This time, she dips into The Odyssey for the legend of Circe, a nymph who turns Odysseus’ crew of men into pigs. This lonely, scorned figure learns herbs and potions, surrounds herself with lions, and, in a heart-stopping chapter, outwits the monster Scylla to propel Daedalus and his boat to safety. One of the helmsman's most important duties is steering a ship in a harbor or seaport when reduced speeds slow a ship's response to the rudder. She has the potential to become that increasingly rare thing: an accomplished comic novelist who knows how to make it matter. Stibbe's novel wasn't horrible, and again, I really wanted to like this book but it just didn’t do it for me.

Man at the Helm: A Novel by Nina Stibbe, Paperback | Barnes Man at the Helm: A Novel by Nina Stibbe, Paperback | Barnes

Although narrated by the adult Lizzie, the voice is still that of a nine-year-old and there gives emotional tug and pull between what a child sees and feels and what the wisdom and hindsight of adulthood give. Or rather, she does, and yet her eye and ear for the absurd never desert her - they are part of who she is.Lizzie's theatrical mother only invites more gossip by spending her days drinking whiskey, popping pills, and writing plays. Stibbe would seem to be on similar ground in her first novel, though the perspective, setting, characters, format and genre are entirely different. Desperate to fit in, Lizzie and her sister hatch a plan: secretly invite any suitable (and even unsuitable) men to meet (and hopefully marry) their mother . Whether it's the big vs little sister dynamic, or the brutal disappointment of love gone wrong, Stibble does a great job of writing honestly and with a lot of humor.

Man At The Helm - Radio 4 Sitcom - British Comedy Guide Man At The Helm - Radio 4 Sitcom - British Comedy Guide

But the most striking example of their faute-de-mieux self-sufficiency is what gives the novel its title and loose structure – the sisters' attempts to find their mother a new husband from an exceptionally unpromising array. A nifty and loving snapshot of earliest-1970s culture, class-consciousness, and women's issues, with one very good dog thrown in for good measure.

I do like Stibbe's writing style, but the same ground was covered again and again, to the extent that it became almost horribly repetitive. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Man at the Helm: The hilarious debut novel from one of

A story of understanding and forgiveness instead of accusations and hatred, of which there are so many in today's life. Making a list of local candidates, with no concern about whether they're already married or not, the girls set up romantic encounters by writing letters in their mother’s name. Nancy has been at the helm of our department for so long that I can't imagine what it will be like once she retires! If you liked 'Love, Nina' (and if you didn't, stop reading my review, we're clearly not going to get on), you will love this too.This novel, as with her previous work, is easy to read and explores numerous characters, mainly through the eyes of the children of the piece, which gives it a simplistic quality but not to the detriment of either the story or the style in which it is written, nor does it treat the reader as "simplistic", quite the opposite in fact. This is followed, without missing a beat, by: "She knew this – most of the bad things in her life having been her own fault. I’ve seen it described as ‘hilarious’ and ‘laugh out loud funny’ but I didn’t get that from it at all. A book that is hard to put down - I always reached a point where I thought that will do for now, but ended up reading a bit more anyway. A helmsman or helm (sometimes driver or steersman) is a person who steers a ship, sailboat, submarine, other type of maritime vessel, or spacecraft.