Thursday 26 February 2015

Domestic Violets

Finished February 25
Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman

This humorous novel follows copywriter Tom Violet as he goes through a difficult stage in his life. Tom works for a large company writing copy for letters, brochures, press releases and other material. He isn't passionate about his job and has fun sparring with a co-worker he can't stand Greg (who wants to be known as Gregory, which Tom refuses to do). He has an assistant, Katie, who he encourages, but is also attracted to. Tom has been writing a novel for years, and has recently finished it.
Tom and his wife Anna and their daughter Allie live in a nice house in a great neighbourhood in Washington, D.C. thanks to Tom's dad, Curtis Violet. Curtis is a famous novelist and owns the house that Tom and his family live in. He drops in occasionally and the two have an unusual, but good relationship. Tom and Anna have been having problems lately, one of them being Tom's issues with potency. Tom doesn't understand what is behind this failure. The family also has a dog Hank, who is lovable and needy, and a great addition to the book.
As the book begins, Curtis has dropped in on Tom's family once again, announcing his win of the Pulitzer Prize, Tom has had another failure in the bedroom, another round of layoffs seem to be imminent at work, and Tom's mother seems to undergoing marital issues as well.
There are a lot of great characters here, and the plot is relatable to what we see going on around us. The writing is good, and the humour great. I really enjoyed this novel.

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