Monday, June 11, 2012

Getting Rid of Matthew by Jane Fallon




Paperback: 410 pages
Genre: Humorous Romantic Fiction
Publisher:  Penguin Books 2007
Source: Charity Bookshop in UK in 2008.
First Sentence:  'The bedroom was dark,lit only by a sliver of brightness from the wall light in the basement well outside edging its way round the sides of the blind.'

Favourite Quote: 'It was an irrefutable truth that if no woman ever went with a married man, then no wife would ever have to endure the heartbreak of finding out that her life as she understood it was a sham.
Review Quote:   'This witty first novel is a complete winner. It's comic, touching and the narrative races along at breakneck speed' Daily Express 
My Opinion
: As it has turned out I am now wishing I had read this ages ago! 





It has taken me four years to pick this title from our bookshelves to read and then only because I needed a title beginning with G for the A - Z Book Challenge, hardly a great reason. I was unable to even recall why I wanted to read this title in the first place. Something must have piqued my interest in this book originally, the first of Jane Fallon's now four published novels. Having studied her author profile, read this and done some research I would now like to read her other novels if I get the opportunity.


As it has turned out I am now wishing I had read this ages ago! The theme of a married man having a long term affair with a single woman might not be a new one or to everyone's taste. Getting Rid of Matthew though has a twist in the tale, the clue is of course already there for you in the title.  I surprised myself enjoying it as much as I did, not great literature but not trying to be and for that reason it makes a realistic and witty read within this genre.


Affairs are destructive and they do cause hurt, we all know that even Helen, the other woman in this triangle that she has lived with for four years. After all this time and being unable to persuade Matthew to leave his wife and daughters for her Helen is coming to her senses. Life is passing her by and she needs to sort her life out, things turn out not be that simple though! As the title tells us without any spoilers it is obvious that the novel is about freeing herself from Matthew so that she can become an independent young woman once again.  The moral of this light but readable novel is definitely be careful of what you ask for, as escape from such a tangled web just might not be easy either.


Author Profile



Jane Fallon was born in the UK in 1960,  educated at St Bernard's Convent School in Slough, Berks and University College, London.  She lives with her partner the comedian Ricky Gervais, the couple have been together since meeting at University and they reside in north London with their cat.  
Her books have sold over 650,000 copies in the UK and have been translated into over 20 languages.


Getting Rid of Matthew (2007)Got You Back (2008)Foursome (2010) and The Ugly Sister (2011)


The biographical information and photo used in this post are with thanks to the following websites.


Amazon Author Profile,  Jane Fallon - WikipediaGoodreads - Author Profile

I have chosen to read this title as the letter G for The A - Z Book  Challenge which I have decided to attempt to achieve in alphabetical order. I have a good selection of titles to choose from our bookshelves, it will be interesting to see how far I can get before I get stuck. You can follow my progress here.