You, Me And Other People By Fionnuala Kearney

[amazon_link id=”B00LS3WM1S” target=”_blank” ][/amazon_link]’You, Me And Other People’ is Fionnuala Kearney’s debut novel.

They say every family has skeletons in their closet. But what happens when you open the door and they won’t stop tumbling out? For Adam and Beth the first secret wasn’t the last, it was just the beginning. You think you can imagine the worst thing that could happen to your family, but there are some secrets that change everything. And then the question is, how can you piece together a future when your past is being rewritten?

As a debut, I thought this novel was a strong one. It was about the complexities of lies and what happens when the truth is revealed and people discover that the life they have been leading is far from ideal.

The story is written in the first person from the perspective of married couple Beth and Adam, who’s marriage has broken down after Adam’s infidelity. We follow the couple as they deal with the consequences and try to adjust to their lives now no longer part of a team. Beth is a strong woman, having given Adam her life, she is tired of his lies and want to lead her own life, where she has to worry about no-one but her nineteen year old daughter Meg and her best friend Karen. As time passes and Beth becomes used to life as a single woman, her life seems to prosper as her song writing career soars whilst Adam’s seems to be falling apart. Where the separation has made Beth a stronger person, for Adam who is the reason behind the separation, his world has fallen apart and he is no longer able to fix it. The oldest of two boys, his life has been troubled since the death of their parents and this maybe the reason why his life and head is so messed up. He’s weak, occasionally pathetic and even though he is a philander, I found myself feeling sympathetic towards him.

An acutely and cleverly observed story about the aftermath of an affair and a marriage in crisis with the injection of humour and lighthearted moments that makes the book a far from depressing story about a marriage breakdown, ‘You, Me And Other People’ is a poignant and stunning debut.

You can buy [amazon_link id=”B00LS3WM1S” target=”_blank” ]You, Me and Other People from Amazon [/amazon_link] and is available to buy from good bookshops.