Faithful Friends
Paper Over It by Ruth Gresty is a powerful retro novel that consumed me from the start.
The action takes place over the year 2000, beginning on December 31st 1999. It concerns four young women aged twenty who are in their third year at Manchester University. The girls come from Liverpool, Glasgow, near London and a local Manchester girl. They appear to have it all, to be at the prime of their lives – but they all face different challenges in life. There are many times when they just paper over it.
Though the tone is light-hearted and fun, there are some serious themes. A character suffers from anorexia/bulimia which began in childhood. “It had nothing to do with losing weight, it had everything to do with control.” As the novel opens, the reader already feels a connection with the character.
There is the theme of an unplanned pregnancy to a single woman. It is horrifying to see that the prejudice still existed in the year 2000. “She needs to get outside [away from the drs office] … to never, ever hear the words ‘fix’ or ‘fixing’ again… Some things just don’t need fixing, Bob [the builder reference]. They are fine just as they are.” Every child is a gift from God. Babies are not a problem to be ‘fixed’. Single parenting is hard but the character has much love to give.
We witness the dreadful patriarchal society. An ex-boyfriend had taken control. “He wanted to keep you here. To clip your wings.”
A new male married middle-aged boss forced himself onto a new young female employee. When she sought help from an older female member of staff, the advice was to put up with the advances and keep your mouth shut. This is horrific to hear.
The four friends face birth, life, death, and everything in between over the twelve months.
There are cultural references, with song titles and artists at the end of each chapter, as well as Winnie the Pooh quotes peppered throughout.
The reader feels able to empathise with the various situations. All the characters are believable and likable. The reader cares deeply about what happens to them.
The four lead characters love and support each other. There is much humour, used as a coping mechanism too. Some of the humour is rather rude but befits the characters. The girls all love each other. We learn that friendship is:
“Wrapped up in the blanket of love, madness, belonging, laughter, sense of place and easy contentment of her family, she can be completely herself.”
Paper Over It is a raw look at life, showing that we need good friends to help survive all the seasons of life. Lifelong friends will get you through.
I received a free copy via Rachel’s Random Resources for a blog tour. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.
JULIA WILSON
Paper Over It
Jennifer Jones is in control.
Jen is confident she has complete control over the things that are trying to control her. Until she isn’t. Until she hasn’t. Until she realises she has never been in control at all. She’s been papering over it for years.
It’s the start of the year 2000. A new millennium has arrived. For Jen and her three friends, university life in Manchester is full of possibility and endless fun. Sassiness, spontaneity, marvellous mayhem and youthful optimism reign in the Manchester rain.
But beneath the sometimes brash bravado sometimes even the most resilient, carefree, fun-loving characters who, on the surface look like they are living their best lives, are perilously close to falling apart. Over the course of one unforgettable year, the young women confront their own realities and truths. Some make foolish mistakes and others life changing choices.
Sometimes heartwarming and other times heartbreaking, but always brutally honest. This is a story of friendship, mistakes, self-discovery and acceptance; identity, love and the messy reality of becoming an adult. It’s about the masks we wear, the mistakes and choices we make, and the courage it takes to stop papering over it and face ourselves when everything feels like it’s falling apart.
It’s real, raw, raunchy, sometimes random and frankly rude at times. Just like Jen and her friends.
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Author Bio –
Ruth has worked in Marketing for twenty-seven years and has always loved writing and storytelling. Understanding people and their behaviour, creating stories that resonate and developing engaging and enduring narratives have all been key to success in her professional background.
From a personal perspective, Ruth is a Manchester born, bred and based menopausal mum of three boys (twelve, fifteen and twenty seven). She spends most of her weekends trying to manage the family mayhem with her partner Simon and watching their younger boys on the sideline of various sports pitches hunting for a loo (occasionally having to resort to a wild wee), a sausage sandwich and a brew while trying to keep warm in doubled-up big socks (mainly stolen from the males in her house) and multiple layers (having had it drilled into her since childhood that it is the number of layers that count, not the thickness of each layer – the complete opposite of friendships).
A nasty accident on Good (Bad) Friday in 2024 meant she spent several months sat on her arse with one leg having to be perpetually higher than said arse. As an energetic, self-confessed curator of chaos, she needed something to focus on and keep her from going frankly crazy. And keep her family from going crazy too. She found that you can’t do much when you’re in acute pain with one leg in the air (including the jigsaws and ‘paint by numbers’ well-wishers had kindly gifted her). But you can read, reflect, think and you can definitely reminisce and daydream. And you can write. Which is what she did.
Her debut novel, Paper Over It, combines her sometimes over-enthusiastic imagination with insights gained from growing up in the 80s and becoming a young mum in the late 90s, her silent struggle with eating disorders in her earlier years, the power of some relationships and the destructive nature of others, and the joy of family, friendship, loyalty, hope and laughter.
Social Media Links –
https://www.facebook.com/ruth.gresty
www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-gresty-6a336b9
