Elizabeth Strout meets Marian Keyes in this wonderful, joyful, funny debut novel from Australian author Jacquie Byron.
Growing older doesn't necessarily mean growing wiser.
Gin in one hand, paintbrush in the other, Franny Calderwood has turned her back on the world, or at least the world she used to love. Having lost her husband, Frank, in tragic circumstances three years earlier, 65-year-old Franny copes the only way she knows how: by removing herself completely from the life she had before. Franny lives a life of decadent seclusion, with only her two dogs, Whisky and Soda, a stuffed cat, cocktails and the memory of Frank for company.
Then the Salernos move in next door. The troubled but charming trio - beleaguered mother Sallyanne, angry teenager Dee and eccentric eight-year-old Josh - cannot help but pull Franny into the drama of their lives. But despite her fixation with independence, Franny's wisecracks and culinary experiments hide considerable trauma and pain, and when her eccentric behaviour has life-threatening consequences she faces a reckoning of sorts. Yes, Frank is dead, but did the woman he loved have to perish with him?
A love story about one woman, two dogs, and the family next door, Happy Hour is a hilarious and uplifting insight into grief, loss, true love and friendship.
Happy Hour in the October 2021 issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly.
Dreams DO come true.
The Age / Sydney Morning Herald, 25 September 2021.
The (strictly) nice things people are saying …
BOOKS + PUBLISHING
Three years after her husband’s death, 65-year-old artist Frances Calderwood has developed a drinking problem and squirrelled herself away from human contact. However, the cocoon built by the quirky, acerbic Franny is threatened when a pair of troubled young siblings move in next door. There follows a two-steps-forward one-step-back dance of intimacy and separation as Franny learns anew how to let people in.
Grief, love, loneliness and friendship are intertwined in this dense yet highly readable dramedy. Settings and characters are painted with an attractive depth of detail: Franny’s colourful home is brought to life and easily envisaged, and the child characters are thoughtfully rendered. Acquaintances of teenage girls will recognise the authenticity of Dee, whereas eight-year-old Josh is a poignant portrayal of a young boy struggling with his identity.
Beneath the trappings of this novel’s commercial packaging lie some serious themes, not least the grieving process and the pain of losing a life partner, as well as an exploration of what makes for a successful long-term relationship. Franny’s misanthropic tendencies, her raw pain, her taste for fine food and love of a 5pm Tanqueray make her quite memorable—something of an older Eleanor Oliphant—and while she’s not always agreeable, she does arouse sympathy.
This is high-quality general fiction that offers nuggets of wisdom and an entertaining ride for readers of all ages.
The (strictly) nice things people are saying …
“This book is big feelings and I cried my way through a lot of it.”
— Jaclyn Crupi, book editor, bookseller and buyer, book reviewer (Hill of Content, Melbourne)
“Jacquie Byron is an extraordinary writer, so capably capturing modern life and its tragedies with wit and warmth.”
— Georgia Phillips, Goodreads
“This opening suggests the confidently handled mix of eccentric wit and genuine emotional heft that defines this charming and poignant debut novel … there’s never any doubt that Franny is the star. She’s irascible, sharp-tongued and often her own worst enemy … a nuanced, sensitive portrait of grief.”
— Gemma Nisbet, The West Australian, 4 September 2021
“A hilarious and poignant reminder that grief is a journey that should never be travelled alone.”
— Mary Moody, author of ‘The Accidental Tour Guide’ and
’Adventures in Life and Death’ among others.
Have a snifter on me.
Click the link to read the first two chapters of Happy Hour. Cheers!
Book Club Questions
Got the gang together to read Happy Hour? Thank you. I so hope you enjoy it. Here are a few things I still ponder about in the story:
1. Frank, while gone, could still be considered a significant a character in Happy Hour. How do you think the presence of Frank in the photographs contributes to the narrative? What does Franny’s conversations with him reveal to us?
2. Franny loves to cook, which of the meals that she cooks would you most like to try? Have you tried the recipe in the back of the book?
3. Franny is part of an online book club as she likes the anonymity. Do you prefer online or in person reading groups and why?
4. Franny struggles with finding forgiveness for Chris throughout the novel. How do you think you would feel in Franny’s position?
5. Franny is a complex character who is struggling with immense grief, and her ability to connect with others because of it. She often comes across as cold or cruel in her attempts to protect herself from further hurt. How did you feel about how Franny treated those who used to be closest to her?
6. Motherhood is another central theme in the book. Both Sallyanne and Franny have struggled with their identity as a mother, Sallyanne feeling that she fails to be a good single parent and Franny believing that she was never meant to be a mother after the death of Tilly. Franny also has people ask her multiple times why she chose not to have children. What do you think all of this says about how women are valued and perceived in society in relation to motherhood?