A fresh, hilarious and compulsively readable love story with the most wonderful kernel of truth to it. An uplifting and clever read for fans of Graeme Simsion and Marian Keyes.
Julia is looking for Mr Right, but Ben is more Mr Right-Now-He-Could-Do-With-a-Bath..You may think you know what kind of novel this is, but you’d be wrong.Yes, Julia is a single-girl cliché, living alone with her cat in Vienna and working in a language school. And yes, a series of disastrous dates has left her despairing of ever finding The One – until Ben sits next to her on a bench. He’s tall, dark, handsome……and also incredibly hairy, barefoot, a bit ripe-smelling and of no fixed abode.You guessed it – they fall in love, as couples in novels do. But can Julia overlook the differences between them, abandon logic and choose with her heart?Funny, filthy (literally) and fizzing with life – and based on a true story! – this is the perfect antidote to all those books promising you that Prince Charming lives in a castle.
How To Fall in Love With a Man Who Lives in a Bush by Emmy Abrahamson is published by Borough Press on 25th January in paperback, and is translated by Nichola Smalley. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.
I had no idea what to expect from this book. I hadn't heard anything about it before it arrived through my letterbox, but the blurb is enticing and I was in the mood for some smiles so welcomed the chance to read this.
What an utter and complete delight it is. The writing is sharp and funny and completely up to date, it's the sort of book that gives that feel-good glow every time you pick it up.
Julia is Swedish, living in Vienna and teaching English as a foreign language in a business school. She's not particularly happy in her job, but continues to pick up extra shifts and teach the pupils that every other teacher tries to avoid. Whilst Julia is an incredibly funny, quirky character, she has an underlying vulnerability and sadness that this clever author incorporates so well amongst the humour.
Julia's last relationship broke down badly and she's pretty socially isolated. She adores filling in surveys on the street, or popping for a hearing test .... because it's free and it gives her the chance to talk to people. Whilst she despairs at most of her students and has little in common with her colleagues, they make up a big part of her life. Under the bravado and quips, Julia is lonely.
One day, Julia meets Ben. Ben is like no other man she's ever known. He has no home, he lives in a bush, he's dirty with a long matted beard, but she likes him. There's a spark between them and it's not long before they are meeting regularly, and then they become a couple.
What follows is the story of Julia and Ben, and their relationship with each other, and with the rest of the world. It's not an easy relationship, it has many downs, but oh so many wonderful ups. It's a heartfelt, emotional and often hilarious story of a very unlikely romance.
Knowing that the author has based this novel on her own story; and that her husband was living in a bush when they met, only makes it more poignant. They say that the truth is stranger than fiction and this author taken her truth and created a wonderful story.
How To Fall in Love With A Man Who Lives in a Bush is blissfully funny and very smart. I really enjoyed this and would recommend it highly.
She has written four YA books and was nominated for the August Prize in 2012 for The Only Way is Up. When she met her husband he was actually living in a bush. He was barefoot and dirty, but he was also the funniest, happiest and charming person she'd ever met.
How To Fall In Love With A Man Who Lives in a Bush is a fictionalised version of their story, and Emmy's first novel for adults.
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