Hazel Prior

A truly feel-good book club read - a #1 bestseller in ebook and audio! 'This year's Eleanor Oliphant . . . Funny, bittersweet and wholly original.' Daily Express Veronica McCreedy is about to have the journey of a lifetime . . . Veronica McCreedy lives in a mansion by the sea. She loves a nice cup of Darjeeling tea whilst watching a good wildlife documentary. And she's never seen without her ruby-red lipstick. Although these days Veronica is rarely seen by anyone because, at 85, her days are spent mostly at home, alone. She can be found either collecting litter from the beach ('people who litter the countryside should be shot'), trying to locate her glasses ('someone must have moved them') or shouting instructions to her assistant, Eileen ('Eileen, door!'). Veronica doesn't have family or friends nearby. Not that she knows about, anyway . . . And she has no idea where she's going to leave her considerable wealth when she dies. But today . . . today Veronica is going to make a decision that will change all of this. 'I love this gorgeous book. Unflinching, stubborn, funny and moving, Veronica is an unlikely heroine who will sneak in and capture your heart.' Trisha Ashley

The joyful Richard & Judy pick and Number 1 bestseller

Away with the Penguins

Anna Berg

3.5

Heartwarming, but not captivating

A very slow story-line and the plot was very predictable. Veronica McCreedy, 86 years of age, an odd character with a troublesome past travels by herself seeking the comfort and love of the Adélies penguis. 

Overall I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I will describe it as okay; I wasn't overwhelmed, but I enjoyed it to a certain extent. The one thing I loved was the Antarctic scenery and the parts about the penguins. In some way it also made me reflect on the human impact on endangered species and on wildlife in general. This book is all about the Adélies penguins and how scientists are trying to keep their kind alive, which is not far form reality. I enjoyed it.

Helen Borham

A sweet and heartwarming story full of penguins!! I enjoyed the character development in this book, particularly Veronica and Patrick. Both live behind shields but as the story unfolded so did they and their true selves and experiences shone through

A nice and pleasant read, however it was missing any wow factor in my opinion

Grace Emilia Machon

3.5 stars

Sweet story, man called ove with penguins, and more saccharine and not as memorable. Absolutely worth your time of you just want to think about mostly good things and penguins

Amy Buckle

For fans of: A Man Called Ove and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

I read this book as it was the January pick for Beth’s Book Club and I’d heard good things from other bloggers so I was excited. Veronica is eighty-five years old; she has no family and her only ‘friend’ is her helper Eileen (who never shuts the door behind her and is too nosy for her own good, according to Veronica anyway). But when a mysterious box and a long-lost grandson find their way back into Veronica’s life, something sparks inside her, and she is determined to live one last adventure before she dies. Having recently been intrigued by a penguin documentary on the TV, Veronica makes it her mission to visit the Adélie penguin research facility in Antartica and see for herself if it is indeed a good enough cause for her to leave her millions to when she’s gone.

The narrative of Away with the Penguins flips between Patrick (Veronica’s grandson) and Veronica herself; I enjoyed this, and while its hardly a groundbreaking technique, for this story I felt it was necessary in order to discover more about Veronica’s life as she was clearly not willing to divulge that information herself.

As a protagonist Veronica is very much like Ove from Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove. I don’t think Prior quite achieves the same empathetic love that Backman does with Ove, but she certainly comes close. As the novel progresses, your impression of Veronica slowly thaws until the very end where I’m sure she evokes a lot of sympathy and love from all readers. I do think that Patrick was more implausible than Veronica – Prior created a character she wanted to make seem like a deadbeat, but the fact he’s clearly very skilled at fixing things, and a good friend too, meant the characterisations she’d made for him didn’t quite fit with the character in my opinion.

In terms of the penguin part of the story, as much as it was painfully far-fetched, I loved it! Who wouldn’t love what was essentially part David Attenborough documentary, part cute friendship story? Terry was a really likeable character and her upbeat and chirpy personality completely juxtaposed Veronica’s icy, curt one which made their exchanges all the more interesting.

As I said before, I didn’t quite fall in love with this in the same way I did with A Man Called Ove, but it was certainly a compelling and likeable story. Mostly humorous and quirky, this story also provided a glimpse into the past and uncovers pain and hardship experienced by the older characters which the younger characters find hard to fathom. A cute, fun, and life-affirming read!

Chloe Warburton 

Emily Mogg

Sam 🌙

Lorraine

Lucy Speller

AS HEARD ON THE BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB 'This year's Eleanor Oliphant . . . Funny, bittersweet and wholly original.' Daily Express Veronica McCreedy is about to have the journey of a lifetime . . . Veronica McCreedy lives in a mansion by the sea. She loves a nice cup of Darjeeling tea whilst watching a good wildlife documentary. And she's never seen without her ruby-red lipstick. Although these days Veronica is rarely seen by anyone because, at 85, her days are spent mostly at home, alone. She can be found either collecting litter from the beach ('people who litter the countryside should be shot'), trying to locate her glasses ('someone must have moved them') or shouting instructions to her assistant, Eileen ('Eileen, door!'). Veronica doesn't have family or friends nearby. Not that she knows about, anyway . . . And she has no idea where she's going to leave her considerable wealth when she dies. But today . . . today Veronica is going to make a decision that will change all of this. 'I love this gorgeous book. Unflinching, stubborn, funny and moving, Veronica is an unlikely heroine who will sneak in and capture your heart.' Trisha Ashley

Away with the Penguins The joyful Richard & Judy pick and Number 1 bestseller

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