Cover Image: Inheritance

Inheritance

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Member Reviews

Another great addition to Jenny Eclair's portfolio of funny but grown-up novels with an unforgettable cast of characters and some laugh-out-loud jokes.

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This is an emotional, gripping book that I enjoyed quite a lot.
I love reading about complex families and family dramas, so it was perfect for me. I liked how she handled some content like birthright, insecurity, etc. The writing is very fluid, it takes you to another world and I didn't feel the need to put it down at all.
If you like family centric books, you should try Jenny Eclair.
Thanks a lot to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

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This really was a book of 2 halves - on one hand I was desperate to cary on readying, it was really hard to put down, so of the writing was brilliant and I love loving the tone.
But about 2/3 way through the tone changed as did the use of some language and crude scenes that felt totally out of keeping with the rest of the book - and despite the different narratives these passages felt very jarring with the rest of the story.

The ending was such a disappointment - did she lose interest, did she run out of time, it really felt like it finished at 75% way through.

It could have been a strong 4 star but the end (for me) didn't do the rest of the novel justice.

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Lance is going to be 50 so a big party is called for. Not just a party but a whole weekend of celebrations at his home in Cornwall. This is a house with history. It is the place where his adopted sister, Bel, is found as a baby, abandoned in a drawer. It is where Peggy Carmichael’s (Lance’s Grandmother) eldest son dies in a tragic accident. There are so many layers of family history wrapped around this one house in Cornwall.

This is a very well written book with a well constructed plot. There are different threads weaving backwards and forwards in time which I thought worked very well & were well thought out. However, if you prefer a more linear story then this is not the one for you.

To a large extent this book is about people, how their actions affect others and their relationships. Consequently you do get to know the main characters particularly well. Poor Bel – abandoned as a baby who always feels she is not quite up to the mark with her unassuming husband and stay at home adult sons. Her brother Lance is far more confident in life with his sunday supplement wife & two children. Then there is their mother, Natasha and grandmother Peggy whose lives are forever blighted by the past. Great characters.

I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. The resonance of one accident sounding down the generations. There are some twists throughout and at the end which worked well for me.

Much as I enjoyed this book I do get the overwhelming feeling of great sadness. Poor Bel left feeling so inadequate and never quite realising how important she is to people. The hold the past has on the character lives and futures. I loved the characters and their intricacies but certainly wouldn’t say it was an uplifting book.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I loved the writing style of Jenny Eclair – slightly brusque & abrasive in places whilst lightly amusing in others. I would be quite happy to read more books by this author.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

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Yet again, Jenny Eclair has come up with a heart-rending and page-turning novel that you won't want to put down. The complexity of family, insecurity, birthright, love - all tackled so beautifully within this compelling novel. I always look forward to a new book from Jenny - and, as ever, this did not disappoint.

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Oh Wow, another great read from a great storyteller. This book had everything to keep you hooked right from the beginning so thank you everyone for letting me review this.

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Jenny Eclair is a talented novelist. I've read two of her previous books - Moving and Life, Death and Vanilla Slices - and found them darkly humorous with a realistic perspective on issues such as family life, ageing, health and the differences between generations. Her latest novel, Inheritance, is in the same vein. I liked it very much.

The story uses flashbacks between the 1960s, 70s and 2018 to piece together a sad and dysfunctional family history. It involves an abandoned and adopted baby, domestic violence, tragic deaths, hedonistic parties and bitter secrets. Everything revolves around Kittiwake, a grand home in Cornwall which has been the scene of dreadful events but which has now been renovated and is about to host a birthday celebration. For the first few chapters, I was a little confused as to how all the characters were related, but I soon grasped who was who. Various characters are followed but the main focus is Bel (Annabel), a fifty-something discontented woman who despairs of her lazy family. Most of the characters are frightfully middle-class, darling, their lifestyles perfectly described.

What I enjoyed about this book is the writing style. The level of description is just right and Eclair has a winning way with words. The settings are also wonderful. I could see them so clearly. Another fabulous thing was the swinging sixties theme. Something else I loved was the unflinching attention to detail, the examination of our physical and emotional desires and reactions. This occasionally leads to some awkward paragraphs I'd rather not have encountered. I think this is a comedian's trait, making us laugh in recognition of behaviour we rarely talk about in public.

I didn't understand the epilogue. Maybe I missed something. I can't discuss it without spoilers. Anyway, I recommend this book but I would say that Moving is my favourite of the three Eclairs I've read.

Thank you to the publisher Little, Brown for the advance copy via NetGalley. This book will be published on August 1st.

NB. This review will be published on my blog on July 30th.

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I absolutely devoured Inheritance from the beginning to the end it didn’t fail to deliver. At times poignant but always intriguing as we moved through the eras of Kittiwake and Cornwall. The characters were particularly well drawn and my heart bled for Bel.

An excellent read as always from Jenny Eclair.

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Thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review
First time reading this Author sorry not for me could only read a couple of chapters

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First book I have read by this author and to be honest I struggled with it. Found it hard to get into the story line and couldn't take a liking to the characters.

This is purely my opinion as I know a lot of people really like books from this author but sadly not for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Little Brown Book Group for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

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My first book I have read by Jenny Eclair. Loved it. Great characters and an original storyline. Well worth a read.

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** spoiler alert ** I struggled to like any of the characters in this book,even the nicest ones. 
The history of the inhabitants and their connection with Kittiwake house was interesting enough,but it was never a book I reached for.
With preparations for a big 50th party,the build up to Something was quite big,but I don't think it quite pulled it off.
Having read and hugely enjoyed a previous Eclair book,I just felt a bit flat about this one.

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An absolute gem of a read. This book had it all: wonderfully astute characterisation and storyline, tongue in cheek humour, well smattered with very genuine profundity. To top it all off, the utterly surprising ending was the absolute icing on the cake for me and will have me pondering this book for some time to come. Superb.

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