[unbezahte Werbung / selbst gekauft]

is set in the time of the 2016 referendum (Brexit), which follows two very different individuals who happen to fall in love.

A deeper dip:
The 42-year year old Lucy (white, educated, middle-class mother of two kids who works as a teacher👩‍🏫) hires a babysitter for her two sons. The babysitter is Joseph (a 21 year old black man, working class butcher, soccer coach and aspiring DJ📀). Although Lucy and Joseph have little in common, the two become romantically involved. Throughout the novel, Lucy and Joseph try to bridge the age gap and backgrounds. Moreover, their relationship is sanctioned by both social circles. Author Nick Hornby touches different issues in this novel: politics (Brexit issue), race, interracial relationships, racial profiling, divorce and alcoholism.

This is what I appreciated about the book:
• Politics. Heated discussions weighing its pros and cons of exiting the EU brought up in me emotions. The Brexit referendum backdrop is heavy-handed in the story and allows Hornby to explore the effect of it on everyday life.
• Believable characters. From the very beginning you get a clear picture of Lucy and Joseph, their life and motivations.
 

My nitpick though:
• …yet, I didn’t get a whole picture of their relationship. At times I felt that Lucy and Joseph had not much chemistry. The beginning started promising; I somewhat was invested in their relationship, but later in the book it did not come to the point that I rooted for their relationship. 
• I struggled with the lack of plot. Everything between Lucy and Joseph came back to their age difference and the possibility that their relationship wouldn’t be long-term.
 

📖 At the end of the day: I loved that this novel isn't about the love story, but it's about the world that makes Lucy and Joseph wonder if they're allowed to have a love story.

I bought my book copy at @buchhandlungwittwerthalia

Layout & graphic rights: @canva