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The main character is Liz, who is happily married to Nathan. They have two children: an adult son, who has left home, and a daughter, Rosie, who is eighteen, and in her last year at school. As the story starts, Liz is becoming quite worried about Rosie. They have always got along well, but suddenly Rosie has become withdrawn, abrupt and secretive. Liz suspects she’s involved with an unsuitable man, but any attempt to find out more is met with rebuff.
Unfortunately Nathan has been having some heart problems, and shouldn’t be stresse or angry. So Liz knows she has to get in touch with her two best friends, Nell and Chrissy to talk things through. Chrissy is a mother of five, some of them still quite young. Nell is single, and a glamorous reporter and writer. But they’ve all been there for each other at critical points in their lives, so they both agree to take a short break.
There’s a lot of back story in this novel, and while it’s done without dates or any obvious lead, it’s very easy to know what’s going on. We see Liz - the daughter of two rather snobby folk from the upper middle class - as she starts a new school, and meets the girls who will become her friends.
Chrissy lives in a fairly respectable neighbourhood with her father - who doesn’t seem to do much - and her eccentric aunt. Her mother left them when Chrissy was small. She’s often hungry and she appreciates teas at Liz’s house, where her mother is determined to feed everyone extensively.
Nell lives near the docks; her father works there, and is often angry or drunk. Her mother is somewhat afraid of him. But she’s also extremely intelligent. Liz rather skates around Nell’s background when introducing them to her parents.
The three grow up, their friendship strengthening despite their very different backgrounds and home lives. And we see this interspersed with the present, as the story moves towards the time when the three women, now in their thirties, will converge in Chrissy’s home for a few days.
It’s all very well-written, and while I couldn’t relate to Nell, I thought Liz a very likeable person. Nathan, too, is supportive and encouraging and their relationship feels real and encouraging. Liz’s reaction to her daughter’s probable affair mirror something she did in her teens, which she now regrets profoundly; and the ‘past’ sections of the book show the run-up to this, and some of what happened. There’s no gratuitous detail, thankfully, and while there are no surprises - it’s obvious from the start that she’s done this - it’s cleverly introduced as background to Liz’s current concerns.
There are a lot of other issues covered in the book. Nell has her own worries although she’s not sure whether she wants to burden her friends with them. She also has a secret which she has kept for a long time, something which, again, was obviously going to happen; but we don’t find out any details until much later.
It could have been complicated to keep track, but somehow I didn’t have any difficulty. I didn’t really distinguish Chrissy’s children (other than her health-conscious daughter Amanda) and we never get to know Liz’s son, but they’re minor, so it doesn’t matter; and they feel real enough. Issues of class consciousness shine through - Liz’s parents approve of Chrissy’s choice of husband, who is a wealthy businessman, but are disappointed in the much nicer man Liz marries.
This book was first published in 1993, so inevitably there is a lot that feels dated - quite apart from the lack of modern technology - but the people and their problems are believable and relevant to today.
I liked this very much, and already look forward to rereading it in another decade or so. 'Tell Mrs Poole I'm sorry' is long out of print, but often available second-hand.
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