Nothing Man by R J Gould

Life isn’t being kind to Neville Watkins. He has lost his job, his wife has walked out on a marriage that wasn’t going anywhere anyway, and now he has accidentally driven into a young woman’s car. That is as much as I can give away except to say it is the story of a man in need of a makeover and of Neville’s awakening to the fact that he needs to find some purpose and meaning in his life.

There is humour and light heartedness as well as serious moments of introspection as Neville begins to find self confidence and hope for a brighter future for himself and for the people in his life. Neville is the narrator of the story and it is a terrific characterisation; I was with him all the way, through his happy  times, his setbacks, his sometimes hilarious encounters with women, his disasters and his triumphs.

R J Gould handles some quite serious issues with sensitivity, wit and charm. All of his characters are believable and interesting. I read this book in two days, such was my need to follow Neville as he made his way out of a place of despair to, hopefully, a better life.

This beautifully told story of self-redemption (with a bit of help along the way) deserves a 5 star rating from me!

Copyright R J Gould

Mid-life Follies by R J Gould

 

I’ve just read a romantic novel written by a man and loved it! The husband’s chapters are written in the first person and the wife’s in the third and it works.

On the first day of his retirement a fifty-nine year old man is hit with the realisation that he has entered into what he considers the final chapters of his life. On the same day his  forty-seven year old wife announces that she needs some space and wants to take a break away from him for a while.

In his first-person chapters Hugh, the husband, is terribly confused and becoming depressed. He loves his wife, Liz, as much as he ever did and is mystified about why she is doing this. R J Gould sets Hugh on a path towards self-discovery and he does it beautifully so that, although I felt sorry for him, it was becoming clear to me as it was for Hugh that he needed to make some changes.

Liz is finding she needs to make some changes of her own but while the author does well in telling her side of the story I thought he could have been a bit less gentle with her. My Kindle copy describes the book as a ‘humorous romance’ but I didn’t think of it in that way. It was an easy read, as romantic novels usually are; however, as modern romantic novels often do it posed some serious questions which were worked through in the hope of finding some solutions.

I am going to read more of R J Gould’s books and give this one 5 out of 5.