Maggie's Tree

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Along the way, they’ll unlock wisdom for those of us navigating our own coupledoms, and for those still seeking their perfect match. I had high expectations of this book as a fan of Julie Walters but unfortunately I was left disappointed. For Arthur Dent, who has only just had his house demolished that morning, this seems already to be more than he can cope with. Do you feel weighed down by stress and pressure, held back by judgement and lack of opportunity, and critcised by everyone – including yourself? Best-selling author Mark Manson brings his signature no-nonsense wisdom back to the subject he started his career covering: relationships.

They seem to have marital problems, as evidenced by the very violent lovemaking, but nothing said between the time they supposedly met (first meeting was mentioned only in passing) and the present time – what happened between them that led to this state in their relationship?No doubt that's what it's like being inside the mind of somebody who's totally round the bend but it makes a crappy book. However, I don’t think she put this talent into very good use as I failed to appreciate the characters whose livs were told on the present tense, with almost no reference to a history that will shed more light and make the reader understand or even empathize with the characters. Julia Walters’ prose is remarkable, that I can say – she was very descriptive of even the tiniest drop of blood. Any story, any presentation, should have a backgrounder of sort – this is what this novel is lacking.

I think for a first novel she would have been better occupied writing something simple, amusing and drawn the reader into her world. Meanwhile Helena is mentally distancing herself from what she views as a lesbian pass by imagining herself eating spaghetti vongole in her favourite restaurant.

I think it would work best as a screenplay - the characters on the page lack things like depth and background, which acting could overcome.

Maggie is clearly unwell but we don't know why, the other characters or so one dimensional they are almost opaque - with the exception of Michael. Cissie is a lesbian who has Jennifer for a partner, and her being a lesbian is supposed to be a secret, and the reader will only know about this because the press in London leaked such a story (until this time in the story, I did not know that Cissie was a celebrity).This grossly oversimplified understanding has created many complexities in our lives and taken away from us the very fundamentals of the joy of living.

It was difficult to read - seemed to be totally overblown discriptive sentences - without any feeling for the story or characters coming through.In each episode you'll follow one person's journey, getting to listen in on their coaching sessions with Selina and following them as she sends them off on a task to try out a new career idea. A bit "Mills and Booney" I'd say - if you like that sort of thing great, but I can't be bothered with it. And according to the residents of the Japanese island of Okinawa - the world's longest-living people - finding it is the key to a longer and more fulfilled life.