From Publishers Weekly
In this latest addition to the "Brit-chick" genre, Barker sneaks another peek at the diary of divorced mother-of-three Venetia Summers. This sequel to last year's Hens Dancing follows her bucolic life in Norfolk, England, which "seems entirely made up of shit-shoveling episodes, be they after dogs, pigs, children, or hens." She's adjusting without her "lovely handsome tower-of-strength boyfriend, David," who's been called to work on a movie set in Bermuda, but desperately misses him and his help with 11-year-old Giles, nine-year-old Felix and toddler "The Beauty." Production delays keep David away longer than expected, and phone calls and e-mails are increasingly few and far between. But for better or worse, Venetia finds distraction in a wacky cast of characters, most notably her mother, whose idea of teatime is a pack of cigarettes and a glass of vodka, and Hedley Sale, her cantankerous new neighbor, who has a penchant for overimbibing and speaking Latin. Venetia also stumbles into a burgeoning fashion career, which consists of attaching the odd pipe cleaner or stalk of wheat to old cardigans and selling them in a posh London store, which will hopefully allow her to quit her tedious copywriting job. Frustrated by David's absence, Venetia flirts with the idea that Hedley may be The One, if only she can look past his repulsiveness to his ability to provide stability for her family. His attempts at seduction, like inviting Venetia to listen to the nightingales on the heath, are utterly British pastoral, and this breezy yet surprisingly tender read is peppered with Brit-speak (chod, scrumple, splodges) that any Anglophile will enjoy. The reader needn't be a parent to appreciate this sweetly funny ode to single motherhood.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
This sequel to her delightful and wacky Hens Dancing finds Venetia Summers with a roiling mass of children and dogs at her feet and her tipsy mother announcing the upcoming marriage of Venetia's brother Desmond. David, the love of Venetia's life from the prior book, has gone off with a movie crew to the jungles of somewhere and communicates to her via e-mails with her children, strange parcels bearing live parrots, and infrequent phone calls. Venetia is certain that he has found another love in the jungle, has told him that their relationship is off, and is thoroughly depressed. But when she discovers a talent for designing unique clothing from odd bits of junk, things start looking up. Not only is she making money but the older (and wealthier) gentleman from down the road has asked her to marry him, and she has accepted. Her mother thinks that Venetia has lost her mind, and her children are furious. Pandemonium reigns until a peculiar event brings David out of the woodwork. Venetia Summers has been compared by earlier reviewers to Bridget Jones, but Barker's freshness and wit give her character a softer and more believable image. This truly charming novel is highly recommended for popular fiction collections. Susan Clifford Braun, Aerospace Corp., El Segundo,
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
