Oh Dear Silvia: The gloriously heartwarming novel from the No. 1 bestselling author of Because of You

Product Information

All centred around the now lifeless hub that is Silvia, the characters deal with their grief, guilt and fear, and it becomes clear - to them, and the reader - that humanity is a vital part of moving on in life. The writing grew increasingly powerful as the story developed, and the ending was much more moving, and much darker, than I had anticipated.

It's a story about loss, and saying goodbye, but it's also a story about finding the truth and finding love. Having the climax occur in the middle of the book, that had been slowly revealed up until that point was surprising, as although some of it had been telegraphed earlier, some of the big reveal was obvious but yet it was still shocking. Tia, the Asian housekeeper, oh so amusingly refers to Silvia as “Mrs Shit”: “Tia has been taught to swear by her two sons who were born and grew up in England, and who amuse themselves by cajoling her into using utterly inappropriate language.Cassie was living at home when she discovered she was pregnant and then a week after telling her mother, she is evicted from the house. You take farewell of the characters like they are good friends (it really feels like they are) and even if it's a bit painful, you know it's time to let go.

Però ha dei buoni spunti (i personaggi ruotano attorno a una donna in coma irreversibile che non può ascoltare o rispondere e questo crea situazioni scenograficamente interessanti, anche se non sempre riescono appieno). I have heard people say that this depiction of a Jamaican woman was stereotypical but I personally disagree because I liked that you read it through her voice. I actually liked Cassie's character and had immediate sympathy for her but my problem with her character was the timeline. The concept is original, the structure is flawless, the characters are all fully realised, the dialogue is very human and real, the plot twists are genuinely shocking, the funny sections are really funny and the sad bits had me weeping openly in my car on the way to and from work.

There isn't really a progressive plot as such, but this is more of a collection of memories, wishes and thoughts have about Silvia and how she has changed each narrator's life. It's ironic that Silvia is the focus of this novel, because as a reader, I never got a sense of who she was or what exactly motivated her actions.

The fact of the matter is that the lady in the coma has ostracised almost everyone, and all of their lives have well and truly moved on without her. I did not, however, think that the book was 'side-splitting' or 'hilarious', which were terms used on the front cover to describe the book. I was expecting something like an in-depth analysis of Sylvia Schute from a variety of angles, but for the most part the novel is far more concerned with everybody else.Silvia Shute is in a coma lying in a hospital bed visited by friends and family cared for with a great deal of tenderness by nurse “Winnie” who suffers through their odd behaviour.

That said, the characters are distinctive and you will love and/or hate them each in turn (I liked Cassie the best). There were times when this novel is laugh-out-loud funny (Silvia’s sister literally tries everything to get her sister to come out of the coma including getting a stripper into the hospital room), yet there are times when the novel is also very dark and moving. Although her character initially provides a balance against the others who actually know Silvia by the end her role is crucial, not just for Silvia but for many of her visitors too. In talking to her sister's inert body, Jo shows her misunderstanding of a normal human relationship and although I started to feel a little sorry for her, I also wanted to shake her and tell her to let the nurses/doctors do their job and stop trying to do strange experiments.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. For every heartfelt or memorable moment, there is another monologue about trees, an oh-my-god-who-cares backstory, and let's not forget the damnable Jamaican lilt which seems to become more pronounced with every passing conversation.