Another book review from my long list of suggestions!!

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This is my 'easy reading' time of year, when I have my grandchildren staying I tend to spend hours sitting around the pool and catching up on some nice easy reading. The Bad Mother's Handbook has been around since 2004, and in fact had sat on my shelf for over a year, but I had never got round to reading it, it despite enjoying reading Queen Mum, another book by this author. I have just spent a couple of enjoyable days absorbing myself in this book that is both poignant and funny. I have to admit for the first few pages I got rather confused as to who's account I was reading. As soon as I realised that slightly different fonts were used for each of the three main characters I soon got into it. As a Northener I could visulise the scenes in the book, which is definatly full of English Northern charm but still very readible by anyone - even Southern softies!! The dialects are not too difficult to read - in fact the differences in the dialects of the three main characters depict the changes through the fifty years covered. I found the book to be funny and clever in the way it dealt with social issues.There was plenty to laugh at and plenty to make you think. I don't think that there are many people who couldn't identify with at least some of the issues in this book I deals with contraception, pregnancy, abortion, adoption, birth( I though the description of Will's birth was very realistically portrayed, teenage mothers,friendship, family relationships, social welfare and the class system. I really enjoyed this book and was pleasantly surprised by the standard of the book, if all you want is 'chick-lit' this won't really hit the spot, but if you are interested in the psychological effecys of family and a little socoal commentary told in an absorbing fashion you will love this book - I certainly did.