BEFORE I MET YOU by LISA JEWELL

BEFORE I MET YOU

BY LISA JEWELL

THE BLURB:-

London, 1920. Arlette works in Liberty by day, and by night is caught up in a glamorous whirl of parties, clubs, cocktails and jazz. But when tragedy strikes she flees the city, never to return.

Over half a century later, in the grungy mid-'90s, her granddaughter Betty arrives in London.

She can't wait to begin her new life. But before she can do so, she must find the mysterious woman named in her grandmother's will.

What she doesn't know is that her search will uncover the heartbreaking secret that changed her grandmother's life, and might also change hers...

THE REALITY:-

This is my first introduction to Lisa Jewell and I  have to say that she's created quite a gem of a book (yep, I know the word connection sounds incredibly naff!)

For me, the best thing about this novel is that it was extremely easy to relate to, simply because the character Betty is roughly my age and she moves down to London in exactly the same year that I did. Ah, the memories!  London in the late 1990s was returned to me fondly. What a time! I think I recognised the Soho heavy metal pub in the book as The Intrepid Fox- alternative/heavy hang-out of the day (and where I met my long-term ex-boyfriend).  Perhaps the story is a bit far fetched, what with Betty getting off with and bedding a rock star, but then I suppose someone's gotta do it.  Also, a story wouldn't be a story without a little extraordinary tucked in amongst the mundane.  As a character, I loved Betty and her fashion foibles. I was there!

Her step-grandmother Arlette is also super-intriguing, from the rich cornucopia of treasures inside her flatlet-style bedroom to her wonderful, glamorous sartorial excesses.  She was someone you really wanted to get to know and the story didn't disappoint, with her era brought alive in fantastic bohemian detail.

With quite an unusual storyline, hers wasn't a typical romance and there was no happy ever after.   I found myself liking her handsome beau, Godfrey, and really felt for him when Arlette dumped him.  That part of the novel brought tears to my eyes, and I think she reacted to her situation totally wrongly and might just have had a chance of happiness (albeit brief) had she taken another route. Read the story and see what I mean.   It's also interesting reading about a mixed race relationship, and how different members of society reacted to it in the 1920s.

The detective side of the novel, with Betty searching for Clara Pickle, was what really moved the story on.  I liked the short chapters (writing lesson to self...) and the way the various people she met helped her in her quest to unravel the mystery.

It's also nice for Lisa Jewell to add some of her personal experiences at the end of the book. This is definitely an author whose work I will be reading again, and someone who I found inspirational in terms of helping me in my quest to achieve my own goal of publication.