The Switch - Beth O'Leary

While looking for our next book, I wanted something a bit lighter after our heavy non-fiction last month. I did some internet searching for great book club books and came across this one. At first glance of the back cover we wondered if it has a magical element, but there is no magic involved in this book!

The Switch is a story about Eileen, an almost eighty year old woman living in a small village in England. Her husband recently left her for their dance instructor, so she is looking for love in the village. She makes a list of all possible candidates (wait until you read the comments she has about each potential suitor....it will have you laughing out loud!) that leaves her wondering if she will ever find love again. Meanwhile, in London her granddaughter, Leena, is having a tough time with life after losing her sister, Carla, to cancer a year ago. After a panic attack at work, she is put on a paid two month vacation. Not sure what to do, Leena goes to visit her grandmother and after seeing the sad list of eligible bachelors, comes up with a crazy plan to swap lives.

Eileen goes to London and lives with Leena's flatmates, a very pregnant Martha and a very disorganized Fitz. She feels overwhelmed and lonely at first. Leena's best friend Bee helps Eileen set up a dating profile and before you know it, Eileen is going on dates and even having a fling. In between the new men in her life, Eileen starts to meet new people in the apartment building and realizes how lonely life can be in the city. She notices an empty area in the lobby of the building and starts to plan a gathering place for people wanting to socialize. With her friendly nature and can-do attitude (meddling may be an appropriate term), Eileen persuades even the grumpiest neighbours and soon turns them into friends.

While Eileen is living it up in the city Leena takes over Eileen's responsibilities in the village, which vary from dog-walking to chairing committees to supporting Leena's mother as she works through her grief over losing Carla. Leena starts off with misstep after misstep, first almost losing the dog she is supposed to be walking, then offending Eileen's best friend Betsy. But Leena keeps trying and eventually wins over many of the villagers, including Eileen's grumpy neighbour. Leena also allows herself to finally grieve her sister's death and is amazed at how easily people talk about her sister in the village. She even reconsiders her current relationship and her career.

This book is contains more than a few love stories. Eileen has a wild fling in London (well, about as wild as a fling can be at 79!) and meets new people on the dating app. One turns out to be her grumpy neighbour, Arnold, who she eventually realizes could be a potential suitor, not just "likely descended from ogres" as she described him in her original list of bachelors. Leena starts out with a boyfriend, Ethan, who is clearly not good enough for her, and eventually falls for Jackson, Arnold's son and local school teacher. A couple other relationships of note were Martha and her girlfriend, who at first seemed to not be invested in the relationship or the baby they were having, but turned out to be great together. And then there is Bee. Eileen insists on helping (meddling) with her love life and it turns out great!

This book was filled with great characters that kept the story moving. Eileen and Leena, of course, but also the secondary characters, including Betsy, Bee, Martha, Fitz, Tod, Arnold, Nicola, and Jackson just to name a few. Eileen's best friend Betsy had a bit of a rough time in the book, first Eileen leaves her to go live in the city, then Leena is rude to her, and then we find out her husband is controlling and possibly abusive. It was wonderful to see the community rally around her and give her strength to leave.

My favourite character was 96 year old Nicola who Leena met as part of the ride sharing program Eileen had on her list of projects in the village. Nicola was sassy and always had a witty comment. One memorable scene was when Leena and her mother got into a shouting match before driving to an event. Nicola flat out refused to drive anywhere with them so they all had to catch a bus.

I did find the book quite predictable, it was obvious that Eileen and Arnold would end up together and it was also obvious that Leena and Jackson would end up together. But that didn't make the book less enjoyable. Both of us liked watching the couples figure out that they were perfect for each other. From Eileen and Arnold's bickering to Leena and Jackson's competitive spirit, it was all fun to read.

We both really enjoyed this book. Eileen was a firecracker that we both hope to be like when we are older, though realistically, I'll be the old lady sitting in my comfy chair reading books all day and drinking tea...Jen will have to drag me out for adventures! We both picture ourselves being a combination of Eileen and The Thursday Murder Club members in our retirement!

Susan - 📘📘📘📘

Jen - 📘📘📘📘

Until next time, have a drink, read a book, and be happy!