The Carer by Deborah Moggach (Paperback release)

The Carer by Deborah Moggach.
Published in paperback 30th April 2020.
Read March 2019 (hardback).

Phoebe and her brother, Robert, have been looking for a suitable carer for their frail, widowed father for sometime. After a couple of false starts the capable Mandy arrives, and with her rubber gloves and orange teapot she takes charge and frees them to get on with their lives.

Phoebe and Robert are middle-aged now, but are carrying many hang-ups from their childhood. They both feel a sense of abandonment in relation to their father, James, as he was a brilliant particle physicist and frequently absent as they were growing up. They have found it hard to move on, and frankly, they are living pretty miserable lives as a result.

As Mandy becomes the mainstay of James' existence, he begins to change and becomes more distant from Phoebe and Robert. The brother and sister struggle with the conflicting need for Mandy and their jealousy of her closeness to James, and their suspicion that she is up to something.

However, Phoebe and Robert will discover that they have a connection with Mandy that they never dreamed of, and her influence will help them to change their lives for the better.

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I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this book by The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel author, Deborah Moggach, prior to its hardback release in July 2019, courtesy of Tinder Press, and it is my absolute pleasure to sing the praises of this book again now it has been released in paperback.

This is a surprisingly touching and funny book about coping with aging, sibling rivalry and the need to cast off resentments from the past and grow up. It is full of poignant moments that will have you reaching for your hankie.

I loved that, brother and sister, Phobe and Robert learn to regain the closeness they had with each other in childhood, even though this starts out as a shared envy and mistrust of the capable Mandy - whilst they also learn a lot about themselves along the way...mostly through the pithy remarks of Mandy herself, that cut right to the heart of the matter. They are both shocked when Mandy dares to point out that they are both living miserable lives, that they should get over feelings about their childhood at their age, and give their father a break. And as part of this, long overdue, growing up they realise that their father has secrets of his own, which will ultimately bring the three of them to an understanding.

This is such a lovely book, which tugs at the heartstrings, and has quite a lot to say about modern times, but it also quite an unusual one which did not go in the direction I thought it would at all - with its satisfying, if bitter-sweet ending. It's definitely one that will make you ponder about your own relationship with your siblings and your parents. Highly recommended!

The Carer is available now from your favourite book retailer.

From the cover of the book:

From the bestselling author of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Tulip Fever, a deliciously funny, poignant and wry novel, full of surprising twists and turns:

James is getting on a bit and needs full-time help. So Phoebe and Robert, his middle-aged offspring, employ Mandy, who seems willing to take him off their hands. But as James regales his family with tales of Mandy's virtues, their shopping trips and the shared pleasure of their journeys to garden centres, Phoebe and Robert sense something is amiss.

Then something extraordinary happens which throws everything into new relief, changing all the stories of their childhood - and the father - that they thought they knew so well.

About the author:

Deborah Moggach is the author of nineteen successful novels including the bestselling Tulip Fever. In 2012, her novel These Foolish Things was adapted for the screen under the title The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and starred Judi Dench, Dev Patel, Bill Nighy and Maggie Smith.

 An award-winning screenwriter, she won a Writers' Guild Award for her adaptation of Anne Fine's Goggle-Eyes and her screenplay for the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice was nominated for a BAFTA. 

Her television screenwriting credits include the acclaimed adaptations of her own novels Close Relations and Final Demand, as well as Nancy Mitford's Love in a Cold Climate and The Diary of Anne Frank. 

Deborah has been Chairman of the Society of Authors and worked for PEN's Executive Committee. A fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, she was appointed an OBE in the 2018 New Year's Honours List for services to literature and drama.