Call number
MYST CAN
Collections
Genres
Publication
Scribner (2022), 352 pages
Description
"A NICE, NORMAL HOUSE ... Linda has lived in a quiet neighborhood ever since fleeing the dark events of her childhood in Wales. Now she sits in her kitchen, wondering if this is all there is--pushing the vacuum around and cooking fish sticks for supper is a far cry from the glamorous lifestyle she sees in the glossy catalogues coming through the mail slot addressed to the previous occupant, Rebecca. A NICE, NORMAL HUSBAND? Terry isn't perfect--he picks his teeth, tracks dirt through the house, and spends most of his time in front of the TV. But that seems fairly standard--until he starts keeping odd hours at work, at around the same time young women in the town start to go missing ... A NICE, NORMAL LIFE... If Linda could track down and befriend Rebecca, maybe some of that enviable lifestyle would rub off on her. But the grass isn't always greener: you can't change who you really are, and criminals can hide behind closed doors"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Twink
Oh my gosh! Why I haven't heard of Joanna Cannon before! Her latest book, A Tidy Ending, is fabulous. (And I'll be looking up her backlist)
Linda lives a small life. But she wonders if there could be more to see, do and experience instead of a routine of cooking, cleaning and heading down to the pub
A Tidy Ending is told in a stream of consciousness from Linda's point of view. Linda is a complex character that that had me delightfully flummoxed! I'd be listening away and then 'hello!' There are a number of statements that Linda makes that had me continuously changing what I thought and believed about her. There's also an event in her past that is referenced but not explained fully until later on.
Cannon is a clever, clever writer - her plotting is deviously delicious. But there are some poignant moments as well. All we all need is a friend - right?
I chose to listen to A Tidy Ending and for me, this was the perfect way to experience and appreciate this wonderful book. The reader was Lissa Berry and she gave a fabulous performance. She has a wonderfully smoky, gravelly tone to her voice that conjured up a clear mental image of Linda for me. Her voice is clear and easy on the ear. She enunciates well and her timing is just right. She brings both plot and character to life with her emphasizing, rise and fall and tone of speaking.
A Tidy Ending is a clever title as well, but I'll leave it to you to find out why.
Linda lives a small life. But she wonders if there could be more to see, do and experience instead of a routine of cooking, cleaning and heading down to the pub
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on Friday nights with her husband Terry. When some catalogues addressed to the previous owner of their house, Linda devours them. And wonders if she could find this Rebecca and become her friend. Oh, and there's a murderer in their village....A Tidy Ending is told in a stream of consciousness from Linda's point of view. Linda is a complex character that that had me delightfully flummoxed! I'd be listening away and then 'hello!' There are a number of statements that Linda makes that had me continuously changing what I thought and believed about her. There's also an event in her past that is referenced but not explained fully until later on.
Cannon is a clever, clever writer - her plotting is deviously delicious. But there are some poignant moments as well. All we all need is a friend - right?
I chose to listen to A Tidy Ending and for me, this was the perfect way to experience and appreciate this wonderful book. The reader was Lissa Berry and she gave a fabulous performance. She has a wonderfully smoky, gravelly tone to her voice that conjured up a clear mental image of Linda for me. Her voice is clear and easy on the ear. She enunciates well and her timing is just right. She brings both plot and character to life with her emphasizing, rise and fall and tone of speaking.
A Tidy Ending is a clever title as well, but I'll leave it to you to find out why.
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LibraryThing member kimkimkim
When the story begins I admit to thinking the narrator is in a bit of trouble and perhaps slightly mentally challenged. She is very detail oriented to the point of being tedious. She likes to do crossword puzzles because they make you think how things fit together. She isn’t going to use a pen
Joanna Carson is a clever writer. Nothing is ever what you expect or are led to believe. But that only came to me in hindsight. Actually it came to me the day after I finished the book while I was taking a shower. Also, I am giving myself a big pat on the back that “I got it” at least I think I did, just not as I was reading nor even when I finished. It is the reason the word “epiphany” exists. Summed up by Linda Hammett, the main character: “there are always two ways to interpret everything in life. All you need to do is pick the version that suits you better.” Oh so clever.
Thank you NetGalley and Scribner / Simon & Schuster for a copy
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and fill in the first answer she thinks of because you have to consider all the contiguous squares and possibilities. She is an observer, she is a plodder, she plans ahead, she takes her time, she is somewhat off kilter, not exactly offensive, just different. You know the type, the one who is a little too loud, tries too hard, has a vivid imagination, misinterprets friendliness for friendship. Pay attention now.Joanna Carson is a clever writer. Nothing is ever what you expect or are led to believe. But that only came to me in hindsight. Actually it came to me the day after I finished the book while I was taking a shower. Also, I am giving myself a big pat on the back that “I got it” at least I think I did, just not as I was reading nor even when I finished. It is the reason the word “epiphany” exists. Summed up by Linda Hammett, the main character: “there are always two ways to interpret everything in life. All you need to do is pick the version that suits you better.” Oh so clever.
Thank you NetGalley and Scribner / Simon & Schuster for a copy
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LibraryThing member pgchuis
SPOILERS FOLLOW
This contained some very clever misdirection, some wry humour and (after a middle section which dragged) a surprising ending. I am in two minds about Linda's narration: so she was misrepresenting herself and her motivation throughout... Should we have been able to spot that? At times
This contained some very clever misdirection, some wry humour and (after a middle section which dragged) a surprising ending. I am in two minds about Linda's narration: so she was misrepresenting herself and her motivation throughout... Should we have been able to spot that? At times
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I felt pained by her apparent inability to interpret social situations: was any of that real? Show Less
LibraryThing member RidgewayGirl
A lonely married woman becomes obsessed with the woman who used to live in her house after she receives some of her mail. As she hunts for information about the woman, developing the fantasy that they would be best friends, a series of murders in the area put her neighborhood on edge.
The question
The question
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here isn't so much whether Linda is an unreliable narrator, but to what extent. Is she reporting honestly about events as she sees them, through the filters of her delusions and hopes, or is she willfully misleading the reader? This novel works so well in maintaining that tension, until the final chapters, which can't fulfill the promise of the rest of the book, as all the secrets are revealed. But the majority of the book is successful and my disappointment with the author being unable to pull of the impossible will not stop me from taking a look at her other work. Show Less
LibraryThing member shazjhb
Creepy book. Good read. Her other book was much more light hearted
LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
This was a highly entertaining novel, reminiscent in many ways of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, in that it is narrated by a character who seems slightly at odds with, and almost dislocated from, her surroundings.
Linda narrates in a simple tone, suggesting a rather naïve approach to life.
I found this book highly engaging, and was very quickly completely engrossed in it. The prose is very clear and simple, but no less appealing for that, and the plot ranges far and wide, yet is always completely believable.
Linda narrates in a simple tone, suggesting a rather naïve approach to life.
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She has a part time job at a local charity shop, but spends much of her time repeatedly cleaning the home she shares with her husband, Terry. We discover that they have only lived there for a fairly short time, and that it was previously occupied by someone called Rachel. Linda gradually becomes obsessed with Rachel, and starts to imagine all sorts of aspects of her life. Meanwhile, the local area has been plagued by a series of attacks on unaccompanied women, and among Linda’s neighbours, speculation is rife as to who might be responsible.I found this book highly engaging, and was very quickly completely engrossed in it. The prose is very clear and simple, but no less appealing for that, and the plot ranges far and wide, yet is always completely believable.
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LibraryThing member rmarcin
Linda is married to Terry, an OK husband. She cooks and cleans, but wants a more glamorous life-similar to what is seen in the magazines addressed to Rebecca Finch, former tenant of their home.
Linda believes that she can have a better life if she befriends Rebecca.
Meanwhile there are women who
The ending may surprise you, as will a few other twists along the way.
Linda believes that she can have a better life if she befriends Rebecca.
Meanwhile there are women who
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are found murdered, and Terry becomes a suspect. Linda worms her way into a friendship with Rebecca. The ending may surprise you, as will a few other twists along the way.
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LibraryThing member gpangel
A Tidy Ending by Joanna Cannon is a 2022 Scribner publication.
What a clever little thriller, this turned out to be. I didn’t do a lot of research on this one- I just plucked it off the TBR list at random- so I had no expectations one way or the other. At times I just could not figure out where
It’s hard to describe this one without giving too much away- and I'm not sure if truly fits into a single category- but basically, Linda lives a quiet, nondescript life after enduring a childhood trauma. She longs for companionship but is often rebuffed. But when catalogues arrive that were meant for the previous occupant of her house- a woman named Rebecca- Linda goes on quest to track her down, fantasizing about a close friendship with this woman she's never met.
In the meantime, her quiet neighborhood is all abuzz about a string of murders and Linda finds herself making connections between the murders and the recent behaviors of her husband, Terry.
Linda narrates the story entirely- and her first-person voice is utterly captivating. At once she’s a sympathetic character, shunned to some degree by others, and ignored and taken for granted by Terry, but because she’s often regulated to the sidelines, she picks up on things others might miss- she makes hilarious, spot-on observations about people and their motives, but has a naïve quality to her as well.
I got caught up in Linda’s narrative, but running sinisterly in background is an ever-increasing feeling of unease. But never would I have expected what the story was leading up to.
This is a darkly humorous book- very well executed. The only downside was the pacing- which is a bit slow- but now, in hindsight, I think that understated quality is what made it work in the end. I really liked it! What’s even better is that the author can write a smart, slightly quirky, story -but she doesn’t need to include graphic descriptions of murder, or strong language, or any other unnecessary or uncomfortable content for it to be effective. While that might lead one to conclude this book is a cozy- and I have seen a few people describe it as such, I’m going to balk at placing it in that category- it’s a bit too dark to fit into that genre, IMO.
Overall, if you like dark humor, clever plots, and smart dialogue and narration this is a book you might consider.
4+ stars
What a clever little thriller, this turned out to be. I didn’t do a lot of research on this one- I just plucked it off the TBR list at random- so I had no expectations one way or the other. At times I just could not figure out where
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all this was heading, but the book to a on a brand-new dimension towards the end that really did not see coming. It’s hard to describe this one without giving too much away- and I'm not sure if truly fits into a single category- but basically, Linda lives a quiet, nondescript life after enduring a childhood trauma. She longs for companionship but is often rebuffed. But when catalogues arrive that were meant for the previous occupant of her house- a woman named Rebecca- Linda goes on quest to track her down, fantasizing about a close friendship with this woman she's never met.
In the meantime, her quiet neighborhood is all abuzz about a string of murders and Linda finds herself making connections between the murders and the recent behaviors of her husband, Terry.
Linda narrates the story entirely- and her first-person voice is utterly captivating. At once she’s a sympathetic character, shunned to some degree by others, and ignored and taken for granted by Terry, but because she’s often regulated to the sidelines, she picks up on things others might miss- she makes hilarious, spot-on observations about people and their motives, but has a naïve quality to her as well.
I got caught up in Linda’s narrative, but running sinisterly in background is an ever-increasing feeling of unease. But never would I have expected what the story was leading up to.
This is a darkly humorous book- very well executed. The only downside was the pacing- which is a bit slow- but now, in hindsight, I think that understated quality is what made it work in the end. I really liked it! What’s even better is that the author can write a smart, slightly quirky, story -but she doesn’t need to include graphic descriptions of murder, or strong language, or any other unnecessary or uncomfortable content for it to be effective. While that might lead one to conclude this book is a cozy- and I have seen a few people describe it as such, I’m going to balk at placing it in that category- it’s a bit too dark to fit into that genre, IMO.
Overall, if you like dark humor, clever plots, and smart dialogue and narration this is a book you might consider.
4+ stars
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Pages
352
ISBN
1982185570 / 9781982185572