Roommates Wanted: A Novel [Paperback]

Lisa Jewell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 11, 2008

1990. Please write and tell me why you should live here.

Toby Dobbs received a big Victorian house with too many bedrooms to count as a wedding present from his father, but his marriage is over within a month. Very alone, and very lonely, Toby posts an advertisement seeking the "Unexpectedly Alone" to become his roommates. Fifteen years later the wayward souls he takes in are still living with him, with no intention of leaving.

2004. Please tell me how I can convince you to move out.

Toby Dobbs has met Leah Pilgrim from across the road, and they're falling in love. But before they can begin a new life together, Toby and Leah must help Toby's house of sweet slackers and lovelorn misfits grow up, solve their problems, and set themselves free. But can their new relationship survive the test?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Jewell's boisterous sixth novel is a compulsively readable jaunt through the lives of a handful of suburban London misfits. Leah, a shopgirl whose live-in boyfriend flees when she mentions marriage, lives across the street from Toby, a struggling poet who lets out rooms in his bedraggled Victorian house to ragtag tenants who pay rent when they remember and clutter up his otherwise solitary life. There's a cabaret singer who depends on sugar daddies to keep afloat; a mailroom clerk who shares a room with his mother; and a stylish recluse. And then there's longtime tenant Gus, whom Leah finds dead on the front walk one day. When Toby discovers that Gus has willed him a sickly cat and a pile of pounds with the provision that Toby use the money to make his life everything it could be, it provides the impetus for a shakeup at Toby's that sends the cast in different directions as they each find ways to grow up. Jewell (Vince and Joy) has a sure hand with the lightly humorous and romantic, and she delivers the goods: an eccentric cast, lively banter and plenty of warmhearted cheer. (Mar.)
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From Booklist

Leah lives across the street from a ramshackle Victorian mansion called the Peacock House, and the only thing odder than the house itself is the people who live in it. For years she’s been curious about her neighbors but too polite to do anything but watch them come and go. When an accident happens right on their doorstep, however, Leah is finally introduced to the members of Peacock House, including Toby, the landlord. Toby took on his curious tenants out of empathy, but now that he’s nearly 40 he realizes he’s stagnated and needs a change—starting with his house. As Leah slowly becomes involved with Toby and the house, Toby takes it on himself to learn more about his tenants, why they’re there, and where they’re going, and this inquiry includes himself. Leah and Toby’s quiet relationship is touching and believable; the tenants are eccentric, but behind their quirks stand very real characters with emotional depth. A truly satisfying read that’s sincere without being sugary. --Hilary Hatton

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Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (March 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061137472
• ISBN-13: 978-0061137471
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,336,108 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars UK version is '31 Dream Street', April 5, 2008

By 

A. Whitley (MO United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Roommates Wanted: A Novel (Paperback)

I enjoyed this novel. I think I'd enjoy reading a grocery list if it were written by Lisa Jewell! It's not her best work but it is well worth reading. I laughed aloud many times during this book, I'd say it is her most humorous, anyway. In the UK this book is titled '31 Dream Street', so be warned if you've read that one, 'Roommates Wanted' is exactly the same book! Sometimes it's a bit confusing when publishers do that.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars AKA 21 Dream Street, March 18, 2008

By 

Book Notes (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Roommates Wanted: A Novel (Paperback)

I read the UK edition of this book, and while decent was hardly what I would call a page turner. The ending was happy for all involved, but the journey taken to get there, was kind of depressing and sad. Not my favorite book, but not terrible either (3.5 stars)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not your typical Brit chick lit!, June 25, 2008

By 

Jennifer L. Anthony "curvy*mommy" (Orange County, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Roommates Wanted: A Novel (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I wasn't sure what to make of it at first, and decided to read this strictly based on the author's past novels. But once I got into the story, I couldn't put it down. The characters in this book are so REAL, so down-to-earth and relatable.

The main character, Toby, undergoes a slow transformation throughout the novel on his journey to start living, a transformation that is at times a bit sad -- I felt like I wanted to give him a big hug! :) The other characters in this book, Toby's lodgers, are well-written too - I found myself caring about all of them, and even got a bit misty-eyed when Joanne's backstory was finally revealed.

This is not your standard Brit chick-lit novel. It is so much more! With a satisfying, but not tidy, ending. I highly recommend this book!