Back in the summer, my
mother-in-law gave me a pile of books to take home with me, as is her
habit when I come visiting. This one, "Up with the Larks" by Tessa Hainsworth, is the first
of a series of three books about a woman who starts
over as a postwoman in Cornwall.
Tessa (the author) works
for The Body Shop. Her London-based life is extremely busy and rather
high profile. Her husband and two children matter a lot to her, but
there never seem to be enough hours to a day and days
to a week to see as much of them as she wants to.
After a particularly relaxing
holiday in Cornwall (not their first one there), the family decide to
up sticks and move there permanently, to finally live the life they
dream of, with plenty of time and space for every
family member, and without the day-to-day stress and pressures of life
in the big city.
As tends to happen with the
best plans, this one doesn't exactly work out the way they imagine: The
house needs a lot of work, and much more money than anticipated. Work is
scarce in this beautiful region, and soon Tessa's
husband finds himself doing two or three part-time jobs just to be able
to pay the bills.
Tessa's search for a suitable
job is not successful. Eventually, as a last resort, she applies for
the job of postwoman - and nobody is more surprised than herself when
she actually gets it.
She starts at the hardest
imaginable time: November, the weeks leading up to Christmas. But maybe
that sink or swim approach is the secret: After some initial (and rather
funny - for the reader, at least) difficulties,
she really takes to the job, and the book ends with happiness all
around.
I liked this true story, told
by the main protagonist herself. The language is fine; nothing over the
top, but no vulgarities, either. The book is neatly divided into a
chapter for each month of the family's first year
in Cornwall.
We meet the family, their
friends from London who come visiting, their new neighbours and
colleagues and Tessa's customers on her post rounds. People, places, the
weather and Tessa's moods are described well without being
verbose.
What Tessa and those she
writes about experience ranges from the funny to the serious, from silly
to dramatic - just how real life is.
My next two reads will be books I borrowed from my sister, but I am looking forward to returning to more of Tessa's adventures.
I love reading books about other folks' adventures, so it sounds like this one would fit the bill. Trying to catch up on my reading right now and I have a never ending TBR pile I but can't make myself give them away without at least trying them, but I believe this should go in my mental TBR stack. I think my sisters would enjoy them, too.
ReplyDelete* but I
DeleteMy TBR pile does not seem to get any smaller, either, but I think if that ever were the case, I'd start to panic slightly :-)
DeleteThis sounds really interesting. I always think it must be a gamble, moving somewhere where you spent a holiday, as real life in that place is never going to be the same as your holiday. But good on them for making the move. x
ReplyDeleteOh yes, living and working all year round in a place you've previously known only from holidays is very different, and I guess everyone who's done that has come across totally unexpected problems. Tessa and her family certainly did! But they did well in the end.
DeleteNever heard of this. I always like books about peoples' real life experiences, though.
ReplyDeleteMe too, Jenny. There were one or two instants in the book when I though they'd been rather naive, in spite of all their thinking things through and making plans - they just didn't expect how things worked out in the end.
DeleteThank you for bringing this book to our attention . . . it sounds rather delightful and that it is a true story just adds to its appeal, to me, at least. I think I'll look for it. Hopefully it can be found here in the States too. We shall see. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteGotta love the Internet! Still don't know if these can be found in the States, but I did find a wonderful link where one can view a short video of the author talking about her life in Cornwall, in situ: http://www.upwiththelarks.co.uk/
ReplyDeleteYes, it's the author's own website; I watched the video, too, when preparing my review.
DeleteI've also read that the Corwnall Tourist Board uses these books to attract visitors, and articles about Tessa and her actor husband have appeared in several newspapers and magazines and on websites about Cornwall.
This sounds like a lot of fun! I hope I can find a copy.
ReplyDeleteIt shouldn't be a problem, I am pretty sure these are available "everywhere" :-)
DeleteThis sounds like a good read, and all the more intriguing because it's true. I have been doing a lot of reading lately (maybe I'm avoiding writing!) but I've discovered Lisa Jewell and read two of hers back to back: The Girls and The Third Wife. Now I'm reading Jenny Eclair's book, Moving, which is looking good so far. There is nothing better than finding a book that you don't want to put down.
ReplyDeleteI've read your review of The Girls on your blog, Maggie. The name Lisa Jewell sounds familiar; I was almost sure I've read something from her, but checking on my blog (where ALL the books I read get a review sooner or later) shows nothing.
DeleteJenny Eclair? What a lovely surname!
I was able to buy a copy for a penny plus S&H and notice there are two sequels. I usually like this sort of story, so am hopeful!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a bargain :-)
DeleteYes, I wrote in my review (first paragraph): "This one [...] is the first of a series of three books". I now realize it should have been "...first IN a series", right?
I was so pleased to find out this is a true story! I will look into it. Thanks. Do you know the Derek Tangye books? He and his wife left the London life for Cornwall to grow flowers. And it was way back before many people did such a thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Tangye
ReplyDeleteNo, I have never heard of Derek Tangyue. Thank you for the recommendation!
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