ONE-HIT WONDER by LISA JEWELL

 ONE-HIT WONDER

BY LISA JEWELL

THE BLURB:-

Bee Bearhorn had a number-one-hit single in 1985- and was never heard of again. Fifteen years later she is found dead- and nobody seems to care.

Ana Wills has always dreamed about the exotic half-sister she hasn't seen for years. When she comes to London to clear her flat, Ana begins to unravel Bee's life: her missing cat, her secret country cottage and her mysterious weekends away.

So, instead of going back to Devon, Ana tracks down Bee's closest friends, mad Lol and strong, silent Flint, and together they set out to discover exactly what happened to Bee Bearhorn, the one-hit-wonder...

THE REALITY:-

A very pleasant, speedy read, I have to say! I felt I was right in there with the moment, as I remember the music scene of 1985/86 that Bee inhabits, and also the London and UK social culture of 2000, which Ana inhabits. This book was very easy to relate to and had some wonderful, well-rounded, oh-so-real characters, whose flaws came alive on the page like a punch in the face.

I love the way the author uses fashion to define characters; obvious with the likes of Bee and Lol (her nickname suits her- I adored this character, and found her laugh-out-loud funny!) but also subtly nuanced with Ana, the pretty girl with the perfect catwalk model's figure who thinks she's unattractive. Ana was, in fact, very easy to relate to, and I like that this is a novel that examines dysfunctional mother/ daughter relationships (something I can certainly relate to). It makes for a much more refreshing read than a novel where everything in that department is all sweetness and light and tickety-boo. This novel certainly had equal measures of light (in the form of humour) and dark, although it tended to veer towards the latter.

I did work out very early on that (spoiler alert!) Bee was the person responsible for Zander's paralysis, although I thought the author would have her injure him whilst on her motorbike in an inebriated state, which wasn't the case. I really, really feel for poor Bee, and I'm happy that this self-destructive woman was explained so carefully, and that she ended up with a good post-life celebration and a modicum of understanding from all who knew her. It's a happy ending kind of book (I suppose), but also sad as it's such a shame that Bee never found peace of mind. But then, was she meant to? This book certainly questions whether people's lives are preordained from birth.

I did like some of the add-on characters, such as Amy and even John, the cat, who acted as a kind of symbolism for loss in Bee's sad, unfulfilled life. Gregor worked as a real catalyst in the story and Hugh (I privately nicknamed him Gruesome Hughsome!) is someone I can personally relate to- I think we've all known men who think they're gorgeous and too good for you, when in reality they are not, and are pig ugly.

My favourite bit did have to be where Ana- who desperately needed to find herself- tried on some of Bee's fantastic wardrobe, as Bee sounds like she wore the same kind of quirky fashion that I do, and Ana- well, let's just say I hope this lovely character goes on to become a singer and model. An interesting study of relationships of the sisterly variety (and the family we create for ourselves- that of our friendships), I'd certainly recommend this book.