Becoming Liz Taylor

Very interested in reading this and acquisition of this title. It has such a unique premise and I love all things old Hollywood and especially Elizabeth Taylor. I cannot wait to share more thoughts soon.

I found both the title and the front cover intriguing. After reading the opening page, my first surprise was that Val was actually a woman in her seventies.
It's a very convincing tale of loss and bereavement. Val broke my heart and I just wanted everything to turn out ok for her and her son.
There will be inevitable comparisons to Rachel Joyce but that can only be seen as a compliment.
I'm looking forward to rereading this and will eagerly waiting to see what Elizabeth Delo writes next.

An utterly captivating and heart breaking novel about grief and loss. Val's baby son and husband died tragically over 50 years ago. She is still grieving, and dressing up in her home as filmstar Elizabeth Taylor helps her feel close to husband Len. She is unaware it repelled their other son Rafe, who's been estranged from his mother for decades.

Seeing what looks like an abandoned pram with a baby boy inside catapults Val back to the 70s, and she calmly walks away with it.

The writing is sublime in this debut novel, taking us back to the courtship of Val and Len and happy times at the lido in Weston-super-Mare. It was so evocative I found myself back at the art deco lido on Plymouth Hoe as a 70s teen.

Val goes on the run with the baby she's named Christopher. It's hard for a 72 year old dressed as Elizabeth Taylor with bouffant black hair, who has never driven on a motorway. Not to mention caring for a baby just a few months old. But although she's all over the news we still feel compassion for Val as the story of her grief unfolds. We see right into her mind and understand she's not malicious but desperate.

A must read - I consumed it in one day and had to finish it. Thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Books for the eARC.