One Good Thing
By Alexander Potter
ISBN 9781529022865
Website: alexandrapotter.com
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra
Summary:
In life, nothing is certain. Just when you think you have it all figured out, something can happen to change the course of everything . . .
Liv Brooks is still in shock. Newly-divorced and facing an uncertain future, she impulsively swaps her London Life for the sweeping hills of the Yorkshire Dales, determined to make a fresh start. But fresh starts are harder than they look and feeling lost and lonely she decides to adopt Harry, an old dog from the local shelter, to keep her company.
But Liv soon discovers she isn’t the only one in need of a new beginning. On their daily walks around the village, they meet Valentine, an old man who suffers from loneliness who sits by the window and Stanley, a little boy who is scared of everyone, hides behind the garden gate and Maya, a teenager who is angry at everyone and everything. But slowly things start to change…
Utterly relatable, hilarious and heart-breakingly honest, this is a novel about friendship, finding happiness and living the life unexpected. And how when everything falls apart, all you need is one good thing to turn your life around and make it worth living again. (Goodreads)
Review:
What I can say about One Good Thing by Alexandra Potter is that it is one of my favourite books I have read in book club this year! A new to me author who stands out as being able to bring many emotions out in me as I read, which is frequently NOT the case.
Olivia (Liv) Brooks is starting over following a divorce. She has decided to move from her London home to a sleepy village in Yorkshire – Nettlewick. Interesting choice – but when one wants a transformation, what better way then to move to a location where their childhood was happy and filled with wonderful memories? So Liv buys a fixer-upper of a home as well as adopts a dog. As Liv is completing the paperwork to adopt a puppy, she sees “Harry”, an older dog who looks so sad and forlorn. The rescue charity employee tells Liv “he just needs something good to happen”. That clinches it – Liv adopts this dog and names him Harry. I must say – I love that Liv got the older dog and not the puppy. And the bond they developed throughout the story was priceless.
While Liv takes Harry on short walks around town, they come upon various and sundry people -> a young boy named Stanley who is playing in his yard all alone and Valentine, an old man who seems so lonely. Also playing a prominent part in the story is Maya – a young girl who is rebellious teen about to embark on a new phase of her life.
Liv’s house needs massive renovations to become liveable and as it turns out, the crew she hires includes Ben – Liv’s crush from when she lived there previously, Ben is also Stanley’s father (which she finds out farther on in the book).
While this is a wonderful read, one must also be aware that there is an undertone of grief and anxiety for many of the characters which must be worked through so that life is once again happy and fulfilling. Liv of course is working through the trauma of her husband of many years running off with a young woman. As Liv develops a passing friendship with Valentine as a result of Liv’s and Harry’s daily walks past Valentine’s home – we discover that Valentine is trying to come to grips with his wife’s advancing dementia. In many respects, this type of loss is much more difficult than a sudden loss… watching ones loved one forget them slowly. I could not imagine the pain that Valentine is going through. But Valentine takes a shine to Harry. While on the walking route, Harry and Liv pass by Stanley’s home and this young, extremely shy boy takes a shine to Harry, seemingly coming out of his shell with the dog.
It is amazing the healing power of pets. Each of these characters were able to heal as a result of their interactions with Harry. And the walks slowly allowed Harry to regain his mobility and his own vim and vigor.
The comment by Naomi -> “Ageing is a privilege” -> definitely hit home. Not everyone gets a long and fulfilling life – so we should all embrace what we have and love and enjoy the people in our lives while they are in it. The scene where the reader learns of Gisele’s passing made me tear up, and this is usually not something I do when I read a book. Very powerful, because the writer made this reader become invested in each of the characters and their lives.
I found the descriptions of the countryside very encompassing, so much so that I easily visualized the walking route that Liv and Harry took and the countryside visited during various outings.
And lest we forget, the romance portion of the story was well done. The locations of the dates that Ben and Liv went on were nice. The pace of their romance was perfect – not too slow and not too rushed. Even when challenges arose – I felt like they were handled in a relatively mature manner 🙂
If you like to read good books with depth, humour, some sadness, and a really cool dog then I suggest reading One Good Thing by Alexandra Potter. I will most certainly pick up other titles by this author in the hopes that they will be as engaging and well written as this book.
