I have rated this book on the level which I enjoyed it rather than the quality of the writing. The writing is actually pretty good - except for the odd glitch where absent characters suddenly speak in conversations - but unfortunately this type of novel isn't my thing. My problems came when Rebecca decided that, rather than tell her bosses that Lorna was going through big personal issues that kept her from work (the normal way to deal with a work issue), she decides to perform a series of lies and charades to pretend that everything is fine with Lorna's performance. This just wouldn't happen, and I could not suspend my disbelief. At all. I found myself rolling my eyes at the behaviour of many of the characters. After her studies, she began working for a theatrical literary agency. After a few years there, she decided to become a freelance script reader and script editor for different theatrical productions and television, and in 1994, she advanced to become a producer on the series EastEnders. This was followed by a number of awarded series, such as This Life, 20 Things to Do Before You're 30, and Teachers. [4] The book made me laugh and gasp: "Oh, this is sooooo true!!" there are a few good twists and really funny moments, but the main twists are very, very far stretched... Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2021-05-07 19:00:43 Boxid IA40099209 Camera USB PTP Class Camera Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier

She's begged Matthew for years to leave the marriage he's always insisted is empty, but when he suddenly turns up at her flat after Christmas telling her he's left his wife, Sophie, and brought all his stuff to move in with Helen, she realises it's not what she wants at all. In fact, now that Matthew is here in her small home, every day, crowding her, making it impossible for her to do all the things she loved doing in her time alone (time that had previously seemed so depressing), Helen ceases to love Matthew altogether. The affair and broken marriage eventually leaks out at work and Helen finally admits that she has to change her life, starting with her resignation. But when she tries to break up with him, he becomes pitiable and she lets him stay. PLAN B: Accidentally on purpose bump into his wife Sophie. Give yourself a fake name and identity. Befriend Sophie. Actually begin to really like Sophie. Snog Matthew's son (who's the same age as you by the way. You're not a paedophile). Buy a cat and give it a fake name and identity. Befriend Matthew's children. Unsuccessfully. Watch your whole plan go absolutely horribly wrong. My Secret Life: Jane Fallon, author & TV producer, 49". The Independent. 13 March 2010 . Retrieved 28 August 2014. Helen demands more of his time, but initially he refuses to leave his wife Sophie and his two daughters and Helen is left frustrated and alone in her flat with just her TV dinners for company. I really enjoyed the first part of the book where the savage office relationship between Rebecca and Lorna is explored. Lorna is a hateful character, memorable, spiteful and with a fantastic turn in passive aggressive behaviour. I had the urge to throttle her, and, as far as I'm concerned, if an author makes you have a visceral reaction like that to a character then they are doing a fine job.Jane Elizabeth Mary Fallon (born 9 December 1960) [1] is an English author and television producer. Sharp, Rob (13 March 2010). "My secret life: Jane Fallon, author & TV producer, 49". Independent. London . Retrieved 11 August 2022.

Rebecca and Daniel, and Alex and Isabella were two couples who met in university. Their world is turned upside down when, after 20 years, Alex suddenly leaves Isabel and confesses his love for Rebecca. After Rebecca rejects him, Alex ends up dating Rebecca's workplace nemesis, Lorna. Foursome, despite the title, is NOT erotica. The foursome referred to is a group of friends, two couples, who have known each other and been the mainstay of each others social lives for many years. When one of the marriages breaks up (Alex and Isabel), it has far reaching consequences and causing Rebecca to reexamine whether she every really knew them or anyone for that matter. There is another storyline in the book which revolves around Rebecca’s job and her interactions with a co-worker, Lorna. That particular storyline sums up very accurately why women are their own worst enemies as far as professional lives. I have watched these kind of relationships/interactions in places I have worked and it never ends well. I thought that part of the book was very accurately done. I have listened to this book at least two times and I know I’ll listen to it again and again. I have only ever listened to one other audiobook more than once, and I’ve listened to a large amount of audiobooks in my time, so that should tell you just how well written this book is. Aside from the comedy aspect, the clever turns of phrase used in place of cliches and dry description add so much color to the narrative, even in droughts of dialogue. Fallon dips into smaller characters’ lives as necessary and in details that matter, leaving out anything the reader might not find useful or interesting as well as anything that doesn’t apply to the current situation. In times that delving into a minor character’s past seems unnecessary, just wait – there’s always a reason, soon to follow, that it has been described. Fallon doesn’t waste words.

Q&A Asked about Getting Rid of Matthew

Here's a brief outline of the plot without giving too much away. Helen is approaching 40 and finds herself in a long-term affair with her boss Matthew, who is married and much older than her. The 2 women stay friends with the truth all out there and I love it!! Helen also talks about maybe restarting her relationship with the son who is actually closer to her age!

I was given a copy for World Book Night and thought I would give it a go even though I don't usually read chic lit. It isn't badly written or anything, but I didn't like the characters, the storyline or the concept.. and I didn't find it funny. It just isn't my sense of humor but I know several people who think it was really good and amusing (presumably including the World Book Night Panel) so if you like this type of novel (funny chic lit) then its worth a go. But let's be clear: Helen is not painted as an innocent woman. She knows her affair is wrong, but while caught up in it the mind works differently: this, to me, felt absolutely real and true to human nature and the way our emotions and minds work. There's such clarity about Helen and Sophie, whose perspectives dominate the narrative (Matthew gets a few bits throughout, but it's largely told from the two women's perspectives). And when Helen "wakes up" to her life, the lies she lives and the damage she's done, she's even more real. How do you get rid of a boyfriend you're no longer interested in, but who seems like they'd fall apart if you tried to break it off? I've certainly experienced that before, and Helen's distaste for Matthew's personal habits once he lives with her, once it becomes "real" rather than an affair, is comical because it's so familiar. Fallon does a fine job of balancing sympathy with "just desserts": Helen does deserve it, after all. If only she could have Matthew... not an odd weekends and couple hours here and there, but all to herself, so that the could be a family... Two months later, having been told by the English and History of Art departments that they would give her a place but only for the following academic year, she switched to History because they said "start tomorrow". She got a third.Then, after Matthew has left Sophie, Fallon keeps the plot twisting with Helen befriending Sophie, using a false identity. Finally, Helen ends up falling for Matthew's son. In 2011, Foursome was nominated for the Melissa Nathan Award for Romantic Comedy Fiction and in 2018, Faking Friends was nominated in the popular fiction category of the National Book Awards. [7] [8] In 2019, it was longlisted for the Comedy Women in Print Prize. [9] In 2020 she was awarded an honorary fellowship of University College London. [4] Personal life [ edit ]