite show more of the rest of his family-- neat where they are messy, organized where they are scattered, ambitious where they are laid back. He's got a successful girlfriend that is ready to move up in the world, and is going at a pace he can't keep up with. He's having a very hard time dealing with this.Ben and Rosa are both much earlier in the process of finding out who they are and what they should be doing with themselves. Rosa is fairly newly out of an intense relationship that left her significantly in debt. Ben is moving in with his girlfriend, who isn't quite ready to leave her mother.These characters and more are what made the book work. They had interesting stories. They were each flawed while still being sympathetic. I was interested in where they ended up, even while recognizing the mistakes they made in getting there.To me, the book reflected the importance of control over ones own life. The characters making their own choices about how they were living had a much easier time coping than those at the mercy of circumstances. show less

Joanna Trollope's one of those authors I enjoy whilst finding their books a bit much sometimes. In her case it's usually because I find the characters a bit too posh to be feel real to me. But I usually end up enjoying things. I liked this more than I remembered enjoying the last couple of her books. Here we have a couple who have just waved their youngest child off and have the empty nest to deal with. Edie, mother of the family wants the children back, whilst, Russell, father of the family, wants the titular second honeymoon. Their children come across various crises that lead to Edie getting her wish, sort of, whilst Russell figures other things out. Although, as I say, they're all a bit upper class, it actually ends up ringing show more quite true to me. The children do behave like children with their upbringings often seem to, and some of the silly things seemed less silly by the end of the book. Enjoyable, and recommended if you like a bit of domestic drama. show less