His smartphone came to life. A picture of his family taken the previous year on holiday in the Maldives. Four tanned bodies, squinting into the sun waist-deep in a turquoise ocean. A happy picture taken at a happy time...
***
Two people trapped in their different worlds. One by wealth and one by poverty. Twenty years working for The Firm has given Marcus Barlow everything he wants but has taken his soul in return. Finding a way to leave has become an obsession.
Claire Halford’s life hits rock bottom when she is caught stealing food from Tesco Express. Left alone by her husband with two small children and an STI, her suicide music is starting to play louder in her head.
A chance meeting brings them together. As a mystery virus from China starts to run riot across the country, their world’s collide and they find they have more in common than they knew.
Set in the early months of 2020, Maybe It’s About Time is a story about the difficulty of changing lives for the better. Starting as a funny and satirical view of the egocentric world of professional services, it gives way to a heart-warming story of an unlikely friendship that rejuvenates Marcus and Claire, giving them both hope for a better future.
***
There is something original about this book, and it kept me completely hooked. Set during the run up to, and during the pandemic lockdown it was so much more than a novel of 'unprecedented times'.
There were some marvellous characters in this novel. The main characters, Marcus and Claire were both well drawn and utterly believable. However, the author does an equally good job with the secondary characters. I loved Mr Mahoney and Claire's other neighbours. Equally, Marcus' family were well portrayed.
I laughed at the way Marcus' colleagues were depicted as soulless human beings and it was a joy to see him come to understand his role within this. It was no surprise to discover that Mr. Boss has worked in the corporate sector and I suspect that much of himself is reflected in Marcus.
The novel is about self-evaluation, and questions what constitutes a family. It was also about friendship and how it can occur in the most unlikely of places and situations.
It is a fairly lengthy novel at just over 500 pages but it was worth every page and I flew through it. It was both heartwarming and funny whilst dealing with a serious subject. I did not anticipate the ending, and I cannot wait to read the sequel when it is published.
ISBN: 978 1803135038
Publisher: Matador
Formats: e-book and paperback
No. of Pages: 552 (paperback)
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Neil retired from a career in the corporate world in November 2019 with three objectives. To travel around the world and fly fish in the most exotic locations, to play his electric guitar better and to write a novel that he could be genuinely proud of. The pandemic and lockdown in March 2020 put his first two objectives on hold leaving him no option but to start writing. Two and half years later, Maybe It's About Time, his first novel, was published.
As a piece of work, he is incredibly proud of it. It makes him laugh and cry in equal measure. He is even more proud that readers seem to be enjoying it just as much and it is getting great reviews.
Travel and fly fishing has now started again, his guitar playing is improving and a sequel to Maybe It's About Time is planned to start in 2023!
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*Disclosure: I only recommend books I would buy myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post contains an affiliate link from which I may earn a small commission.
(book provided courtesy of The Write Reads)
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