#BookReview of #SuchAGoodCouple by Sophie White

‘A sharply funny and heartfelt novel from the bestselling author of My Hot Friend ‘
– Such a Good Couple

[ About Such a Good Couple ]

SIX FRIENDS. THREE COUPLES. ONE HOLIDAY THAT WILL RUIN EVERYTHING . . .

MAGGIE’S LIFE HAS NEVER LOOKED BETTER.
She has a superstar husband, a Hollywood mansion and a stylist on call. No one, not even Fionn (who’s usually in a different time zone), knows how much she’s struggling.

ANNIE’S TRYING TO GET PREGNANT.
Conor’s trying to talk to Annie about their crumbling relationship. But breaking up after two decades would be crazy – and if they do, how will Annie ever become a mother?

CLARA THOUGHT SHE AND OLLIE WERE HAPPY.
Even though the chaos of parenting means they’re rarely in the same room of their crowded home. Then she spots a text on his phone that might blow their life up.

A sun-soaked holiday in Cape Cod brings the six friends together, each hoping to escape their problems. But soon champagne, secrets and harsh truths are spilled. When the first ‘it’s over’ sends shockwaves through the group, will the other couples survive the fallout?

[ My Review ]

Such a Good Couple by Sophie White publishes August 26th with Hachette Ireland and is described as a novel ‘about the complexities of sharing your life with other people – partners, friends and family – and what it is exactly that makes a good couple’.

I picked up my copy of Such a Good Couple knowing that Sophie White’s writing would entertain me and would probably encourage me to look at certain aspects of my life in closer detail. What I was not expecting, however, was the emotional journey that awaited me. Six college friends, now three couples, have holidayed together for years. As the clock has ticked forward, their lives have changed drastically from those carefree days of their twenties. Now with careers, family and mortgages, the pressure of the daily grind is taking its toll.

Maggie and Fionn now live a Hollywood lifestyle after Fionn’s career took off. Hesitantly, Ollie, Clara, Conor and Annie, agree to let Maggie and Fionn fund these annual jaunts, giving them access to another world miles away from the humdrum of their busy Dublin lives. Cape Cod is the location for this years trip, with the expectation on all sides that this much-needed break will be miraculous in more ways than one. Each couple is struggling for various reasons and the superficial gloss starts to slip as soon as the holiday begins.

Maggie and Fionn, on paper, have everything they could ever dream of. A celebrity lifestyle, with every service imaginable available to them on tap, two beautiful daughters and on the surface the perfect marriage. But Maggie is struggling. Somewhere along the way, she lost herself and now, under the constant spotlight of the media, she is under pressure. She hardly sees Fionn anymore, as his career reaches greater heights, leaving her with too much time on her hands to doomscroll and to question her choices.

Clara and Ollie live a regular, and very busy, suburban family life. Both are constantly exhausted trying to cram in everything that modern living throws at them. With little time alone, they are merely passing each other by most days. Clara is extremely dissatisfied with her customer services job but feels a pressure to remain in the role as bills need to be paid. Their chaotic lifestyle is placing their relationship under great pressure but, as a team, they have always had the ability to see the humour and to just push through it. This upcoming holiday provides them with the opportunity to step back a little and recharge. But then Clara sees a text on Ollie’s phone that changes everything.

Annie and Conor have been together for years, Their partnership has always been strong, with neither seeing the need to tie the knot. As the years pass, Annie’s hope for a baby increases, with the ticking of her biological clock. This stress places an inordinate amount of pressure on their relationship, with unexpected fractures appearing. Annie is frustrated but is completely blindsided by Conor’s words.

A trip to Cape Cod, on paper, might just provide the solace they all need but, as the days pass by, it soon becomes very clear that issues go deep and no amount of luxury can compensate for the individual pain they are all enduring. A dream vacation soon becomes a fragile environment with emotions running high and stuff said that can never be taken back. When the holiday ends, what have they left?

Sophie White provides trigger warnings for her readers in an Author’s Note at the beginning, yet, even after reading that, I was still unprepared for how her writing would resonate. Sophie White is known for being quite open about her own mental health issues over the years and is unafraid to put her thoughts and feelings into her words. Anyone reading this novel, whether they struggle with specific issues or not, will feel the impact of the writing. As a parent it made me stop for a minute and reflect on my own behaviour and the potential impact it could have on those nearest and dearest to me.

There is no sugar-coating of certain themes but Sophie White highlights them with a gentle honesty and intelligence that allows every reader to process their thoughts and try to make sense of what they have read. Authentic and extremely relevant, Sophie White manages to wrap humour around some of the darker plotlines while also acknowledging that some moments require less. Such a Good Couple is a very sharply written exploration of the complex nature of relationships and of the fragility of our mental health. With a perfectly flawed, relatable and wonderfully depicted cast of characters, this book oozes with humanity and a healthy dose of reality. Bravo Sophie White for being so unafraid to write about such uncomfortable themes and with such warmth and honesty.

[Thank you to Hachette Ireland for a copy of Such a Good Couple in exchange for my honest review ]

[ Bio ]

Sophie White lives in Dublin with her husband and three sons. She writes regularly for many Irish publications, including her weekly ‘Nobody Tells You’ column for the Sunday Independent LIFE magazine and also co-hosts two podcasts, Mother of Pod and The Creep Dive. She is the author of five novels – Filter This, Unfiltered, The Snag List, Where I End and My Hot Friend – as well as two non-fiction books: Corpsing and Recipes for a Nervous Breakdown.