As always, with book reviews, sharing my thoughts on The Sunny Side of the House: When Life Gives You Strawberries – Memories of a Fenland Boy is hopefully just enough to interest you in the book without sharing any spoilers. I am a fan of David Bailey’s work, having previously read one of his other books.
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You can’t choose your mum and dad, even when they choose you.
In my early teens I had a taste for horror comics. In one strip I read of a handsome young couple at last alone in their honeymoon suite. He is crisply suited, clean-cut. She, lovely in her wedding finery, offers him the chance to watch her disrobe.
The bride is not shy. She reveals herself, frame by frame, to be a hideous crone gloating at having tricked her new husband. He is unfazed, setting her to screaming as he removes his own head to stow it, grinning still, under his arm. Years later, when I thought of writing a memoir or fictionalised account of my parents’ marriage, the title I toyed with was ‘The Hag and the Head’.
Every family has a history, every family has a past. All families have dysfunctional bits, some more than others, some well hidden and some not. As children we probably don’t realise a lot of what is going on in our families, or if we do, it’s seen through the lense of a child’s eyes. When we become adults, we often look back and are astounded at what we learn about our parents, siblings, and other generations of family.
This book * takes you through the author’s perspective, shifting between boyhood and the realities of a complex family life with the drama, trauma and love that comes with that, with his own flavour of whimsy. He learns things about his family, his parents and their lives, that he has to navigate and whilst he is sharp, blunt and also witty (there are some real laugh out loud moments as well as some harder parts which he handles sensitively but still make you hold your breath for a moment) and he brings characters to life and even though there are quite a few, you are able to keep track of who is who. I have never been to the Fens, or Fenlands, but this book does bring them to life, and makes you feel like you understand life as the author saw it writing this book.
It’s gripping and funny, but also real. I like David Bailey’s style and The Sunny Side of the House has his flavour but also makes you want to keep reading til the end, as you explore the characters and life as he shares it.
Definately one I would recommend. You can find more about David Bailey here and keep up with his writings. You can also find what other bloggers have to say about this book too.