An enjoyable, heartwarming take on a dysfunctional family life.
I really enjoyed this debut novel about a dysfunctional Irish family. It centres on the tale of Millie, a shoplifting, eccentric gran, Kevin, her unemployed stepson and Aideen, the teenage rebel daughter to Kevin. Feisty Millie is a great character and you can’t help but laugh at the mischief she creates. I can’t say I ever warmed to Kevin though, he really isn’t a particularly pleasant character. A mostly funny and relatively light read. Plenty of family drama to keep the reader interested. Great for fans of Marian Keyes.
Family Fun! I thought it was well written and kept me intrigued, will definitely be looking for future work from this author.
I have always loved a family story set in Ireland. I haven't read one for a while so jumped at the chance to read Good Eggs.
It did not disappoint. I enjoyed reading about the family, especially seeing what trouble the Gran would get into, never a dull moment in this family! I really felt for Aideen and was interested to find out how her character would develop.
I thought it was well written and kept me intrigued, will definitely be looking for future work from this author.
A light-hearted read that was ideal for these difficult times as it took me to another place and time.
I enjoyed reading this book and it had a good mix of characters and plot lines. Introducing the reader to the Gogarty family the story is told to us from three points of view the grandmother Millie the teenage daughter Aideen and father Kevin.
All have their own interpretation of events and each had a distinct voice which helped move the story along. However, I did find that the Kevin character and his story was the least convincing. He was the one I had little sympathy for, at times he made decision and took actions that I felt didn’t feel as authentic as the other two characters in the book and this was my main disappointment with a story that was otherwise engaging, funny and kept me entertained to the end.
I would recommend this book to other readers and if you use it with a reading group, I think it would provoke some good discussion points. A light-hearted read that was ideal for these difficult times as it took me to another place and time.
The denouement was quite emotional in a happy way and I was very pleased with how it ended. For a debut novel, this is a very well written story that lots of parents of teenage children and families of wayward grandparents will no doubt relate to the capers the Gogarty’s find themselves in.
Good Eggs is the debut novel from Rebecca Hardiman, set in Ireland for readers of adult contemporary fiction and fans of Marian Keyes and Caitlin Moran.
Featuring three generations of a Dublin family - the Gogarty’s - this story is a fun read with some very interesting and eccentric characters. Gran Millie, who is partial to petty-theft and reckless driving. Stepson Kevin, a stay at home dad desperately on the brink but with a wandering eye. And teenage daughter Aideen, moody and disaffected. Kevin’s wife Grace is a workaholic trying to keep the family afloat financially and Aideen’s siblings are typical to any family where’s there jealousy of love and affection.
As each character gets themselves into various predicaments which need untangling, the exasperation the family experience is quite funny to observe. Millie in particular gets into some unique scrapes, yet though she’s old and gets slightly confused she’s very much switched on and quite a character.
I did find the first three quarters rather slow going and sometimes the humour did get a bit repetitive but the last quarter more than made up for that and engaged my interest with fervour.
The denouement was quite emotional in a happy way and I was very pleased with how it ended. For a debut novel, this is a very well written story that lots of parents of teenage children and families of wayward grandparents will no doubt relate to the capers the Gogarty’s find themselves in and I would read more by Rebecca Hardiman again.
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/35740838-miriam-smith-a-mother-s-musings
It was a quick light hearted and entertaining read which was ideal to pick up, after a long and busy day. I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who likes reading about dysfunctional family dramas.
Good Eggs is a debut novel from Rebecca Hardiman. It is a story set in Dublin, Ireland and follows the life of three generations of an Irish family, the Gogarty’s.
The writing is easy to follow, however, did find the Irish lingo a bit difficult to understand at times. Also, I found the pacing to be a little slow at the beginning but it definitely picked up, with the last half of the book having more action. I liked how the storyline alternates between different events for the three main characters, even if at times some of the storyline felt a little unbelievable.
The characters had their flaws and may not have been all likeable at first but the more I learnt about them my opinion on most of them changed. I say most as even by the end I still wasn’t a fan of Kevin. I found him to be self-centred, and he seemed too caught up in his own problems and felt like he was somewhat taking it out on his family. My favourite characters was definitely Millie. She was a strange one but her antics made the book enjoyable.
I may have not been blown away by this book, but I can confidently say that it was a good solid debut novel. It was a quick light hearted and entertaining read which was ideal to pick up, after a long and busy day. I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who likes reading about dysfunctional family dramas.