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Known for his quick wit Graham began hosting a variety of talent shows on BBC One from Strictly Dance Fever and Andrew Lloyd Webber's How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? I really enjoyed Forever Home and I can equally imagine reading it on holiday somewhere sunny as I could whilst curled up inside when it's chilly outside. If you are looking for action/plot then you may be disappointed; this is a character based novel that will pull you into the lives and hearts of this family.
The fictional town of Ballytoor is small and nearly everyone went to the same school; the one where Carol teaches. The man's wife took off a few years ago, and it seems no one believes that the romance between Carol Crottie and the man, Declan Barry, is a good idea. I don't believe anything is ridiculed by this lighter tone but you have to go into with it being a bit playful, maybe tongue in cheek, and therefore, a "cozy" mystery IMO. Born in Clondalkin, a suburb of Dublin, Norton's first big TV appearance was as Father Noel Furlong on Channel 4's Father Ted in the early 1990s. They start erasing her from their family and ignoring the fact that their father loved and cherished her.The children resented her, understandable because she had taken their mother's place, someone they both felt would come back. I really enjoy the writing of Graham Norton whether is be his biographies or perhaps more surprising his novels. Carol’s situation that she ended up in was also a shocking example of what happens when you give up all your own assets and agency for a partner. There are plenty of references to the location - particularly in the phrases used by the characters.
We slowly uncover more about Carol, Declan, her family and Declan's children as the novel continues, and start to wonder if everyone is hiding something.Two families living in a small-town in Ireland, with complicated ties, collide in the most interesting, over-the-top way. When Declan developed early onset dementia, his adult children placed him in a care facility and put the home on the market. Secrets are uncomfortable notions but, when Declan sinks into early-onset dementia, the answers to the questions on everyone’s lips disappear into the grey, murky maelstrom of his consciousness.
An unexpected twist, about halfway, kept me glued to the story and attempting to figure out who it was and how everyone involved was going to fix the mess they found themselves in. Having read all of Graham Norton books and in my opinion getting better with each book I was really looking forward to this book. However, it is absolutely a character study - if you're after a fast-paced, action-packed story then this won't be for you. I picked this on up on the strength of Holding - the television series based in a small Irish town, and usually I don’t like to do the whole book vs screen thing (for me, books win every time), but having watched the series (which I can recommend, as all the characters are televisually flawed i.The story really begins years later, after her beloved, Declan, has succumbed to some type of Alzheimer’s.
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