Publisher: Simon & Schuster/ Gallery Books
Paperback
336 pages
What could be better – friendship, romance, pie, and of
course, the prospect of meeting Colin Firth.
In Finding Colin Firth,
the events of a few weeks are told from the perspective of three different
women. Bea Crane finds out at 22, a year after her mother has died, that she
was adopted and decided to seek out her birth mother. Veronica Russo famous for
her ‘elixir’ pies, dreams about opening her own pie shop, but her fear of
failure is overpowering her aspirations. Gemma Hendricks has just lost her job,
and found out she is pregnant – two pieces of information that her husband will
use to convince her they should move out of NYC, and to his suburban hometown, even
though he knows that’s not what she wants. In a small span of time, the lives
of the three women intermingle in surprising, funny, and heartbreaking ways. A Colin
Firth movie may in a way bring the women together, but their connection and
their willingness to support each other in discovering what they really want
out of their lives and relationships, is what will keep them together.
I have no complaints or things that I would have changed
about this novel with two small exceptions.
The first is just a pet peeve of
mine. Some information is
repeated, though typically by a different narrator. Repetitions always makes me
wonder if the author questions whether the reader can be trusted to remember
information, and as someone who frequently notices repetitions, I find them
distracting. The second thing is that there were no recipes included!
Veronica’s pies were mouthwateringly described, and I really want at least her
crust recipes. While this may be a ‘complaint’, I think it represents how well
and realistically March created all of the components of the women’s lives.
There were so many things I loved about this book (aside
from just the pies). March has created such a strong lyrical sense of place,
while focusing almost entirely on character growth. One of my favorite elements
was the camaraderie and supportive relationships between the women. Even in
situations where the women were interacting with people they had not always
gotten along with, or understood, the relationships grow to at least a level of
understanding, but more frequently, genuine friendship. This take on women’s
relationships was something that you don’t see as frequently as women cutting
each other down. Not only was this appreciated, but also beautifully crafted.
For women’s fiction readers, or readers who really love
character driven novels, Finding Colin
Firth is a must read. Even though the characters definitely had some
serious obstacles, and some hard situations to work through, the tone is kept
fairly light and uplifting. As a huge fan of this novel, I will definitely be seeking
out March’s previous work.
Rating 9/10 – Would have for sure been a 10 if I had some
pie recipes!
**I received a copy of this novel from the publisher to read
and honestly review. I was in no way compensated.
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