Oh Dear Silvia: The gloriously heartwarming novel from the No. 1 bestselling author of Because of You

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The use of a silent central character was an inspired choice, as all action revolves around her and the choices that have led to this point are revealed piece by piece throughout the novel. There is an awful lot of padding and repetition and little in the way of plot development considering the not inconsiderable size of the book. Her past holds a dark and terrible secret, and now that she is unconscious in a hospital bed, her constant stream of visitors are set to uncover the mystery of her broken life. Ed has much mixed feelings for his ex wife, the things she has done and looking back on their relationship before she changed. It's hard to have any action, except in flashbacks, when the whole novel takes place in a hospital room.

Silvia, who seemingly without reason has rejected her whole family, is not a very likeable person, as it appears. There isn't really a progressive plot as such, but this is more of a collection of memories, wishes and thoughts have about Silvia and how she has changed each narrator's life.The nurse Winnie was probably one of my favourite characters and I really loved that Dawn French supposedly took inspiration from her ex-husband Lenny Henry and his mother.

That said, the characters are distinctive and you will love and/or hate them each in turn (I liked Cassie the best). All centred around the now lifeless hub that is Silvia, the characters deal with their grief, guilt and fear, and it becomes clear - to them, and the reader - that humanity is a vital part of moving on in life.It's confusing but the time that she was apparently kicked out didn't match up with her daughter's age or the time when her parents got divorced. I couldn't tell you what genre this book is because i found it dark, funny, moving it was so much more than i was expecting after reading some of the mixed reviews.