Maybe It’s About Time by Neil Boss- satire/humorous fiction
Oh wow! A book I fell in love with early on and couldn't wait to find out more. The very first of my books of the year
Marcus works in the city as a partner in a commercial firm where there is a lot of business speak and company politics- an egocentric world- which he loathes as often it masks the truth for the sake of the company earning its fees. Claire is a single mother of two young children who is struggling managing her finances. Her social worker Gavin is very helpful and so she has someone to turn to and have some adult chat with along with a neighbour who comes over to her to watch a little early evening TV. This begins in early 2020- just before the pandemic and lockdowns hit the world and life changed for many of us. Claire and Marcus meet through Gavin just pre lockdown when Marcus is fed up and Claire is just beginning to poke her nose above the parapet with a little more confidence.
This is most definitely NOT “just another book about lockdown” it's about so much more. There's real life and the challenges posed both in and out of lockdown and how sometimes despite your situation even those you think are far removed really are not that different in many ways. I loved all three main characters- Claire, Marcus and Gavin.
This is incredibly well written and researched and for a debut novel comes across as a seasoned author. There is depth of characters, a little humour and a plot that really kept the pages turning. Early chapters are devoted to either Claire or Marcus until they meet and then it's intermingled each one with a date to give the reader perspective. This gives the reader a great sense of the world each lives in, disparate from each other until it isn't through the lockdown. Anyone who has been in either situation will understand the worlds they inhabit. The corporate world where your identity can easily become lost as part of the machine, not perhaps dissimilar to that of being a single mum where the real you is put aside whilst being a full time mother- the situation Claire found herself in. There’s lots of smiles from both worlds from the corporate to the Chase (tv) and this is a very easy page turning read. A very well thought out, cleverly crafted plot makes this very appealing and I found myself smiling just thinking about it. A stunning debut novel I can't recommend enough.
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Maybe It’s About Time Neil Boss Published by Troubador|29 th September 2022|Paperback £14.99 ● A powerful debut novel satirising the egocentric world of consulting and professional services based on the author’s real life experience. ● Set in early 2020 against a backdrop of the first four months of the Covid pandemic in the UK, the novel has recurring themes of human kindness and compassion. ● Whilst full of humour, the story ultimately delivers a serious message about remaining true to our personal values and changing lives for the better. ___________________________________________________________________________
Two people trapped in different worlds. One by wealth and one by poverty. Twenty years working for The Firm has given Marcus Barlow everything he wants but has taken his soul in return. Finding a way to leave has become an obsession. Claire Halford’s life hits rock bottom when she is caught stealing food from Tesco Express. Left alone by her husband with two small children and an STI, her suicide music is starting to play louder in her head. A chance meeting brings them together. As a mystery virus from China starts to run riot across the country, their world’s collide and they find they have more in common than they knew. Set in the early months of 2020, Maybe It’s About Time is a story about the difficulty of changing lives for the better. Starting as a funny and satirical view of the egocentric world of professional services, it gives way to a heart-warming story of an unlikely friendship that rejuvenates Marcus and Claire, giving them both hope for a better future.
About the Author: Neil Boss retired as a Partner at Deloitte LLP, in November 2019 having spent a successful career as a business consultant in the boardrooms of UK plc. His retirement plan was to write something he could really be proud of, this book. He enjoys travel, cooking and fly fishing, lives in Hertfordshire and can be found on social media at: @iamneilboss
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