The Lonely Heart Attack Club / J.C. Williams

 

2 out of 5 stars 

2 stars—it was okay.

This book had a great premise. So many of these mid-life reinvention novels centre around women. I was interested to read one about a man, written by a man. It unfortunately didn't come close to meeting my expectations.

On the very first page, I was confused about who the main character was, Jack or Geoffrey, Jack’s father. (The illustration on the cover pointed toward the older gentleman.) Then, when I realised that Jack was the choice, I was completely unimpressed. Now, I know that I was supposed to feel that way, giving Jack room for a redemptive arc, but he is soooo unlikable! He is very, very selfish. A very low bar indeed. I did not wonder why Helen had left him, only why Emma could possibly be interested in him. I just could not fathom her devotion to him. He gets excited by their new business neighbour, not because she's a pleasant person, but because he wants to have sex with her. Talk about male privilege—he doesn't consider whether he has anything to offer to her, it's all about him. Emma unfathomably remains attracted to him. There must be a drastic shortage of men on the Isle of Man.

Then there was the writing, which I will call basic. Honestly, it was like I had tried to write a novel and trust me, I'm a complete amateur. All of the characters are rather two dimensional, but the women are particularly undifferentiated. The author obviously had little interest in them beyond as sexual interests for Jack. The only notable elderly women from the club are made to look silly because they are still interested in men at their age. Yes, Jack ends up more likeable at the end, but his arc only went from boorish to barely decent behaviour. I remained skeptical of Emma’s attraction to him. 

The very obvious message of the book is a worthwhile one. Doing things for other people is not only charitable but improves the life of the giver. Both Jack and the celebrity Kelvin discover this by book's end. You can't miss it, as the author clubs you over the head with this theme. Nevertheless this thought was the only reason that I added a second star to my rating.