Sally by Freya North

I have a problem with Freya North. I want to hate her books so much, because her narrator's voice annoys me so bloody much. She really really is the omniscient narrator: all seeing, all blody knowing, and it drives me up the wall. Her cute, whimsical heroines, with their tiny one bedroom flats all painted white in North London (who could afford it?) and their happy adorable cutesy personalities make me want to scream. And the sex scenes are embarassing. And still, I read on.

Not a clue why. Escapism? Sheer admiration for her pluck, her fairytale story to publication, she's braver than I'll ever be, giving up her PhD, going on the dole to write novels (there isn't even a dole anymore, it's job seeker's allowance, and you can't claim it if you're voluntarily unemployed or have any savings at all). Perhaps it's that I admire, and the fact that she seems to have created a world for her heroines entirely divorced from real life, , with eccentric relatives, no money worries, cosy cups of tea and Radio 4. Something that one Amazon reviewer said made Sally, this heroine, seem about sixty, rather than 25. I'd have to disagree, being 25 myself and liking a nice cup of tea and Radio 4 is tuned into my car stereo.

So what's the problem with Freya North? Is it that her books are all the same? Because I don't think they are, my memories of Cat and Pip, for example, are particularly fond, even Fen was fun. And this was North's first book, and when it's not irritating, her author's asides can be rather sweet, rather than annoying. But mostly, reading them, I just feel envious. Where did she get the idea for that voice from? Those heroines? And how come, when she so polarizes opinions, she was able to get an agent to take her on? (Fake reviews, that's how, fact fans).

Another review not at all about the book...