Product Description

'Certainly not!' said Marie Sharp, when a friend suggests she join a bookclub when she turns sixty. 'Bookclub people always seem to have to wade through Captain Corelli's "Mandolin" or, groan, "The God of Small Things". They feel they've forever got to poke their brain with a pointed stick to keep it working. But either you've got a lively brain or you haven't. And anyway, I don't want to be young and stimulated any more. Those oldies who spend their lives bicycling across Mongolia at eighty and para-gliding at ninety, aren't brilliant specimens of old age. No, they're just tragic failures who haven't come to terms with aging. I want to start doing old things, not young things'.Too young to get whisked away by a Stannah Stairlift, or to enjoy the luxury of a Walk-In Bath (but not so much that she doesn't enjoy comfortable shoes), Marie, is all the same, getting on in years - and she's thrilled about it! She's a bit pre-occupied about whether to give up sex - 'Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!' - but there are compensations, like falling in love all over again - but this time with her baby grandson, Gene. Curmudgeonly, acute, and funny, this fictionalised diary is what happens when grumpy old women meet Bridget Jones.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1411787 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-31
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 252 pages

From Publishers Weekly
An inspired choice for narrator, Sian Phillips gives perfect voice to protagonist Marie Sharp in this insightful and entertaining audio. In a British accent that is elderly yet full of spitfire, Phillips conveys all the facets of Marie's distinctive personality: strong-willed, opinionated, witty, by turns delightfully acerbic and unabashedly sentimental. Marie looks forward to turning 60, seeing it as a time to relax, potter about and enjoy her grandchild without feeling guilty about being unproductive—and she refuses to allow anyone to tell her otherwise. Listening to Phillips's reading, one can see the flash of fire in Marie's eyes as she tells off a pompous psychologist, the hint of remorse that always follows her outbursts (because she really is an old softie, despite her determination to be a curmudgeon) and her deep love of her friends and family. Phillips also creates believable voices for the large supporting cast, including a Polish housecleaner, a young French girl renting a room in Marie's house, an elderly gay couple and a Cockney drug dealer.
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From AudioFile
If youve ever wondered whether aging has any pluses, this is a must listen. Sian Phillipss throaty British accent portrays Marie Sharp, who is rapidly approaching 60 and is infatuated with aging. She wants to avoid book clubs, living with the Masai, taking up paragliding, or taking on a young lover. Shes delighted by free prescriptions, eye exams, and being a granny to little Gene. Memories of her path to maturity are interspersed with her growing wisdom, such as her developing appreciation for funerals, the celebration of lives lived well. Phillips has a strong, confident tone that captures Ironsides wry wit. Both author and narrator make listeners wonder at the fascinating perspectives herein and laugh aloud at the humor. S.W. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Marie Sharp is about to turn 60, and unlike many of her peers, she has no interest in taking up paragliding or living for three months with a Masai tribe in Africa. She's intent on accepting this new phase of her life, which brings with it the freedom to do old things, such as getting a pension and free prescriptions and, as her neighbor helpfully points out, "tekkin' it eezee, man." Marie, in fact, has such an easygoing attitude toward aging that her friends are constantly inviting her out to dinner and on vacation. She's also excited about becoming a grandmother and babysitting for her grandchild, who has "the air of a very clean goblin" given to "laughing rather inappropriately." And though Marie has declared herself done with romantic entanglements, there's a very kind old friend, recently widowed, who has a crush on her. For Marie, old age is looking pretty wonderful. Ironside is pretty wonderful herself, offering a witty and, at times, poignant depiction of the challenges and freedoms that come with getting older. Joanne Wilkinson
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