#BookReview of #TheBestOfEverything by Kit De Waal

‘From the author of My Name is Leon comes an unforgettable story of found family and the love that steals into our lives… in spite of our best laid plans.‘
– The Best of Everything

[ About The Best of Everything ]

Paulette’s the kind of woman who likes the future all mapped out: the wedding to Denton, the Caribbean honeymoon, the gingham quilt on the baby’s crib. Until one morning Garfield, Denton’s friend, arrives at her door with the news that Denton won’t be coming around any more, that there won’t be time for her to say goodbye.

Somehow Garfield finds his way into her bed, and sooner than anyone can believe there is a baby, and suddenly giving Bird, her son, the best of everything is what gives Paulette’s life meaning.

So why is it another little boy, Nellie, who keeps Paulette awake at night? Nellie who is being raised a few streets away, with no sign of a mum. Surely Paulette is the last person who should be getting tangled up in any of that?

[ My Review ]

The Best of Everything by Kit De Waal published April 10th with Tinder Press and is described as ‘a tender celebration of kindness and its power to change lives…one of the most beautiful and uplifting novels you’ll read this year’. If, like me and many others, you have read My Name is Leon you can confidently pick up a copy of The Best of Everything safe in the knowledge that a beautiful and kind novel awaits you.

When Kit De Waal wrote about two minor characters in a previous piece of work, they stayed with her, hence this novel was born. It’s 1972 and Paulette works in a hospital as an auxiliary nurse. Her boyfriend Denton makes her happy leaving Paulette fantasizing about their future life together. Having everything mapped out in her head, she floats along in a bubble of sorts until the day she opens the door to Garfield, Denton’s friend. Garfield has a message that changes everything for Paulette and, just like that, her life is thrown into turmoil. Unable to comprehend how upended her days have become, she starts to rely on Garfield for support and, although she never truly could love him, she soon understands that he will provide and be there for her.

Yet Paulette has demons that she just cannot lock away and, as the years pass, Paulette struggles. The birth of their baby boy Bird injects new meaning into Paulette’s life and, for awhile, she makes sure that Bird is never left wanting, always having the best of everything but the shadow haunts her, leaving her restless and discontent.

One day, Paulette encounters a young boy, Nellie, who is one age to Bird. He lives with his grandfather, Cornelius, who is clearly struggling. Without too much thought, Paulette soon finds herself caught up in their lives. Paulette is a very warm-hearted individual. She has known pain but there is an underlying kindness that surfaces and her naturally caring nature comes to the fore. But why Nellie? What is it that connects her to this young boy?

As the years pass, relationships change and family dynamics shift and sway. As Paulette negotiates these years we witness her at her very worst and best. Her pain is laid bare for us to see yet also her desire to love and be loved is also very much evident.

The Best of Everything is very much a story about people, focusing on its characters’ development and their growth with the passage of time. Paulette is a beautiful person looking to be cared for. She deserves a good life but circumstances keep pulling her back down. Paulette is on a journey and, as we accompany her on her path, she learns how to navigate some very trying events that very much affect her emotional wellbeing. Kit De Waal has created a gorgeous and giving tale. The descriptions and narrative, the dialogue and the setting all combine to create a heart-warming and magical tale of self-discovery and self-worth. A tender story, The Best of Everything is a stirring human tale, one that pulls at all the heartstrings leaving readers in a more hopeful and better place.


[Thank you to Hachette Ireland for a copy of The Best of Everything in return for my honest review]

[ Bio ]

Kit de Waal is the author of MY NAME IS LEON, which was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year, THE TRICK TO TIME, which was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, a short story collection, SUPPORTING CAST, and a memoir, WITHOUT WARNING & ONLY SOMETIMES, which was shortlisted for Biography of the Year at the Irish Book Awards. She is also editor of the COMMON PEOPLE anthology. MY NAME IS LEON was recently adapted as a film for BBC Two.