The Boy Who Fell to Earth by Kathy LetteMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Time Taken to read - 1 day
Blurb From Goodreads
Meet Merlin. He's Lucy's bright, beautiful son - who just happens to be autistic.
Since Merlin's father left them in the lurch shortly after his diagnosis, Lucy has made Merlin the centre of her world. Struggling with the joys and tribulations of raising her eccentrically adorable yet challenging child, (if only Merlin came with operating instructions) Lucy doesn't have room for any other man in her life.
By the time Merlin turns ten, Lucy is seriously worried that the Pope might start ringing her up for tips on celibacy, so resolves to dip a poorly pedicured toe back into the world of dating. Thanks to Merlin's candour and quirkiness, things don't go quite to plan...
Then, just when Lucy's resigned to a life of singledom once more, Archie - the most imperfectly perfect man for her and her son - lands on her doorstep. But then, so does Merlin's father, begging for forgiveness and a second chance. Does Lucy need a real father for Merlin - or a real partner for herself?
My Review
Meet Lucy, mum to the wonderful Merlin. Merlin's dad dumped them both after being told Merlin is autistic, what follows is Lucy learning how to raise and understand her child and his need for routines and accommodate them. Over a decade passes and Lucy starts to find some happiness for both her and Merlin when a blast from the past barges into their lives and change life as they know it.
I have ready a couple of Kathy Lette before and whilst her signature is still in there (sex, laughs, naughtiness) - this book is so very different in that it deals with a serious issue. Autism is such a huge subject and yet if you don't have a child with it it is hard to imagine living with it, what a whole day must be like. Whilst the book focuses a lot on Lucy and her dating I found it gave an insightful view into what life can be like for a single mum living with her autistic child. It isn't often I find a book that makes me laugh, gasp, mad and horrified all in one go. There are a lot of one liners in it (maybe a few too many for some people) but from what I remember this is par for the course in her books (it's been a while so I could be wrong, it does happen!).
Overall I enjoyed it - I got through it within a day. As I said it has been a while since I have read Kathy Lette so I think I will maybe reacquaint myself with her work. Thanks to Waterstones for the chance to review this and see an author with her hand at something different, 4/5 for me this time.
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This sounds like a great, interesting read. I enjoyed your review.
ReplyDeleteI used to love Kathy Lette when I was a teen but went off her a bit around the How to Kill your Husband time. Might be time to give her another go.
ReplyDeleteI have autism myself, so I will have to check this one out :) I have never read anything from this author before and I don't read very much Chick-Lit. But because of the subject I will give it a go :)
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