I'm a little surprised that this book doesn't seem to be more loved. I thought it was... a tiny bit marvellous, actually. I will say, though, that if I hadn't been listening to it as an audiobook (read by Dawn French, actually) I don't think I would have enjoyed it nearly so much. She didn't even read it so much as she performed it, and she did a great job of it too. Yes, Dora is annoying and hateful. She's a teenager. We've all been there, some more than others. Even as a grown up we may all think that we were actually quite reasonable teenagers compared to our peers, but here's the thing. We weren't. Go ask your mums if you don't believe me. I think if I were to meet Dora in real life, I'd probably think she was awful, but in this book and getting inside her head? I couldn't help being fond of her. Yes, Mo sounds at times like a teenager herself, but this is the midlife crisis talking. It's not something only men have and then they buy a sportscar or a motorbike and that's that. Like puberty, the onset of menopause is a huge change in a woman. The body changes. Hormone levels changes, and while you might think that you should be able to deal with it because you'll be an adult then and therefore mature and such, it really isn't something you can prepare for. Like puberty, you've never tried it before. Hearing about it is very different from experiencing it. Or so I'm told. I'm not even forty yet, so what do I know? Anyway, it made Mo's character very believable to me. Oscar/Peter grated a bit. I liked the idea of him, but I think I would have enjoyed his character more if he wasn't so sure of his own identity. He was fully aware that he was gay at all times, but rather than being confused about it, even a little bit, he embraced it. It made him rather annoying, I thought, and his chapters were my least favourite. Well, I don't know what it's like to be a gay teenage boy, I've never been one, obviously, but somehow I would have liked to see a little more insecurity about it. I would have liked to see him during the time when he came to terms with his sexuality. Worry about what his parents would say, or his gran. Pamela was awesome! The relationship she had with her grandchildren and the way she was able to support them when they didn't want to talk to Mo was lovely. Her letting Dora ask her anything she wanted to know about sex was just fab. I had guessed the Noel/X-man connection by the time he failed to show up for his meeting with Mo. Although I was rather hoping I was wrong, I was also quite pleased that I wasn't, because then he's definitely out of Mo's thoughts for good with no regrets and no what-ifs. I never really liked him. In the beginning too 'perfect' really and later when he instigated the affair I thought he was rather a creep. first, i read the book in norwegian. so it was translated, and i believe that had a lot to do as for why i nearly hated the book. the only thing good about this was the ending. i liked that. a lot. with that said, i think i would love this as a movie adaptation. so i definitely see potential for the content. but the translated version just did not do the cut for for me. it was awful
What do You think about A Tiny Bit Marvelous (2000)?
Loved the way this book was written in diary form and the humour was so me! 3 1/2 stars
—maryx1234
