Customer Reviews

Instructions for a Heatwave

I'm a bit divided in my feelings about this novel, as O'Farrell's writing is evocative and enchanting (even though several 'him' and 'her' where it should read 'he' and 'she' were a bit distracting). Her character development is excellent and the intricacies of the relationships are detailed and believable. Sadly, the story itself is lacking. Halfway through the novel I found myself wondering if anything was going to happen, and by the end I realised that it hadn't.

This book landed on my desk when a colleague, who is a great fan of the author, suggested I read it. At first I found it hard to get used to the style of writing, but im glad I persevered as the book was interesting, and some of the characters were very descriptive and well developed. However, I found the plot to be quite plodding, and although I read it pretty quickly, I wasn't left amazed or satisfied with the ending, which was a bit of an 'oh, ok then' moment. The heatwave, as other reviewers have said, does seem like a bit of an afterthough and doesn't tie in with anything thats happening, but it does set the scene, and you can imagine people sweating through London heatwaves in the 70s from the description. I'm reading Esme Lennox (same author) now, and I'm hoping this one will do a bit more for me!

Maggie O'Farrell's eagerly anticipated latest novel 'Instructions for a Heatwave' is a very readable and entertaining story that pulls the reader in from the very first pages. Set in London, during the heatwave of 1976, we meet Gretta Riordan, a Catholic Irish woman, mother to three grown-up children, and her husband, Robert, a retired bank employee. As yet another hot and listless day begins, Robert goes out for his daily newspaper, just as he does every morning - however, today, he doesn't return home. As the day wears on, Gretta becomes more and more worried and, when it is discovered that Robert has taken money and his passport, she realizes that her husband had no intention of returning home when he left their house that morning.

Gretta now has to tell her three children that Robert has disappeared; firstly there is her eldest child, Michael Francis, a teacher, married to Claire and whose marriage is in difficulty; then there is Monica, the middle child, whose first marriage broke up after a tragic event and is now married to antiques dealer, Peter, and living in the countryside; however, Monica is not entirely happy - she not only misses London, but Peter's two daughters bitterly resent her and make her life very difficult. And finally there is Gretta and Robert's younger daughter, Aoife, their 'problem' child, whose difficult and challenging behaviour has caused problems for the rest of the family, especially since she has "gone off the rails". (When, in fact, most of Aoife's problems are due to her painful battle with undiagnosed dyslexia). After a terrible misunderstanding with Monica, the cause of which is gradually revealed to the reader, Aoife has left London and has been working in New York, desperately trying to conceal from her lover and her employer, the fact that she cannot read. As all three of Gretta's children congregate to try to establish why their father has disappeared, the heat rises in more ways than one, and when family skeletons begin to emerge from the closet, things begin to get rather messy and claustrophobic in the Riorden family. But what has really happened to Robert? And does Gretta know more about Robert's problems than she is prepared to reveal to others? (No spoilers).

Moving from London, to New York and to Ireland, this is a beautifully written story and a very perceptive observation of the internal dynamics of family relationships; of how we try to conceal things and about the lies we tell to ourselves and others. Throughout her story Maggie O'Farrell cleverly reveals layer after layer of secrets and misconceptions making this story both a compelling and intelligent read. However, perceptive as Maggie O'Farrell may be in her observations, her story would not work as well as it does without effective characterisations - and Gretta is a rather amazing creation in more ways than one: religious, loving and maternal, yet loud, boisterous, impulsive and critical; and, to her children, she is sometimes embarrassing with her tent-sized, flower-splotched, home-made dresses and her raincoat held together with staples. Aoife is another character who really shines and Maggie O'Farrell's description of Aoife's dyslexic difficulties and of the desperate strategies she has to employ to conceal these difficulties is powerfully and sensitively conveyed to the reader. I could write a lot more about what I enjoyed about this story - but I won't, because I hope by now that you will want to read this warm and involving novel for yourself. Recommended.

4.5 Stars.

Given the bucketloads of glowing references for this book I'd better be clear about why I didn't like it.
Simple really - the plot was skeletal and groaned when stretched (rather too often). I didn't really believe that any family where the father had disappeared would act like this - ie spend days reminiscing and arguing with each other. Suddenly it becomes apparent that he is in Ireland so everyone goes to Ireland. Would you not telephone ahead?
The book also suffers from having one character who is extremely thinly drawn (the father) and another who seems to swing from crazy woman to the most organised person in the family (Monica). The mother (Gretta) is well drawn but her actions in the face of adversity (to do nothing and talk the whole time) are at odds with her desire to find her husband. Aoife's reasons for suddenly returning home also look contrived.
To some degree it was interesting to see a family in conflict but the underlying reasons for this seemed trite at times and the plot spent more time going flash backwards than forwards.
Unsure that the 1976 setting wasn't just nostalgia - it didn't seem to serve any other purpose.
All in all, MOF has written better books.

Very good story about the Riordan family headed by Robert and Gretta. Family secrets and the disappearance of Robert at the start of the story make for a gripping tale about how family secrets can influence children brought up in such a family. Their upbringing has cast a shadow over how they view their roles in life with far reaching consequences. All set in the glorious summer of 1976 - well worth reading.

I downloaded this book for my holiday and was disssapointed, I normally love her books but this one was lacking her usual style. Got bored with it and struggled to finish it

Was expecting much more, could have told this story in half the pages. As it got closer to the end I became interested in what was going to happen......but them it ended!?!

Though the family relationships were well detailed, I found the story somewhat tedious and never really engaged with any of the characters.

I LOVED this one - Maggie OFarrell is one of my favourites, and this is such a moving absorbing novel. You just want to curl up with it, imagine yourself into that family, sharing their problems, worrying for them, and not speak to a soul until you've reached the end! Bit like Behind the Scenes at the Museum, but less quirky and more real. Treat yourself, it's fantastic.

I liked this book. (I don't write reviews of books I don't like; often I don't finish them.) But, after previous books by Maggie O'Farrell that I've loved (" After You'd Gone", "The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox"...), I felt this one didn't quite get there. Yes, the writing is beautiful and appropriate. Yes, there is some great characterisation (especially Aoife). Was there something being said about the effect of an atavistic religiosity on a generation that grew up away from its roots? Or was it just a dysfunctional group of people who happened to be related to one another for the convenience of the novel? And why is the mystery of the missing man such an insignificant part of the plot as it develops? Don't get me wrong, I liked this book; but it didn't grab me in the way some of Maggie O'Farrell's other books have done.