When I first started reading this book I wasn't sure whether it was because it was a proof copy that I got from Netgalley or the way it was written as I found it quite confusing. The narrative jumped from person to person and from the past to the present with no way of knowing what was what. I spent a lot of time rereading former paragraphs trying to work out who was speaking and when.
Once I'd got used to this, however, I enjoyed it immensely.
The story takes place in the present but looks back to the seventies. Marion sits by her dying husband's hospital bed thinking back to their lives when their children were young. Marion and her husband, Michael, don't seem to have ever been in love with each other living in the suburbia of the seventies. One day Marion starts reading her daughter Sarah's diary and we see the entries as they are written. Sarah is a teenager, beginning to be interested in boys and indeed men. Eddie her younger brother by seven years is the apple of his mother's eye coming as he did after Marion suffers a miscarriage. When disaster strikes the whole family see what happens from different perspectives.
I've not read Janet Ellis's other book but she writes this one with great insight into the family dynamic. A very realistic read, nobody comes out of it all as totally likeable, but that's what makes it so good.

I found this book a bit confusing as it goes back and forth whilst Marion is reminiscing and it took me some time to get into the story, but about a quarter of the way in I began to enjoy it. It was a quite emotional book to read.

Sorry- I just couldn't get into this one 15% in & I have no interest in finding what comes next. There are too many books out there needing to be read so I'm afraid I'm giving up.

This book had me gripped from the outset. The characters were beautifully drawn and clearly flawed. Some of their choices though hard to understand, were also entirely credible. The plot had several twists and turns and a slow reveal of events that are hinted at early on. I really enjoyed this book and would definately recommend as a gripping read.

There are some things that I really like about this book.  This includes the minutiae of domestic life that is captured as Marion remembers back several decades when her children were younger.

I did find it a little confusing cutting from the different points of view.  For instance Michael's as he is dying, Marion's in the present day and back in the past.  As well as excerpts from Sarah's diary that her mother finds and starts to read.

At the heart of this book is the fact that Marion has two affairs.  You can tell that something tragic is going to happen and when it does, it really is quite moving and upsetting.

Having said that though, I still think it is a worthwhile read.

A beautifully written story of a complex and fractured family dynamic. The author is clearly very talented and has created a story filled with emotion (yet knows when to hold back), and has perfectly captured the demands a woman can face (particularly in the era that Marion met Michael) and the manifold feelings that exist between mother and daughter.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a book that I particularly enjoyed, but that is down to personal taste, so I think it's unfair to leave much of a review. I will say that I adored Janet Ellis's previous novel "The Butcher's Hook" and look forward to seeing what she writes next.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

This book follows the story of wife and mother of two Marion who sits by her terminally ill husband's bedside reminiscing about their marriage and the mistakes she has made.
I just didn't like any of the characters in this book and although very well written I was not engaged at all with the story which I found a bit disjointed.
Thanks to Netgalley and publishers for the ARC.

This well written novel about family life, teenage angst, passion, affairs and ultimate heartbreak wasn’t a comfortable read. I did however enjoy it & shed a few tears.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this, the first novel I’ve read by Janet Ellis. It was very well written, and although I’d describe it as a slow burner, I found it compelling towards the end. The plot follows Marion Deacon, caring for her estranged husband Michael in his last days, She reflects on their lives together and some of the choices she made in that time - along with the sometimes tragic consequences. I found it drew me in slowly, with a sense of foreboding and a slight melancholy throughout. Marion, for me, was not a likeable character - she’s stuck in what is, for her, a stultifying existence, and makes some poor choices as a result. But she was certainly an interesting character, and kept my attention, even if I spent most of the time wanting to give her a good shake.

I loved that the book is very focussed on women, their choices, their relationships and their motivations. The only characters I’d honestly describe as likeable are male, but then they’re also in most cases intentionally less three dimensional than their female counterparts. Rosalind is perhaps the most likeable woman, which makes me feel it can’t be a coincidence that she’s a very tiny part of the plot!

All in all, I’d definitely recommend this - a worthwhile read for a rainy afternoon curled up on the sofa.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review.
Although the storyline is a very interesting idea, I found the book quite confusing. The story moved around from character to character without warning, and at times from present to past.
The characters were quite entertaining and if not for the confusing layout, the book would have been one of the best I have read for a while.

I found this book difficult to become interested in. The main character seemed so cold and selfish when reading her daughter’s diary and bemoaning what she felt she had missed. I struggled through it but can’t say I would really commend it to others

It just so happened that soon after I got tickets to see Janet Ellis at the book festival I was then lucky enough to get a copy of How It Was through Netgalley, what surprised me the most though was that actually my appreciation for the book definitely improved after hearing the author speak about it.

I had only managed to get halfway through How It Was before I went to the event and had found it quite slow and difficult to follow at the beginning. I think mostly that is a quirk of the copy I was reading because each section merged into another and I did spend too much time trying to figure out if the narrator had switched and whose voice I was hearing. This did give me quite a jarring reading experience at times and even though I am imagining that this will not be the case in finished copies, it does obviously have an effect on my opinion.

What I found quite interesting was I did get a fresh perspective after the event and that the slower pace is a kind of a reflection of Marion’s reluctance to deal with these memories that are coming back to her. Death does tend to bring reflection and I suppose considering Marion is not the most likeable character, the fact that she actually is taking the time to be honest with herself did make me respect her more than I did at the start of the book.

There was also a discussion between Janet Ellis and the other author at the event Billy O’Callaghan about how you relate characters experiences to your own and that we may dislike a character because they are a reflection of the things you may dislike about yourself. I did find both Marion and Sarah a little unlikeable but with Sarah I do think that that is true, whilst at times she sounded a little older than a teenager, some of her actions are very similar to things I did at that age.

I think towards the second half of the book as we start to see the tension between the family and the consequences of the actions of each character is where this book really shines. The writing throughout the book is spectacular and atmospheric but in the later stages of the book the added emotion really makes every decision hit home, I was really torn between both smothering despair and surprising hope.

If you enjoy a slowly unfolded character-driven story, with fractured family dynamics and beautiful writing then you will definitely appreciate How It Was.

Marion a bored housewife sets in motion a tragic chain of events with her selfish actions.

This book was beautifully written and I imagine will stay with me for a long time to come. Mainly because of my frustrations with Marion's mindless actions and her cold demeanour. My frustrations only serve to prove how invested I felt in this story and the characters.

The book by Janet Ellis is more contemporary than her first novel. I found it to be very well written but I couldn't get a handle on the story and found it somewhat disjointed.and difficult to follow.

This title wasn’t really my thing, I don’t enjoy books in which I don’t feel sympathy for any of the characters, & no one in this was likeable. It’s well written, but a little slow for my liking. Nonetheless I’ll be able to recommend it to people and that’s always a bonus,

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The story of Marion, sitting in hospital with her dying husband Michael, reflecting back on her life. Swapping between timelines but mostly set in the past, we learn about how Marion's past actions have affected her present.

If I'm honest, I found it difficult to warm to Marion and thought her often selfish and inconsiderate of the rest of her family's feelings. As the story progresses, it clearly builds up to something that happens with one of her children, and it was this intrigue rather Marion's story itself that kept me reading. Interesting, but not compelling I'm not sure it's one I'd actively recommend to others.

How It Was is what I would describe as a 'complex' novel, in that it required (from me at least) a certain level of concentration that I perhaps wasn't expecting. Fans of Janet Ellis' previous novel, will still enjoy this novel. But it is very different as it is not historical fiction.

How It Was centres around Marion Deacon who is practically living in the hospital at the bed side of her dying husband. Through her memories we learn how they met, how they married, how their children arrived etc.

It should be idyllic, but Marion's life has been far from perfect, mostly by her own doing. I have to say that Marion isn't a particularly likeable character, and I found it difficult to warm to her, but then perhaps that it is the point...

Marion's daughter Sarah, is also pivotal to the story as it unfolds, as Marion begins to read her teenage diary behind her back, thinking that her daughter is growing up too fast, and becoming jealous of her life ahead of her.

Theirs is an interesting relationship, as are most of the relationships explored in this novel, many of which are dysfunctional. How It Was is a fascinating insight into these relationships and how a split second decision can change the course of your life forever.

What a great book! I couldn't put it down. The story was compelling, and completely believable, and the characters seemed very real, even the monstrous Marion. Having grown up in the 70's, I enjoyed the evocation of that era, complete with dull food, dodgy clothes, and the very questionable behaviour of many adults. At times I found the book almost unbearable to read, but the ending is a triumph, and I will certainly look out for more of Janet Ellis's books.

Unfortunately I did not like any of the characters in this book, they just weren't very likeable. However it is very well written, and still quite enjoyable

The writing style of this book needed adjusting to, but having made the effort it was was rewarded. The thoughts of all the different characters flow on from one to the next, so you do have to have a solid idea of Who Is Who from quite early on in order to pick out their ‘voice’ when it changes. In doing this, you do get a real feel for the different characters - not all of them likeable, it has to be said! However, none of them were truly UNlikeable, all of the time.
It might be a tough read for anyone going through end of life processes with a loved one.
Marion’s husband is dying. As she spends time with him her memories wander and we gradually pick out specific events from her past, including affairs she had. The perspective of their daughter, Sarah is also covered through a diary that Marion reads (whilst knowing that she shouldn’t). A tragedy underpins the book, only hinted at until quite late on, but it gives a sense of dread throughout that keeps you reading on.
It’s not without its flaws - some sections need a little editing for clunkiness verging on purple prose, but all in all it’s worth a good 3 stars and repays careful reading with a family history and mystery.