Eating Blackbirds

Eating Blackbirds by Lorraine Jenkin is a chirpy account of love, life and relationships in the modern world. Set in the fictional town of Cysgod y Ffynnon near the Elan Valley in mid-Wales, the story features a cast of hapless souls fumbling their way inelegantly through their various issues. The central character is Godfrey Palmer, an obsessively parsimonious Council Tax Officer saving hard for his early retirement into financial fulfilment and with the misguided belief that he will finally be permitted to marry the woman of his dreams. His earnest plans fall into disarray when his sixteen-year-old niece Georgia arrives, complete with newborn baby, looking to him for help after her two-year ordeal living rough as a consequence of an incident with her mothers boyfriend. Other characters that exist on the fringes of Godfreys fantasy include obnoxious and immature Mansel Big Face, a fellow council worker with the apt job title of Ducks n Dogshit Officer, and obsolete, ingenuous, dog-walking Audrey Gloucester, the wife of a serially adulterous city barrister. This tale rolls along quite happily and we see the cast learning the hard way, getting their comeuppance, making life-changing decisions and eventually growing up, before we are treated to a somewhat unusual yet strangely believable finale. An inoffensive, easy-going and light-hearted read where those who deserve what they get get what they deserve, and for everyone else the story ends happily ever after. Catriona Thomas It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council. Gellir defnyddio’r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru. — Welsh Books Council