But it's raining, her house is falling apart and she's just been left by her boyfriend who has taken up with another woman. I think the idea could have been further developed, even within the short story format, to make this a more satisfying read. I'll see how I am doing with my multiple challenges in winter, and I may add a full lenght book for this one.

Even though the story is set at Christmas, the festive period is incidental and the story could have been set at any time. No sermons, without sentimentality Joyce's words wash over you and through these fictional events a deeper truth is revealed. If we just think for a moment about the stresses relationships will have undergone these last 9 months - the loss of freedoms, our normal routines, all that this pandemic has wrought and continues to do so, the loss of people in our lives, whether temporary or with the finality of death - this little gem offers more than advice on how to cope with loss and grief.She moved to writing after a twenty-year career in theatre and television, performing leading roles for the RSC, the Royal National Theatre, The Royal Court, and Cheek by Jowl, winning a Time Out Best Actress award and the Sony Silver. It may be Christmas, but Binny’s life has fallen apart: the faulty shower, the broken glass pane in the front door, the smashed crockery on the kitchen floor, the unbought Christmas cards, food and gifts; it’s all Oliver’s fault. It is raining, her house is falling apart, the streets are jammed with people and it is all Oliver’s fault.

I've been wanting to finish The Grapes of Wrath for more than 3 decades but it was a book that I put on hold in my late teens and never came back to. I worried it might spoil my experience with PERFECT before I had a chance to review it but the writing was just as lovely and the story touching.

A chance meeting with her polar opposite reveals a pain she hasn't dealt with, buried deep with memories and hurt. She has lost her parents not so long ago, but refused to cry or show her emotions at that time, then when her current "partner," Oliver ups and leaves her, confessing his affair with another woman who is now pregnant, she is beside herself yet still willing herself to remain stoic. Still, it wasn't bad and bonus points because it didnt make me roll my eyes as many Christmas related stories seem to. Just in time for Christmas, a heartwarming holiday e-original story by Rachel Joyce, the author of the bestselling The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.

It's a story about loss and love, renewal and change, giving up and letting go, reaching out and reaching in. A tinsy sad but at last hopeful short story, to remember of all the human beings in our life whom we care about and not to forget the importance of small things and gestures. Marketed as a Christmas story, I found Christmas to be incidental and that this tale could have been set at any time of year.Rachel has also written over twenty original afternoon plays and adaptations of the classics for BBC Radio 4, including all the Bronte novels. Rather than dealing with her emotions by expressing them verbally, instead she chooses to throw plates, covering her kitchen floor with the "thousand blue ceramic pins" that were formed, then she "swept the splinters of china into her hands and squeezed until she felt them spike the skin. Zufällig findet sie sich in einem Laden voller Putzmittel wieder und die Verkäuferin hatte auch mit Schicksalsschlägen zu kämpfen. Rachel Joyce has written over 20 original afternoon plays for BBC Radio 4, and major adaptations for both the Classic Series, Woman's Hour and also a TV drama adaptation for BBC 2. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry' is among my favorite books so I decided to give this work a go.