Still struggling to come to terms with her sister's death, Leena is forced to take time off work. Leaving London she heads to her family in Yorkshire where she discovers her newly divorced grandmother, Eileen, is struggling to find eligible men to date. They decide that swapping homes for a couple of months may be the solution to both of their problems.
I have only recently discovered Beth O'Leary when I listened to the audiobook The Flat Share. I enjoyed the story mainly because of the characters so decided to check out some more by the author. The Switch is the author's second book and I found it to be just as entertaining as her previous one.
Yes, the storyline is a little silly but when you want something to engage you, something light that is filled with charm then this hits the spot. As with the author's first book, it's the delightful characters that draw you in and keep you hooked as we learn about how their brief, new lives will affect them.
Leena is still grieving her sister who died of cancer. She felt that her sister gave up fighting and her mother supported this, as a result, she's estranged from her mother. Taking over her grandmother's role within the village she uses her organisational skills to plan the May Day fete. Alongside this, she also meets an old school friend who has developed into quite a hunk. Obviously, this doesn't mean anything to Leena as she has a devoted boyfriend back in London.
In London, grandmother Eileen initially struggles with city life, particularly travelling on the tube, she's also amazed that neighbours don't know each other. As she delves into the online dating scene she also decides to make the communal area of the block of flats more welcoming and this leads to her creating a social hub for the elderly.
Not everything is sweetness and light, author Beth O'Leary isn't afraid to touch on some challenging issues. Loneliness, the perils of online dating and romance scams are just a few of the issues but grief is the main one. We see that grief isn't a "one size, fits all" process, people handle grief in different ways, on different timescales.
The Switch shows that age knows no bounds and that sometimes a fresh pair of eyes or a different perspective is just what is needed to solve a problem.
Author Details
Beth O’Leary is a Sunday Times bestselling author whose novels have been translated into more than thirty languages. Her debut, The Flatshare, sold over a million copies and is now a major TV series. Her subsequent novels, The Switch, The Road Trip and The No-Show, were all instant bestsellers, and The Switch has been optioned by Amblin Partners, Steven Spielberg’s production company. Beth writes her books in the Hampshire countryside with a very badly behaved Golden Retriever for company. If she’s not at her desk, you’ll usually find her curled up somewhere with a book, a cup of tea and several woolly jumpers (whatever the weather).
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