Olive: The acclaimed debut that’s getting everyone talking from the Sunday Times bestselling author

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Olive is charming. Telling the tale of the titular Olive, it promises to explore what happens when a woman in her thirties decides to go against the societal norm of settling down and, importantly, having children. What does it mean, she wonders, to seek an alternate way of living? This review is also published in my book blog (with pretty graphics yay!): https://bookaholicdreamer.wordpress.c... I went through this book mostly nodding because everything that is explored is relevant especially considering how women’s experiences are so affected by the patriarchal society we live in. But at the end of the day I feel like 90% of Olive’s problems could have been solved by speaking to her friends 👀 I was also leaning towards the feeling that the conversation felt outdated but I realised that that sentiment stems from the fact that my friends and I have never assumed each other’s position when it comes to motherhood, a topic that we explore every now and then (just to keep each other updated you know 😂) The main character is whiny, self absorbed, judgemental and lazy. She definitely doesn't deserve to have the booked named after her - she's utterly uninspiring. She's a terrible 'mascot' for childfree women. I think it's clear the author does not truly grasp what childfree women are like - she conceptualises them as people who are too immature to sort their lives out and too self absorbed to ever consider making sacrifices for others. It actually damages the image of childfree women, rather than supports it.

The novel follows the main character, Olive as she navigates her early thirties with her close friends, who she has been best friends with since school. The novel moves seamlessly between her twenties and thirties, introducing new themes and situations in a very easy-to-follow way. Olive is a young woman, with a great career, which she loves, who has recently broken up with her long-term boyfriend, Jacob. This book is so poorly written. The author has absolutely no concept of 'show, don't tell'. There are constant descriptions of how wonderful the four women's friendships are and how important they are to each other, and yet absolutely no evidence of any substance behind this, just lots of recaps of them getting drunk at parties when they were young. If they’re all such pals, why does it take Olive 2 months to tell them she’s broken up with her boyfriend of 9 years? The dialogue is atrocious. The characters say the most contrived, sappy, and unbelievable things. What author literally writes out characters saying, "Haha"??!

I didn't always like Olive, or her friends, but sometimes I loved them, a reflection on how friendships wax and wane. All of these friends are, at various times, self-obsessed, dismissive, judgemental, supportive, and loyal. They were definitely fun. As a recent mum, phew, a lot of it caught me off guard. There's an almost ingrained guilt to pregnancy and motherhood, and a guilt about not having children, and here it was shown across a wide range of brilliant characters, all dealing with their own twist on the idea. And it’s ok that she’s still figuring it all out, navigating her world without a compass. But life comes with expectations, there are choices to be made and – sometimes – stereotypes to fulfil. So when her best friends’ lives branch away towards marriage and motherhood, leaving the path they’ve always followed together, she starts to question her choices – because life according to Olive looks a little bit different.

Child-free women are often considered unnatural and cold … Theresa May and Nicola Sturgeon. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PALeaving aside for a minute that Olive sounds like a baby-boomer, not a Millennial, what has she been drinking from that’s not a paper cup? Is she wistful for the days of Styrofoam? I don’t think I’ve ever read a character that has resonated with me quite as much as Olive. Like me, Olive is in her early 30s and pretty sure she doesn’t want children. This is a funny, realistic story that explores a topic I haven’t really read about before, what it’s like navigating life as a woman who is child free by choice. We meet Olive’s lifelong friends who are all having, or trying to have, families and we see how choosing a child free life can sometimes put strain on friendships and relationships. I loved this book and really enjoyed the style of writing. I thought the quotes and tweets interspersed throughout a great addition too. Please don't hate me for a 3-star. That's easily the highest I've given something in this genre in a long time. Olive is worth a read and could be a good choice for a book club - just don't be surprised if the discussion comes to blows and you end up with prosecco all over the carpet.