Never Greener

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On the face of it, this sounds like a novel to slog through of hard-to-like characters making harmful and hurtful decisions. But I was okay with that, going in. After all, Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s brilliant ‘Fleabag’ TV series showed us the bitingly funny and complex humanity behind “toxic” people and their self-destruction. Something of ‘Never Greener’ also reminded me of British drama shows that had explored infidelity thoughtfully, and from many angles. ‘The 7.39’, starring David Morrissey for instance, and a David Tennant episode of ‘True Love’ that’s about a happily married-man bumping into ‘the one that got away’ and getting a brief, second chance with her. Both of these were examples of solid storytelling that didn’t reduce people down to ‘good’ and ‘bad’, but looked at the myriad ways we choose love, and exist within the ramifications of our choices. My struggles with the book were mainly with the way Kate is written as a contemptible person whilst Callum is quite likeable. Kate is in her early 20s when their affair begins and Callum is in his late 30s yet she is seen as a seductive temptress and Callum is just a hapless man who cannot resist her charms. I got annoyed with myself for liking Callum when he was as much to blame for their affair (it takes two to Tango after all). I am unsure whether this was intentional by Ruth Jones and whether she is holding up a mirror on the portrayal of women in this sort of situation but if she was it wasn’t immediately obvious to me. There is a huge cast of characters whose viewpoints are examined which did make the book drag a little and I felt the book lost its momentum slightly at times (I wondered if I felt this way because it was an audiobook and pacing is so important when listening rather than reading.) I do like a book with multiple viewpoints though and felt that it really added to getting under the skin of the characters and the impact of the affair upon them. MyHome.ie (Opens in new window) • Top 1000 • The Gloss (Opens in new window) • Recruit Ireland (Opens in new window) • Irish Times Training (Opens in new window)

I am honestly struggling to remember if I've ever read another book in which I disliked the main character so much. When Kate was twenty-two, she had an intense and passionate affair with a married man, Callum, which ended in heartbreak. Kate thought she’d never get over it. It’s written like a TV show/film, you can picture everything in detail but you still get the joy of being in the characters’ heads. There's been a trend popping up recently, at least in my life, of unlikeable characters. No, this isn't a thinly veiled attempt to shame my colleagues and peers or my nearest and dearest in the national press, but rather a nod to the books and TV programmes I've been consuming. Louise O'Neill's recently released Almost Love struggles to present you with even one character you feel deserves your pity or empathy or forgiveness. I love books about gnarly, messy relationships and this one kept me gripped from the beginning. A great read.' Jane FallonI have to admit that Kate's husband Matt and his old friend Hetty were by far my favourite characters and I hurt when Matt hurt and I wanted to cry when he cried. I loved Hetty for her absolute loyalty to him and was desperately sad when even their relationship when awry for a while. The characters are so real that you just do not want to let them leave your life. We meet Kate and Callum who had a passionate affair, Kate was young in her early twenties and Callum old and married, he should have known better, was he looking for some excitement in his ‘mid-life’ what was Kate really hoping for? Sadly, for Kate it ended and left her bereft and heartbroken. Callum carried on with his life his secret hidden. This one blew so hot and cold for me. One minute you love the flawed messed up characters the next you hate them. What they are doing to each other what they are doing to themselves. They are all in the end of believable and unbelievable at the same time. London and Edinburgh the two main settings one way to win you over. There was too much cheating which nearly made me round down. However something stopped me how human they all are. You do not have to like all details about a person and vice vesra it is written well.

It’s a tough slog to read this unfolding “romance”, and certainly not a story about the nuance of affection and affairs (Ruth Jones is no Liane Moriarty, or Mhairi McFarlane – for instance – both of whom regularly unearth the murkiness of lust and love). In fact, the entirely of Callum and Kate’s intense sexual chemistry (we’re told) seems to be down to the fact that Kate is really really ridiculously good looking. Just really stunningly gorgeous. And Callum is a fit ex-Rugby man. Again – because we really don’t read them relating to one another as people, just the (summarised) very brilliant sex they’re having, it’s a real stretch to believe their fiery passion … And they are faced with a choice: to walk away from each other . . . or to risk finding out what might have been. Non ammetto il tradimento in nessuna occasione, specialmente quando a subirne le conseguenze sono persone innocenti, come Belinda, la moglie di Callum, che ammetto di aver amato come personaggio e ho compreso a malincuore molte sue scelte. I decided to read this novel after enjoying her second novel 'Us Three'. This is her debut novel Never Greener and tells the story of two marriages. One couple who are enjoying married life and the other one less so mixed with an old affair that is rekindled and threatens to rip them apart. L'autrice è stata brava a far vivere le emozioni dei protagonisti e a creare un epilogo non scontato..It felt like we only got glimpses of insight, Kate is definitely carrying a great deal of darkness but why? The most interesting character is Belinda and I almost feel that this story would have been better told from her personal perspective, but that has been done before.

Callum is married to Belinda and they have two children with another on the way. Everything seems to be going well now after surviving an affair twenty years ago when he cheated on Belinda with aspiring actress Kate, just hours after meeting her. It's an affair that threatened to end their marriage and hurt so many people. So when seventeen years later Callum and Kate meet by chance, marriages and lives are threatened again. On reuniting they both find it impossible to stay away from each other and the troubles begin. Kate is an actress at the top of her game; she's married to the wonderful Matt and mother to five-year-old Tallulah. Callum is an older guy, a schoolteacher with three grown children, and obviously in love with his wife Belinda. Kate and Callum's lives couldn't be more different, yet when they meet again, all these years later, that spark is still there and despite any attempts to resist, it seems inevitable that the spark will create flames that could destroy so many lives. Ruth Jones is best known for her outstanding and award-winning television writing, most notably BBC One's Gavin and Stacey, which she co-wrote with James Corden and in which she played the incorrigible Nessa Jenkins. The 2019 Christmas Day special of Gavin and Stacey gained national critical acclaim, drawing an audience of over 18 million, winning a BAFTA for TV moment of the year and a National Television Award for Impact. Ruth also created and co-wrote Sky One's Stella, which ran for six series. Ruth has starred in several other television comedies and dramas. Heart-rending, provocative and astutely written, Never Greener is a love story about getting what you want and losing everything you need. Ruth's characters will stay with me for a long time.' Cathy BramleyCallum ha una relazione extraconiugale con Kate, interrotta solo quando viene scoperto da sua moglie Belinda. Ma, dopo 17 anni, imperterriti, i due si ritrovano e ridiventano amanti. Il tempo intercorso tra le due relazioni, viene svelato capitolo dopo capitolo, in modo da meglio capire le dinamiche, gli avvenimenti, le scelte fatte dai protagonisti che, nonostante tutto, non si sono mai dimenticati. Kate è la rovina famiglia, l' amante, talmente egoista da mettere in secondo piano il benessere di sua figlia pur di riavere il suo vecchio amore. Matt è il marito, un uomo buono, padre affettuoso e amorevole. Belinda è la moglie tradita, che ha molto sofferto per il rifiuto del marito, ma l'ho apprezzata per le sue ferme decisioni e la forza mostrata. Callum l'ho odiato. Ha distrutto la sua famiglia, suo moglie e i suoi figli, portandoli alla condizione di non volerlo più rivedere. Particolarmente struggente sono stati l incontro, dopo che è andato via di casa, con suo figlio, e il dolore della piccola Tallulah quando Matt ha scoperto il tradimento e, distrutto, è ripartito da solo The book leaps between 2002 and 1985 – describing Kate and Callum’s intense love affair when it first began (then ended in heartbreak) and again when it’s rekindled in 2002 after a chance encounter, when Callum is now in his 60s (still happily married to his wife) and Kate is a famous British actress with a husband and five-year-old daughter.

Jones dips in and out of these many lives and these many timelines and between London and Edinburgh, but never once loses you, and never once stops you from wondering when redemption will come for Kate and Callum, or will it ever come? Kate gets the hardest time. Her issues with food and alcohol surface again and again. Her mental health struggles are framed through Matt’s concerned eyes. Her obsession with her appearance and her desirability build and build, while her fragility only occasionally pokes through. In contrast, those weaker souls: the acquiescing Matt, the unsuspecting Belinda, the bumbling Hetty, they begin to shine. They give you something to root for.Suffused with a warmth, wit and wisdom that will steal into your heart and fill you with myriad emotions, Never Greener is a gorgeously written book from an immensely talented author about making mistakes, redemption, second chances and sometimes realising that the grass is greener right where you are.