Really struggled to feel sympathetic for the main character. Character ARC not really there. Foreshadowing ok, just not enough to keep me enthralled.

DNF - This is a very promising story, however, I just don't think we are well-matched. I was eager to engage with the narrative but wasn't able to fully connect.

This novel takes the form of a diary written over a period of about a year by the recently retired Sebastian Scattergood. Sebastian is initially trying to deal with house renovations that are giving him grief, as well as the challenges of setting up a new business with his wife Jan. The business is to combine his twin fascinations of rambling and the poetry of Tennyson, by escorting tourists around local sites related to the great poet.

As the year wears on, matters keep taking a turn for the worse here and there, to the point where the trying times of the title arrive with a vengeance.

I wasn't quite sure what to make of this book. If starts out gently mocking Sebastian with some wry humour about his dealings with tradesmen, sort of like the protagonist of A Man Called Ove. Then, for long periods, the book sinks into being excessively bucolic, with endless descriptions of flowers, birds, picturesque walks, etc. The author follow up this rather sunny writing with a sharp turn into bleakness, and then an unconvincing and rather twee finale. There is a lot that this novel could have been - comedy, tragedy, a romance, satire, a social critique - yet it doesn't really succeed at being anything of note.

Set in a small village in the Lincolnshire Wolds, ‘Trying Times for Sebastian Scattergood’ is a chronicle of a horrendous year, narrated by an earnest and pompous man who lacks any sense of self-irony. Part disaster diary, part social satire, it is a novel of literary fiction which is both humorous and moving in equal measure. Recommend ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was quite confused when I started reading this. The diary format did not make it any easier to figure out who is who. Many characters were introduced in the first few chapters with no proper introduction or background as to why they are important to the story.

Despite that, I found myself being more engaged as the story progressed on. The relationships built in the story are very heartwarming and relatable especially about Sebastian wanting ever so much to care for his aging parents.

I do find Sebatian’s narration a little dry at times and not very humorous. I find that sometimes the narrator goes into too many minor details which kind of made me a little bored.

Thank you Netgalley and Cranthorpe Millner Publishers for the arc.

2.5*, raised to 3 for the 'almost' moments where I stopped shrugging and actually felt something.

The main issue that I had with this book was that I couldn't quite tell what I was supposed to think of the narrator. Any book in diary format does require a fair amount of interest in the diary writer in order to retain the reader's attention, however he was mostly the pub bore that you try to edge further and further away from.

The author appeared initially to present him as a pompous but harmless bore, yet for the finale to have a decent pay-off, it is necessary to have sympathy for him, and care about him. And quite honestly I did not. There was a brief period where I did think that a kind of pathos could be reached, a painfulness where I could find sadness for the missed paths (and the moments with their grandchild were actually really well done, and some of the best parts). But it retreated instead to an ending where no-one seemed to have learnt much, no character arc developed, and my oerk of interest extinguished.

The set-up was good though, I probably would have stopped reading if I hadn't been enjoying playing 'guess the disaster that will prevail' and following potential hints to imagine (unfortunately more exciting and dramatic) denouements!

*I received a free ARC from NetGalley and I have chosen to leave a review*

To start with, I found <i>Trying Times for Sebastian Scattergood</i> to be somewhat… trying. Many characters were introduced in the first section without showing me why I should care about them. The initial slapstick humour of various disasters was also not to my taste. But after about fifty pages, an element of mystery was added with the question of the decorated gate posts and suddenly I was hooked. As Sebastian and Jan tried out their tours on their friends and family, I also became more engaged with the minor characters too. The relationships in the book are touching and especially Sebastian’s worry about his ageing parents. Then, added to all this, his wife has her own midlife crisis, and who could blame her? This is a perfect book for anyone who loves stories of village life, rambling in the English countryside and drama on a cosy level.

It is extremely middle class, with the narrator Sebastian as a rather pompous retiree and his harassed wife Jan, still working as a teaching assistant, doing her best to support a child who is almost certainly autistic and clings to a stuffed balaclava helmet called Mr Feverfew. Jan puts far too much effort into preparing to teach him and being upset by him in equal parts. As the diary begins, they are being plagued by leaks and subsequent problems with builders and landscapers for their blank canvas garden. Shenanigans will ensue.

Sometimes I felt that the diary went into too much detail about cooking and cleaning, walks in the Lincolnshire countryside and wildflowers. Conversely, it does paint a picture of middle class life that sounds like an advert for M&S food, but all cooked from scratch of course by the hyperactive Sebastian. Both Jan and Sebastian are enthusiastic members of various activities such as the pilates class which receives several mentions.

It all starts out rather boring and repetitive, with no jeopardy or intrigue to spice up the account of the lives of well-to-do pensioners. Until their gate posts are decorated with random objects; why are they being targeted? Later, rather than feeling threatened, sebastian looks forward to each new themed instalment. Unfortunately, the culprits are unmasked soon after the middle of the book. Too soon! What will keep readers engaged for the rest of the book?

Firstly there are the first real customers for the Sebastian and Jan’s new business, the Babbling Brook Experience, showing people around Tennyson country. But the year itself naturally provides plenty of entertainment since it was the year of not only the Queen’s diamond jubilee, but also the London Olympics, providing fodder for the diary.<br /><br />The story takes a darker turn with the subplot of Sebastian’s ageing parents who live a short distance away. . I felt this was dealt with very sympathetically and, as a son, Sebastian seemed to deal with his mother’s lapses in the perfect way, trying never to upset her. Meanwhile, Sebastian and Jan’s lives are thrown into turmoil by misunderstandings which lead a national tabloid newspaper to describe them as Satanic cult leaders, leading Sebastian to withdraw into himself and Jan to escape to a retreat to rethink her life. Will they ever be able to show their faces in the village again and will their marriage survive the public shaming they are (undeservedly) subjected to?

In the end, I really enjoyed reading about Sebastian Scattergood and his trying times. There are an awful lot of themes packed into just one book. I warmed to Sebastian, who initially seemed rather an irritating man and it eventually became clear why he had such good relationships with family and friends and why the villagers rallied around when times were difficult.

<i>Disclaimer: I read a free e-book ARC through NetGalley, but my review is my honest opinion of the book.</i>

Easy to read as set in diary instalments I wondered at the start quite what we getting with the character of Sebastian Scattergood. He's sort of Lincolnshire 'Victor Meldrew' living in the Lincolnshire Wolds but with a love of Alfred Lord Tennyson. Highs and lows don't really figure in his life - just a steady stream of disappointments. He was a chemist but in his retirement he has found life quite frankly 'irritating'.
He has elderly parents, his mother developing dementia which adds emotional pathos to the tale and characters abound (perhaps too many?) from all directions. They all seem to target Sebastian of course in the pursuit of his daily tasks including his wife who barely gets a full rounded characterisation beyond coming to her husband's rescue at points where his plans have taken a nose dive.
I enjoyed the 'Tour Company' aspect of the tale and learnt quite a bit about the life of poet Tennyson.
The pettiness and ineptitude of tradesmen always seem to infuriate Sebastian - perhaps with reason!

Overall an easy read. Funny. Sometimes linked to important personal trauma. Didn't dislike it but feel I have dived into his life enough for its 'trying times' Great novel for men of a certain age......

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Cranthorpe Milner Publishers and Keith Rylands-Bolton for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review! Much appreciated.

-.-

I have always been a proponent of mundanity in fiction. There is something to be said about a book that does not include overly dramatic plot lines in order to explore the human condition. Since that is how most of us live our lives, it can be very rewarding to see main characters who are not Chosen Ones or who are not thrust into extraordinarily unrealistic circumstances. In fact, many of my favorite books can be criticized very fairly with the statement “It has no plot.”

What makes these mundane, plot-less books work? The characters. Characters that you learn to care about so deeply that you would read about them brewing a cup of coffee or swearing at the person who cut them off in traffic. Characters whose phone books you would gladly read. An emotional attachment to a character can, in my book, supersede the need for a defined plot.

“The Trying Times of Sebastian Scattergood” is one of those plot-less books. Sure, things happen. A cartoonish series of household maintenance hiccups occurs. Marital rifts occur. An unfounded defamatory campaign against Sebastian occurs. But, even the most insane events of Scattergood’s No Good Very Bad Year are within the realm of believability. The bulk of the diary entries are normal days in a retiree’s life that all of us can easily wrap our minds around. I really enjoyed that about this book.

So, why only the three stars? As I mentioned earlier, a lack of plot can be forgiven if we learn to care about these characters. In Rylands-Bolton’s book, I found myself not caring too deeply about Sebastian. Of course, I did not hate the guy. He is funny, and I often found myself laughing at his antics. He is old-fashioned in a very typical Grandpa way, and he clearly has a good-heart. But, the narrative style created a distance between the reader and the character to where I was very aware I was reading a book about a fictional character. The book reads as a series of events that happen: Went out to check the mail. Read Alfred Lord Tennyson until bed-time. We rarely get moments of introspection where we discover the deeper layers of Sebastian’s personality. There would have been very many interesting aspects to explore: his growing distance with his son Nattie, his love for his grandson Tyrone, his love of reading, his love of wildlife, and his love for Jan. These are all things we saw on the surface, but we rarely got the chance to slow down and meditate on these aspects. The end of the book does head more in that introspective, meditative direction, and I really enjoyed the way the book wrapped itself up.

There are very many things about this book that I liked. As an American who has spent a few months in London, I found it really charming to read about all the very British things that Sebastian does: the pub visits, the very many stops for tea, and the descriptions of the British landscape. It was a very pleasant, light-hearted read that contains a very strong aesthetic in its writing. I admire that about Keith Rylands-Bolton, and I would absolutely have some tea with Sebastian Scattergood.

*Many thanks to Keith Rylands-Bolton, Cranthorpe Millner Publisher, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
It is 2012 and Sebastian Scattergood has just retired. Seb presents his newly-discovered lifestyle in an honest diary in which he is more than particular regarding his chores and pursuits. And he has loads of them, as it turns out. Together with his wife they are keen walkers, they socialize as much as they can and in the meantime they try to get things done, especially in their garden. oh, and Seb's parents, over 80, require special attention. The year 2012 brings them little joys and big problems which they face with better or worse results.
The novel is a sort of satire on the middle-class comfortable lifestyle, with main characters unable to see what readers see clealry, for instance, gradual distance growing between the Scattergoods and their son. One wonderful feature is the theme of country walks, including night ones, and Alfred Lord Tennyson who features continuously as the book is set in the places ALT knew or where he lived. I did not warm up to any character but the book read well.