A Patchwork Family (by Cathy Bramley)

(Amazon UK link)

I’ve liked the books I’ve read so far by Cathy Bramley, so I put a couple more on my wishlist towards the end of last year. I was very pleased to be given ‘A Patchwork Family’ for my birthday a few months ago. The cover is appealing, and the novel is quite long. As with others by this author, it’s in four parts, which are available separately for the Kindle. This volume, however, contains them all.

The narrator of the story is a young woman called Gina who works as a childminder. She’s evidently a very good one, popular with children and parents alike. She’s recently been divorced, but it was quite amicable and she still sees her ex-husband from time to time. She rents a small cottage that’s part of a bigger estate, and she’s very friendly with the three elderly residents of the main house: Violet, Delphine and Bing.

The novel is set in a village, where everyone seems to know everyone else. One or two people from previous novels by this author appear, including one small boy is sometimes looked after by Gina. It was nice to recognise names, although I didn’t recall any details of ‘The Lemon Tree Café’; but then it’s three years since I read it. It’s certainly not necessary to have read other books by Cathy Bramley, as this one stands alone.

The village school has a new head, a rather good-looking and friendly man called Beau Colby. He asks Gina if she would look after some twins, Isabel and Lisa, who have also recently arrived in the village with their mother Cat. The family has suffered a terrible bereavement and Lisa has not spoken a word in months, although she manages to communicate to her sister.

Then another unexpected shock happens, and it looks as though the estate where Gina lives is going to be sold. She and her elderly friends will be homeless - possibly within a few months - and it’s likely the house, which is somewhat ramshackle, will be completely redesigned as offices.

So there’s a lot going on, and rather a large cast of characters; I never did manage to remember who was whom amongst the children Gina looks after, other than the twins. The others all have their own voices, and one is a baby, but they didn’t feel particularly real. However Gina is clearly fond of them all, and somehow manages to keep them all occupied, introducing themes and crafts and activities in a way that leaves me open-mouthed in admiration. My own foray into child-minding, over twenty years ago, was much more relaxed and spontaneous.

It’s a good story, one that I felt picked up the pace and became more interesting about a third of the way through. If I’d bought just the first part, I’m not sure I’d have bothered with the rest. While the writing is good, and the story moves at the right pace, the characters - other than the twins, and the elderly, sometimes naughty Bing - felt rather two-dimensional. Still, it’s more of a plot-related book than a character one, and I could at least somewhat relate to Gina.

There are some interesting issue that arise. As well as the serious problems related to bereavement that affect people in different ways, the book covers, in story form, the legalities of child-minding, the ease with which a good reputation can be damaged, the loneliness of old age, the way parents can all too easily make their children think they’re not appreciated, and more. I thought they were all handled sensitively, although it was quite a lot to be included in one novel and at times I felt a bit breathless with so much going on.

Although it took a while to get going, by the time I was two-thirds of the way through I found the book hard to put down and I finished it much more quickly. Several different threads are nicely tied up, Christmas wishes granted - the book takes place over just a few months - and a couple of romances start to blossom. I do appreciate the way that Cathy Bramley avoids all but the mildest bad language, and all bedroom scenes, with just a few hints about what happens as relationships progress.

So overall, I liked this book very much and would recommend it if you don’t mind a large cast, and prefer story-based rather than character-based women’s fiction. I particularly appreciated the way that, unlike some other books I've read, being a talented child-minder is considered a positive, career-minded option.

Review copyright 2022 Sue's Book Reviews