Went to London, Took the Dog

I knew I’d love this book because I so adored Nina Stibbe’s previous diary, Love, Nina. And I was right, I did, because it really is the perfect follow up. On every page are wonderful observations and comments about situations that made me wish I could have been the one to say them first. Nina’s second London adventure made me contemplate how I would manage in her shoes. The wry humour is sublime, her literary friends are brilliantly described and her family is a joy to read about. And yes, Charlie Bigham’s fish pies *are* great, too. They deserve all their mentions!
I would happily read Nina’s diary every year and really hope we get the chance. She is a genius diarist.

Nina is moving back to London for a sabbatical after 20 years away, now aged 60, and this is her diary of her time back in the big city, away from her husband and the family home in Truro, Cornwall. She rents a room from writer Deborah Moggach and mixes with some of the literati of London. I enjoyed reading about Debby, to find she’s a total potty mouth and bursting with character was a joy.

Everyone is surely going to want to know who Rachel Dearborn is? Or is that just me? Oh my goodness I’m not surprised her name has probably been changed as there’s a lot of personal detail about her bladder issue. Actually, I think this might be the only book I’ve ever read which is so open and honest about bladder issues, mood swings, facial hair, prolapses and all the rest for menopausal women. Where else have I read about the different ‘strengths’ of Tena? This is no bad thing.

Fish pie is mentioned ten times, there’s a lot of Charlie Bingham ready meals in this book.

I don’t know how Nina does it, but she manages to make every diary entry interesting or intriguing or funny or poignant, often a mix of all.

Towards the end I slowed my reading down to a ridiculous extent, I just didn’t want it to end; so I put it off and googled many things mentioned including: the lyrics to S’Express (didn’t remember any explicit lyrics, but realise I must have only known the radio version) looked up the rotten tomatoes score for Tulip Fever, wondered if croissants really count as train snacks (I don’t think so) and played long forgotten songs on Spotify.

I absolutely loved this book. Nina’s writing shows vulnerability at the ending of a relationship, learning to be alone and forging ahead as a single woman, albeit really, really well supported by friends and family. I believe that women of an age, in the same situation, will gain some encouragement and strength of purpose from this book. I have read everything Nina has written and I’ll continue to do so.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this wonderful book.

If Nina wrote a shopping list and published it, I would read it. I genuinely believe that she is incapable of writing a bad word, let alone a bad book. I buy everything she publishes immediately because she is my ride or die author, whether it's fiction, non-fiction or a reminder to pick up some Charlie Bighams' fish pie scribbled on the back of an envelope. This is the diary of the year she turned sixty, embarked upon a divorce and went back to London to see if it was as good as she remembered and whether she was as good as she remembered. It's achingly funny and beautifully poignant. I am in awe of how the diary entries can be so short and yet so packed with intensely felt moments that a single entry can sometimes feel like a short story in itself. I wanted to read it slowly. I failed, but it got me through three days of a difficult week and made me laugh so hard at one point that I had to stop reading and sit down to catch my breath. I love the real discussions about menopause and facial hair and incontinence mixed with sartorial dilemmas and gossip about everyone from how the owner of Bubbles laundrette is getting on with his farm to what A$AP Rocky is doing. It's so wonderfully real and 100% one of the best things I've read this year.

I absolutely loved Nina Stibbe's debut, Love Nina and have been really looking forward to Went To London, Took the Dog which did not disappoint. It's set when the author is 60 and 20 years after she left London for Cornwall. She spends a year in North London at the home of Deborah (Debby) Moggach, with her dog Peggy and chronicles every day incidents and thoughts in her diary. We meet Nina's children, her sister, her mum and various friends and I was completely drawn into Nina’s world and her London life. Her diary entries are so insightful, some are hilarious and sometimes it’s just the normality of the conversations she relates that made me laugh. I really appreciated her openness and honesty especially around menopausal symptoms and women's health.

A very worthy follow up to Love Nina that I would highly recommend and feel bereft now I’ve finished it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

I’ve loved Nina Stibbe since ‘Love, Nina’- a collection of letters which saw the author, in the early 80’s, move to London to be one a nanny, and be plunged into the London literary scene. Nina Stibbe has written some fantastic fiction since then, but this work reads like a spiritual successor to ‘Love, Nina’- and sees the author moving back to London after a marriage comes to an end. Brilliantly funny, for me this marks Stibbe out as perhaps our next great diarist after Alan Bennett- mixing the mundane with anecdotes about some of our finest literary figures, and not holding back about her own vulnerabilities or feelings- the unease and adrift was felt here links straight back to ‘Love, Nina’. Absolutely wonderful

My thanks to NetGalley and Pan MacMillan for a copy of “ Went To London, Took The Dog : A Diary “ for an honest review.
I’d loved the previous book “ Love Nina” and this was just as good, if not better , than that !
The diary was entertaining , and humorous, and gave insights into the everyday lives of several well known people.
The book was well written, and I was really sad when I’d finished it .
More please !

I loved this book and have been a fan of Nina Stibbe since reading "Love, Nina'.

Nina returns to London 40 years after her first book and documents her year back in her old neighbourhood, while escaping from Cornwall for a while. Some of the favourite characters return as well as new ones, including Nina's two children, and it is lovely to see how they all feature in Nina's life.. Nina writes with her usual style of humour and tells life as it is.

Having discovered Hampstead since reading the first book, it was great to recognise locations.

I hope we find out what happens next when Nina returns to Cornwall.

Definitely recommend!

I'm a huge fan of Nina Stibbe and I love diaries so this was absolute catnip for me. She writes realistically and humorously about her struggles with menopause and includes a few insights into the lives of the London literary scene. A great read, thanks NetGalley!