A Tiny Bit Marvellous

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The plot makes little sense when subjected to any scrutiny and there are deeply dubious actions and attitudes which we are apparently supposed to applaud. The ploy of keeping the 2 "heroes" - Nan; the quiet, constant, wisdom of experience and Dad; the voiceless, much-derided, barely present figure very much in the background definately worked for me and revealing the latters name only with the very last word of the book was tear-jerkingly poignant. I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed reading his poetic descriptions of some of life's most mundane moments. She is ripe for the attention of an unscrupulous younger man who offers excitement and adventure that her mild husband doesn’t.

It’s hard to really pinpoint Dora’s story, apart from it perhaps being one of simple teenage life in all its hideousness and melodrama. Their relationships with each other which can be warm, loving, frustrating, funny, annoying and angry either separately or all at once is typical of family confined to sharing the same living space.I love her writing style, it’s so unique and there’s an excerpt from another novel of hers ‘Oh Dear Silvia’ at the end of this book and I read it and LIKED IT SO MUCH I WANT SOMEONE TO GIFT ME THAT BOOK NOW SO I CAN READ THE REST OF THAT AWESOMENESS. I actually found myself laughing quite a lot as A Tiny Bit Marvellous is a hilarious exaggeration of a dysfunctional family simply trying to get through everyday. Peter is channelling Oscar Wilde in all his gloriousness and as such his narrative reads like that of a much older person with a wonderful command of the English language.

Further Reading Suggestion: If you like the sound of this book, you may also enjoy Dawn French’s excellent autobiography Dear Fatty. Sometimes we do feel dissatisfied with our life but that is because we are not seeing everything with generous eyes.Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement.

However, Mo is somewhat lost, unsure of who she is as she faces this milestone of a birthday and is about to do something particularly foolish that will surely mean consequences for all her family. I'm all for showing human foibles and family missteps, but this book went far beyond what I sincerely hope is the norm for modern family life. At first I warmed to Mo, finding her narrative light hearted and amusing, a character I could find empathy with. Dawn French has talked about so many issues in this book which are very relatable and common (one of the many reasons you have to read and like this book), issues that we may come across daily but not dig in too deep because they seem less important. Dawn's autobiography was so funny and I couldn't put it down and this book was the complete opposite.

She has recently split up with her long-standing boyfriend of six weeks, Sam, and is planning to become famous thanks to the upcoming X Factor auditions.