Confessions of a 40-something

Heartbroken after a failed business venture and a broken engagement, Nell Stevens returns to the UK after years in the US to try to restart her life. This is tricky, as she is sad and broke and all her friends are busy smug-marrieds with children. Nell’s greatest consolation is her landlord’s dog, which she minds for cheap rent while he is away. Then there is the unexpected friendship of 80-something Cricket, who she meets in her new role as an obituary writer. The title of the book doesn’t make a lot of sense, until you realise it is a more acceptable version of Nell’s podcast - Confessions of a 40-something Fuck Up - which aims to tell it like it is and slowly gathers momentum that adds to her personal and professional recovery. Elements of the plot are improbable, to put it politely, especially the conceit of a mortgage granted to a freelance writer to buy a London flat, but also the entertainment value and wild success of the podcast. This is a tale with its heart in the right place but it all adds up to little more than adult chick lit.