Book Review: ‘Clover Hendry’s Day Off’ is an infectious, Ferris Bueller-inspired 24-hour adventure
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Winnipeg Free Press subscription for only
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*$1 will be added to your next bill. After your 4 weeks access is complete your rate will increase by $4.99 a X percent off the regular rate.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/01/2024 (599 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
What starts as a normal Thursday quickly transforms into, well, not a normal Thursday. Something’s in the air — and maybe also inside that pill Clover Hendry took — and today, she’s going to do all those things she never allowed herself to do. Starting with taking the day off.
“Clover Hendry’s Day Off” by Beth Morrey is a Ferris Bueller-inspired 24-hour adventure in which one 40-something pushover of a working mom says to heck with it and lives life for herself for a change.
Clover’s newfound superpower — being able to say “No” and disallowing others to bulldoze right over her — is infectiously freeing.
But, much as we might want, it can’t all be confrontation and giggles as this newly carefree woman jaunts around London. After all, if Clover becomes a self-centered tyrant, isn’t she just as bad as her boss who holds time-wasting meetings to hear his own voice, and the huffy businessmen who commandeer cabs that other people hailed, and ill-behaved children who run screaming through museums — the very people who would normally ruin her day?
Still, Clover is a fabulous character and I was absolutely hooked by Chapter 3.
Copiously clad with humor and astute observations, each turn is like a tiny gift you get to unwrap. Every triumph is an indulgence to savor and every unfavorable outcome a bitter but welcome vibe-check. Though part of me wanted this book to go on indefinitely, there’s an undeniable appeal and beauty to the story being only one day.
But before you settle in for 300 pages of fun and hijinks, be warned that Morrey has slipped in pockets of seriousness, including a panic-attack-inducing, late-stage surprise that artfully avoids trauma porn while surfacing unresolved psychological wounds.
“Clover Hendry’s Day Off” is one of the most fun books I’ve read in a while — or ever, honestly. Morrey’s novel has everything: drugs, priceless art, mommy issues, yappy dogs, sweet revenge, imaginary alpacas, laughs, tears, post-lockdown malaise, and, of course, a bunny.
Are any of those things actually important to the plot? You’ll have to read to find out, and it will be worth it.
___
AP book reviews: https://apnews.com/hub/book-reviews