moving, heart-warming and very funny.
Getting Even With Fran is the first novel by Australian author, Christine Stinson. On the day her husband of twenty years drops not one, but three bombshells that are certain to derail her seemingly perfect life, to make a lie of it all, Cecilia Stanton is shocked and angry. So when Fran Hughes, the woman who made her life hell at St Agnes College for Young Ladies, rings about the thirty-year reunion, she’s irate enough to change her mind about attending. Fran wants her to make a speech? Fine, but it might not be the speech Fran is expecting. This might just be the chance to get even with Fran.
Kerry knows Cecilia from her husband’s work, but has always felt inferior to the slim and sophisticated successful lawyer. But for this reunion, she is determined to trim down so her old nickname won’t apply. Nellie was best friends with Kerry until she couldn’t be any more; now facing her own mortality, she needs to ask forgiveness. Sharon’s bad-girl past isn’t the only thing she’s guilty about. Luckily, her best friend since school, Barb is there for support. Barb herself is facing a crisis of confidence, but mother, daughter and best friend are determined to push her in the right direction.
Anne (often known as St Anne during school days) is working hard to organise the thirty-year reunion, while making every effort to be the good wife and mother (of seven!) that her critical mother-in-law expects. Her best friend, Fran, the other chief organiser, is coping with a quite different set of miseries. All seven women have reasons to be nervous about this gathering.
Stinson sets her story up so that each major character gets a chapter that gives the reader their back-story, then the final chapters relate their interactions at the reunion. It is certainly refreshing to have characters who are not young, single and perfect, but close to fifty and dealing with all the issues that are common at this age. These are women who have encountered cruel nick-names, date-rape, a student-teacher affair, infertility, abortion, menopause, ageing parents, unfaithful husbands, miscarriage, being overweight, late-in-life pregnancy, wigs, and cancer, but also loyalty, love and friendship.
Stinson manages to touch on many topical themes: Alzheimer’s disease, erectile dysfunction, relationships with younger men, pressure to conform, and aged care facilities. Also included are cancer humor, romance, long-held grudges and a (well-deserved) punch on the nose. Stinson’s characters are familiar and appealing; their dialogue is natural and often witty. This debut novel is moving, heart-warming and very funny.
Marianne, 08/12/2014
