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The Wives of Bath

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About this listen

 Two couples meet in an antenatal class and loathe each other on sight. Flashy Hugo and Amanda plan a five-star birthing experience with private hospitals and maternity nurses. Right-on Alice and Jack want a home delivery with whale music. But baby Theo has barely arrived before Hugo and Amanda hit problems: Hugo fails miserably to bond with his son and Amanda decides motherhood is boring.©2005 Wendy Holden (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Romance
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Another in the long list of books I've found even better in audio. I read this a few years ago and enjoyed the typical Wendy Holden farce, but I don't think I picked up enough on what are also very believable aspects.
Amongst this very funny book there is so much that will strike a chord with anyone who has ever sat with a new baby feeling totally inadequate and useless, terrified that you will let this precious child down. Every parent, in other words. That it's a male character, Hugo, who seems to suffer the most (but triumphs with his little son) makes no difference, if anything I think I empathised more for some odd reason.
Suzy Aitchison's reading is spot on and brings out all the different levels from the comedy (some of the funnier aspects of ante-natal classes with the quite ghastly earnest Lotti in particular) to the typical Holden over the top characters - and yet makes them all very human.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm now heading back to look for more Wendy Holden / Suzy Aitchison books. (p.s. I'm also going to try and de-clutter my house a bit, having listened to Alice having to live with the eco-fascist Jake, hellbent on burying her and their baby daughter under a mountain of to-be-recycled rubbish)

Glorious farce - but it does strike a chord

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❤️️ Wendy Holden is the queen of creating despicable characters perfect to love to hate. Awful Amanda, sanctimonious Jack and Alice's parents all fit this perfectly.

💜 My one complaint: Alice is a bit of a lot of a wet blanket. It takes her way too long to stand up for herself.

💚 This was a comfort listen of mine for years. I've probably listened to it 10 times,
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SOUNDBITE

🎧 Suzy Aitchison is truly hilarious as the voice of this novel. She has this detached judgy tone that drips with scorn.
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SHALL I COMPARE THEE TO...

Marian Keyes and Adele Parks are both similar writers.

Awesomely snarky, sharp and good fun

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