A Book at Bedtime

This is an engrossing read and a thoroughly unpredictable story. An unusual, brave and eccentric book that made me laugh, broke my heart and kept me turning pages.

A Book at Bedtime is set on one day in the flat above a Dorset bookshop and is the story of an old man, the bookseller Jack Carter, who’s doing his best to care for his wife, Eva, in her advanced state of dementia. The narrative moves backwards and forwards in time as Jack remembers, or half-remembers, incidents from his past and gradually his life story comes together. His complex relationship with Eva is unravelled and some dark and disturbing experiences are revealed that are shocking and gripping to read. Part of the story is told from Eva’s point of view, an insight into a mind numbed by trauma and now confused by disease. The fractured narrative cleverly intertwines timelines in a way that is utterly absorbing. Clues to characters and the roles they’ve played in Jack’s life are peppered throughout and piecing it all together is as satisfactory as a murder mystery.

The mundane realities of being old and at the mercies of a baffling social care system are vividly and uncomfortably portrayed. Jack copes with humour and his sense of the ridiculous balances the harrowing nature of Eva’s dementia. His reminiscences are beautifully evocative - his father’s stoic old dray pony who knows its way home despite the stupor of its intoxicated driver; the excitement of crowding round the one television in the street to watch a burry image of a young queen’s coronation; the shame of flat feet preventing a young man fighting for his country in a particularly disturbing scene in an old school gym.

The characters are very well drawn and even those that are larger than life (Jack’s mother is terrifying) are still believable and real. The relationship between Jack and Margaret - the carer who comes in everyday to tend to Eva - is really charming and I’m sure we have all met a version of her slack-jawed sidekick Sharlene. A stand-out character is The Great Man… an imagined version of (though he’s never named) Thomas Hardy, whose eyebrows “rose in bristling arches as if astonished…” When he’s a boy working a Saturday job in the local bookshop Jack is sent to deliver books to The Great Man - a meeting he never forgets. Old man Jack continues to conjure him, an imaginary friend, a manifestation of his subconscious, maybe even a ghost… It’s a quirky and brilliant relationship that sets this well apart from a run-of-the-mill tale of an old man coping with being an old man.

It’s a book with many subtexts - growing old and losing one’s sense of self; changing attitudes to sexuality; dreams never realised. It’s a story about the extraordinary life of an ordinary man, reminiscent of The Remains of the Day in its painful exploration of missed opportunities and things left unsaid, and of On Chesil Beach in its examination of the awkwardness of sex and the damage done by an inability to communicate. But it has a humour and observation of character which is more like Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. If you enjoyed these books, this will be right up your alley.

A novel that makes you stop and think about life.

Firstly, a big thank you to Matador (Troubador Publishing), for allowing me access to read and review this book. A Book At Bedtime will be released 28th July 2021.

We begin with memories that do not yet mean much. It appears to be a simple story of a husband and his wife and their journey through life, but, we are faced with many dense events that can bring emotion to the reader and an in-depth level of character development that makes you feel as if they are your relatives. There are moments of cheeky humour that hold this story together well.

An overall pleasant read that exposes some to a completely different generation

This one is hard to rate. Sad, funny….the overall tone was manic. Several heavy issues at play here, resulting in a very depressing story.

Thank-you NetGalley for the early access for an honest read and review of this book.

This book is set during different time periods, following the life of Jack Carter, the owner of a book store, that he lives above. He is doing his best to care for his wife, Eva who is in her advanced state of dementia.

As the story continues to move during the different time periods, Jack remembers incidents from his past, and we learn more about his life, and what made him the man that we are reading about. Clues to characters and the roles they’ve played in Jack’s life are peppered throughout and piecing it all together.

I found this a very pleasant read, and it is a novel that makes you think about life and the people who are going through something very similar to what Jack and Eva are going through.

This was an interesting read, set in Casterbridge. A story of an old married couple both nearing the end of their days. Jack Carter is nursing his aged wife with the help of a team of careers, headed by Margaret who is always trying to get him to put his wife in a home and out his affairs in order, to tidy the clutter, and to realise he is not up to the task of caring for his wife with dementia.

Eva is the long suffering wife, always needing more than Jack is able to give. Having been dominated by his religious mother, he is always afraid of upsetting her, or doing the wrong thing. Having this woman living with him and Eva, caused a massive rift in their relationship, and led to a serious of disasters. Being afraid of displeasing his mother and wife, led to Jack and Eva being unable to fully express their needs and feelings throughout their entire marriage. They never really talked directly about anything.

Jack has long rambling (imaginary) conversations with ‘The Great Man’ ( assumed to be Thomas Hardy) who gives him advice, opinions and solace during times of difficulty, He has constant haunting memories of his parents, his boss, his failed army enrolment, and his life with Eva. We have some of Eva’s impressions and thoughts, although as she suffers from dementia, these impressions are a little hazy.

A tale of coming to terms with the past, shame, and personal failures, whilst holding onto the loving, albeit fractured marital relationship.

A Book at Bedtime is creative and original. I wasn't sure what to think of it as I was reading it, but I found it quite difficult to put down. This is a novel that demanded to be finished.. Barrie's Shore's novel is a tragedy but also a mystery. Where did these lives go so very wrong? The bits and pieces of their lives unfold, as vignettes from the past come alive as memories that seem to haunt the characters. As Shore moves back and before between different past experiences, readers learn about the characters' pasts. The protagonist is an unreliable narrator, but in spite of Jack's efforts to hide the truth, eventually he is forced to reveal what he has spent a lifetime trying to hide. The bookstore setting is the perfect setting for a novel where the protagonist is haunted by literature.
Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing this book for review. I am not obligated, however, for a review that is anything but the truth.

A Book at Bedtime is a great literary tale full of book references, a beautiful love story, and shocking twists. Following an elderly man caring for his ailing wife, this book is heartwarming, intelligent, and fresh, making it the perfect read for the start of the. academic season,

Set during one day in the present but also returning to the past, this delightful book covers a lot of sensitive issues. These include dementia, sexuality, infidelity, loss and a dominant religious mother. Jack and Eva’s marriage got off to a bad start and never recovered, but rightly or wrongly they stuck together with both carrying guilt. My favourite chapter was Eva’s, with the childlike speech, just showing how we go full circle. It took me a while to work out ‘The Great Man’, who I believe is Thomas Hardy, although it isn’t confirmed. This book will make you laugh and cry. Thank you to NetGalley and Matador for letting me read and review this book.

Tenderly written and beautifully crafted. I read this slowly and thought deeply. Lives lived, deceits unfolded and compassion throughout . Beautiful.

A heartbreaking story of love, life and dementia, a story of a couple, some ghosts and some well meaning friends - the premise is good, the story is confusing. Worth a read but takes some concentrating. Everyone seems to talk in riddles, maybe that’s meant to be due to the dementia but was confusing.

This is a somewhat sad book yet it does have some humour to lighten it a bit. It is a story of life, reflection, memories and caring for others. It follows Jack and Eva, over time, through their life through memories yet the problems to be dealt with due to dementia (which Jack's wife Eva is suffering from).

It is a well written book and even thought the topic is very deep and sometimes hard to read about I found it was a very loving and emotional book and it makes you think about how important life, love and family is.

Highly recommend this one.

This book is set during different time periods, following the life of Jack Carter, the owner of a book store, that he lives above. He is doing his best to care for his wife, Eva who is in her advanced state of dementia. While I wanted to love this one I had a few gripes with the story. I struggled with the nonlinear timeline of the telling of Jack's life. At times, I felt confused when reading about the Great Man.
This was pretty good, but then I felt like it just kind of faded out towards the end.

Jack Carter is struggling to care for his ailing wife, Eva. As the story unfolds, we learn more about Jack's past through memories and his relationship with Eva.

While I wanted to love this one I had a few gripes with the story. I struggled with the nonlinear timeline of the telling of Jack's life. At times, I felt confused when reading about the Great Man.

Although I may not have been able to connect with this story it still may appeal to others.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Matador for providing an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Jack is an elderly man caring for his wife Eva, who has dementia, and reflecting on his life before and after meeting Eva. This was pretty good, but then I felt like it just kind of faded out towards the end. I think the section narrated by Eva was the best part to me. Sad.

This is one of those quiet, but stunningly powerful books that can't help but get you emotionally involved in the lives of the characters.

This is the story of Jack and Eva, mostly told from the viewpoint of Jack as he cares for Eva who has dementia and can't speak and is bedbound. It's a look back at their lives together, interspersed with the realities of caring with a loved one with dementia and all that entails. It's heartbreaking to hear his thoughts as he just wants to be with his wife, but the carers who come in to help complicate matters with 'health and safety' issues and you really get a sense of his frustrations - at them, the illness and all that has gone on through their lives together.

This is a story where he's trying to make peace with the past as he looks back at various stages - from his childhood, when he first met Eva and to their lives together. Times have been unkind to them both and you really get a sense of that sadness. He finds solace in talking about The Great Man (Thomas Hardy, but never named!) he met, and his time working at the small bookshop where they currently live. It has become such an integral part of their life, despite the impracticality of their current situation. As he looks back, secrets of the past reveal themselves and finally get acknowledged when they didn't at the time.

My heart was breaking for Jack as he tells you his story - his life has been tough and doesn't seem to be letting up for him now in his dotage. The patience he shows for Eva is evident, but there's also that conflicting emotion in him wishing her dead as there's no dignity for her, or him, as she suffers with this illness. And having a viewpoint from Eva also allows you to see inside the world as she views it, which was really poignant and powerful. It isn't afraid to confront the important issues such as dementia, sexuality and does so in a realistic way.

An emotional and beautiful story that has plenty to make the reader both laugh and cry. Highly recommended!