The Switch: A Novel

Do you know that feeling you get when watching the Great British Bake Off? The soothing pastoral gentleness that makes you feel clam and at home? Well this book has that in spades, helped enormously by its two very likeable narrators, Eileen and her granddaughter Leena. Then audiobook is read by Olivier Award winning actress Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones just off her critically acclaimed role in Normal People. Both actors suit their roles perfectly, and are very pleasant to listen too! You would have to be kidding yourself if you didn’t want Eileen to be your grandmother, and she is definitely the heart of this story. This is essentially fish out of water story for both women, but don’t think that this is all lighthearted by any means, there are big emotions of grief and dealing with loss, and the loneliness and abandonment from society that many older people feel. Just like in her previous novel ‘The Flat Share’ Beth O'Leary takes what could be a gimmicky premise and turns it into an examination of relationships and love. Bolstered by a fantastic cast of eccentric characters surrounding both women in London and Yorkshire, this is an enjoyable listen that is a charming escape. The only query I had with the audiobook was that when it depicted people on the phone, it made them sound very tinny and the audio quality wasn’t as clear, but apart from that the performances suited the characters perfectly and really made me love listening to both characters. An advanced listening copy was kindly provided by the publisher, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley

What a sweet, light hearted book about some heavy stuff. Deaths in the family are hard on all. Lena and her grandma find the perfect way to help get past the hard part. They switch lives! I enjoyed this book a lot. I loved the narration as well as the way the characters went back and forth from Lena to her grandma.