Getting Rid of Matthew by Jane Fallon
I was drawn to this book by the cover:
I think it those red shoes in contrast with the blue tie, it definitely draws the eye, and I am glad it did.
What to do if Matthew, your secret lover of the past four years, finally decides to leave his wife Sophie and their two daughters and move into your flat, just when you’re thinking that you might not want him anymore …Plan A – Stop shaving your armpits. And your bikini line. Tell him you have a moustache that you wax every six weeks. Stop having sex with him. Pick holes in the way he dresses. Don’t brush your teeth. Or your hair. Or pluck out the stray hag-whisker that grows out of your chin. Buy incontinence pads and leave them lying around.Plan B – Accidentally on purpose bump into his wife Sophie. Give yourself a fake name and identity. Befriend Sophie. Actually begin to really like Sophie. Snog Matthew’s son (who’s the same age as you by the way. You’re not a paedophile). Buy a cat and give it a fake name and identity. Befriend Matthew’s children. Unsuccessfully watch your whole plan go absolutely horribly wrong. “Getting Rid of Matthew” isn’t as easy as it seems, but along the way Helen will forge an unlikely friendship, find real love and realize that nothing ever goes exactly to plan …
This was a good book. Helen quickly realizes she does not want Matthew and her ways to get rid of him are quirky and funny. This book was irresistible, hard to put down. Every time I did stop reading I was dying to know what was going to happen next.
Helen befriends the ex-wife and forms a lovely friendship. This was the highlight of the book for me, and when her true identity was revealed I nearly cried. Their friendship moved me so much, and made me grateful for my friends.
I didn’t like Matthew’s character, I could see why she wanted rid of him! He was slimy, a liar and weak and needy, plus old, not attractive. However, his character was well written and I did find myself disliking him and laughing at him.
I had a few problems with this book. The first is how long Helen’s secret life panned out, I didn’t think that was very realistic. The second was the way the children were written. They are aged 12 and 10 but to be honest it seemed like they were in their teens. And the final thing was I did not like the over-use of bad language.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and was happy to overlook my complaints. This is a great, fun chick lit book.
8/10