A washed-up,
middle-aged British man sets off on a tour of Europe that changes him in
unexpected, profound ways.
When Timothy
Gandy's job as a graphic designer is made redundant, the 55-year-old Brit
discovers that he's too old to find a new job and too young to retire. Taking
stock, he realizes he's invisible in the shadow of his domineering wife--a
woman involved with social and philanthropic causes, and to whom he's been
married for 40 years. And he doesn't always see eye-to-eye with his adult
children. Son Oliver is a successful barrister. He and his wife are
highfalutin, materialistic intellectuals. Middle daughter Alice is single, a
distant and reclusive librarian. However, good-natured Rosie, a schoolteacher,
shares a bond with her father. She understands him. She and her
conservationist, naturalist beau struggle to make ends meet, while happily
raising their daughter together.
The sting of unemployment followed by a shattering personal loss convinces
Timothy to follow his long-repressed yearnings for travel. Despite staunch
objections from his family--all except Rosie--he finally asserts himself. He
sets off on a grand tour of Europe modeled in the style of those taken by young
men of means in the late 18th century. Timothy leaves his Chichester, England,
home and begins an exciting journey that takes him through France and Italy,
where he makes unexpected new friends that change him and his outlook on life.
Noted gardening guru Alan Titchmarsh (Bring Me Home)
plants seeds of hope in another wholesome, richly entertaining story. Readers
will be eager to accompany his sensitive, winning protagonist through an
itinerary of many adventures.
Hodder & Stoughton, $26.99 Hardcover, 9780340953075, 320 pages
Publication Date: April 24, 2018
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NOTE:
This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To
read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (May 22, 2018), link HERE.