I'm a sucker for a big cast, multiple perspective novel, let alone one set in a community familiar with! I thought this was poignant, sweet and comforting.

A perfect cosy read honing in on the lives and loves of residents of an east London Square. As a country girl I loved this slice of city life and getting a glimpse of the communities that spring up. Lyrical writing so comforting to be carried along by, and an author who writes with confidence and grace. Look forward to seeing what else Gemma Reeves has in store.

This book is written so well but it read like a short story collection and not a novel. I was constantly left wanting more and left unfulfilled.

I did enjoy this book but I felt like I had no attachment to the characters. This book didn’t grip me

A great set of characters who lives all intertwine in Victoria Park. A fun and easy read, I really enjoyed it!

A gorgeous, quick read. I loved the concept of meeting 12 different characters over the year, which kept the pace of the narrative just right in my opinion. I also love how the stories intricately weave together to create a link which really bought the whole book together.

A well written book, a study of characters and their everyday life.
It's a bit depressing but it was a good read,
Recommended
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Intelligent, thought-provoking and lyrical, Gemma Reeves’ Victoria Park is a brilliantly observed and insightful debut novel.

Life moves at a very rapid pace and nobody knows this better than married couple Wolfie and Mona. One minute they were newlyweds and the next they realise that they are on the brink of celebrating their sixty-fifth wedding anniversary. But unfortunately, the two of them do not have much cause to celebrate this year. Time has caught up with them and with Mona’s health declining, they face a terrible choice of figuring out just what the future holds for them. Having lived in Victoria Park for most of their married lives, Wolfie and Mona have seen plenty of changes over the decades. Some good changes and some absolutely horrific ones and although within the walls of their home the two of them are experiencing a whole myriad of emotions from anger and sadness to despair and hope, life away from the confines of their living room continues to go on.

Their community has their own problems and challenges to overcome. Whilst some are building connections and putting down roots in this diverse part of London, others are feeling lost and adrift as they struggle to find themselves in one of the largest cities in the world. Misery and triumph live cheek by jowl in Victoria Park and as the residents navigate their way around the complexities of their lives, one thing is certain for them all: regardless of whether they are just starting out in the world or have come to the end of their journey life is to be embraced and lived.

When I started reading Victoria Park, I’ll be honest, I didn’t know much about it and had a completely different idea of what the book might be about. Rather than a typical novel, Victoria Park is like an anthology where each chapter is told from a different character’s viewpoint, however, each chapter is written with such verve, sensitivity and warmth that readers will not be able to resist turning the pages and they will find themselves completely gripped by this deftly crafted and beautifully told tale of love, loss, friendship and community.

In Victoria Park, Gemma Reeves has explored the foibles, frailties, fragilities and strengths of the human heart and written a superb novel readers will want to tell all their friends and family about.

For such a small book this took me weeks to read, it was just so depressing. Yes it was very real but maybe a little too real. Told from numerous points of view and covering a whole year, it follows the residents around Victoria Park, but non of the characters were having a particularly brilliant time in life.
It would be a great read for someone looking for a short quiet read about everyday people.

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
An interesting tale with a unique structure. The writing was well done and it fascinating to see the intricate connections between people.
A good read.

This book was sweet, but very reminiscent of the Lido or The Authenticity project.
It was a nice read, and especially as a Londoner, it's nice to be able to visualise the park and the places the characters go to. it's uplfiting and well written

This book was really incredibly - a novel in vignettes. Really clever and insightful. Five star rating on both Instagram and goodreads!

I liked this book. Told from different perspectives, it focuses on Victoria Park in London and everybody's relationship with it. We have a deli owner, a nurse, a young same-sex couple about to have a baby, and everybody connects with each other. I would say it might be difficult to keep up and remember all the different characters if I hadn't read it in a few days, as they all cross over in some way but it can be a bit confusing as to who's who. But it was an enjoyable story with a sad, sentimental ending.

The book opens on a melancholy mood which makes a pathway into the lives of the twelve people of Victoria Park.

A debut book by Gemma Reeves explores various emotions and you stumble upon stories that are told from different perspectives and as you go in deeper you find a reflection of the London culture and stories traveling through generations.

The author has brilliant observational skills which you see in the description of every window and every feature description in the narrative.

The book keeps you hooked and one will definitely wish for more once it’s over.

The grandchild, the illegal immigrant,the son, the husband,the mother, the lover and more leaves behind an imprint and gives you a glimpse into their past, their present and the future decision they take.

This collection of stories will resonate with the english readers a lot and keep your warm with its warmth but also make you shudder at the blatant personalities that surprise you.

Don’t miss this book. Its enjoyable and definitely worth the time.

Twelve people, linked by Victoria Park, are explored over twelve months. Mona and Wolfie, an elderly married couple, are long-term home owners in Victoria Park and are the feature of both the first and last chapter. Ten others, and their interlaced lives, are explored across the timeline in their own chapters (months), with snippets of information occasionally making it’s way into other chapters.

I loved this book! Victoria Park is a breath of fresh air, especially during the current times. Reading of somewhat ‘ordinary’ goings on and interactions between people and neighbours in what I now think of as the ‘old normal’ is lovely. It’s definitely something I miss in real life, so a way to experience that feeling of normality is always welcome!

Gemma writes in a manner that’s really easy to read. Despite sometimes tackling some tough themes, like loneliness and illness, she provided enough emotion without making it too overwhelming! I loved the way she described her characters and it got me invested in each person, despite the somewhat fleeting acquaintance. This fleeting acquaintance had no negative impact on the story, however, and I enjoyed that aspect as it was different. Everything I wanted to know and more was packed in to a chapter.

London is fantastic for its vast array of people, from differing backgrounds and with different life experiences, coming together in one place. Victoria Park really showcases this in a really fantastic and original way. It was a unique angle and it was fascinating to think of such a simple common denominator, the park, bringing so many people together.

I loved each of the characters in different ways and the fact they were all joined, not just by their homes or their jobs, but also by other means such as relationships. I enjoyed the fact we learnt about them over the course of a year timeline. My favourite aspect of this timeline was learning small snippets about characters we’d already met. This would be done in passing through the current character or in some other way within their timeline.

Victoria Park is a beautiful, honest and, at times, heartbreaking novel. I highly recommend it!

This is a debut and I had no idea what to expect. I thought Victoria Park was a terrific book, I fell in love with the twelve characters than span the pages, their lives, their hopes, pain, fear – the whole enchilada. I loved the concept of the book, how the lives of these twelve very different people connect and intercept. Some of the connection are obvious, for example, family members and other connections are surprising and come out of nowhere. I was never sure who I was going to meet next which made reading the book engaging and I got submerged in every word. I’d highly recommend this. I can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next.

Do we really know what happens behind the closed doors on our street? Are the faces we see every day really happy and cheerful or are they hiding anguish despair, or maybe even a secret?
Gemma Reeves took one street and its occupants and unlocked its doors, let its occupants spill out their thoughts and demons on our doorstep.
What I enjoyed was the broad spectrum of individuals Reeves brought to us, from the older couple struggling to live with dementia, to the young teenager grabbling with his gender identity. Indeed it was older couple Wolfie and Mona, that captured my heart, Wolfie's love for a wife so clearly struggling with dementia, yet determined to hang on, to retain normality until the last possible moment. I found it deeply touching and full of sorrow as Mona's mind took her back to the war and her memories of life as one of the children sent away on the Kinder transport. I loved Wolfie for his cooking skills, and the joy he found in food and being able to share with family and friends, his escape from the realities of the everyday.
At the other end of the spectrum was Freddie, son of Luca, sixteen and struggling to find where he fit into the modern world. Again it was handled with great skill by Reeves as she gave us glimpses into his thoughts, his friendship with Ana, that allowed him to explore and become more of just who he wanted to be.
The middle of the age spectrum was littered with the lesbian couple, their desire for a baby, the couple whose marriage neared an end and the single Mum who devotedly visited her comatose son hanging on to the possibility of a a miracle. Indeed it was her sons acid attack that Reeves used, along with her characters to bring the social layers of a community to the fore, a community that could be repeated many times over in the towns and cities all over the UK.
It could easily have been a mismash, an outpouring of narrative that sought to get in every single societal theme, but it wasn't, the breakdown into the months of the year gave the book a neat, organised structure. Reeves gave us that sense of time passing, of the speed of change, moments and events that pushed her characters Victoria Park was a modern take on our world, told with care and emotion, and Gemma Reeves is an author to watch in the coming months. to pastures new, to new life and in one case death.

Everyone enjoys people-watching: wondering why others are in the same restaurant or sat in an airport terminal is a brilliantly creative way to pass time. Here Gemma Reeves has spun out this pastime into a beautiful and affecting book that takes the form of a series of vignettes based around the lives of people connected with Victoria Park, and therefore – sometimes unknowingly – connected with each other. The short stories are beautifully rendered, packed with detail, texture and flavour (the food writing is particularly delicious) and immediately transport you into the midst of a deli, a party, a break-in – showing you how others see the same space, and highlighting the differences and similarities between us all. Throughout it all as a constant is the park itself, its ancient trees standing by as people’s tragedies, romances, heartbreaks and happinesses play out in a flicker against their silent background. A beautiful gift for anyone who’s lost their heart to one of London’s green spaces: another one to read before it becomes a series.

Featured in Book Club in Cambridge Edition January 2021

An easy-to-read, clever and engaging book. I really liked the format which was unique and interesting - each chapter shows a month in the life of a single resident of the residential area around Victoria Park, each character only gets one chapter but can be seen again through the eyes of their neighbours.

The author is very talented at describing the human condition - a thoroughly character driven story, the individuals at its heart shine from the page. By giving each character a chapter of their own, the reader gets to observe the often grotesque inner narrative of the mind. It shows the darkest parts of each character, the despicable and crude inner thoughts as they live their lives and experience hardship. It's excruciating to read but so believable as to not want to stop - there is something strangely comforting about reading the daily grind of people who could be just like us.

I was pleased to find some childless characters represented here (Alice, the yoga teacher, for example) but will issue a warning that one chapter follows a couple going through IVF which later proves successful although we only learn this through another character's observations. There were many child-centric tropes and even a disappointing sub-plot where a childless woman 'steals' a child - this is a hurtful and harmful stereotype that I was sad to see in such a fantastic book.

This book is divided into months of the year, and each month provides an insight into a number of different people/lives that all share a common connection - living by Victoria Park. While the chapters read like individual short stories, the stories also intertwine and we get a glimpse of different view points and the book is also bookended by the heart-warming and long-lasting love between Mona and Wolfie, who have to confront and manage the challenges of Mona's declining health.

Reeves' writing is lyrical in nature and provides an intimate view of varying problems and challenges of life for all kinds of people. Notwithstanding the unique challenges, we can universally empathise with and feel compassion towards the situation. For example, a lesbian couple individually and jointly battle conflicting feelings about having a baby together or a mother grapples with her conscience at reading her daughter's secret thoughts in her diary or a couple that exist together but no longer love one another. The observations Reeves make in the novel are surprising and at times have a touch of humour notwithstanding the oddity of the situation (without revealing any spoilers, I was shocked but also amused by Daniel's discovery at Monty's house as he is breaking into his house).

As they chapters are like short stories, I did find some of the chapters too fleeting to fully develop certain perspectives and narrative.

Overall, this is a touching debut novel from Reeves, which shines a spotlight into less visible challenges of life and situations. It does make the reader reflect and consider how we all deal with love, loss, hardships in different ways, and makes us feel greater compassion to complete strangers that are bearing their own unique struggles in life, which are completely valid.

I am not a massive fan of short stories, but this was an interesting concept, and well written. It kept me entertained, and I would recommend it.