The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman

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This is a wonderful book. A sweet and tender tale of friendship, love, family and learning to live for the moment. The characters are delightful and beautifully written. Norman is fragile but resilient and Sadie is a better mother than she thinks she is. Leonard is a surprisingly tech savvy octogenarian who is a pure delight with his use of computer graphics and google maps. Their road trip is full of pot holes and diversions, as they stay in some woeful accommodation, experience a local talent quest that erupts in violence, and befriend an unusual mix of characters along the way, and that's all before they even get to Edinburgh. A terrific debut novel - highly recommended! courtesy IMP Awards) Creative inspiration can come from all kinds of strange, beautiful and unexpected places – a waterfall at sunset, a colourfully-dressed woman on a train at peak hour or a snippet of history, long forgotten but dredged up to fill a social media post with a fascinating factoid. Continue Reading

Oh my heavens. Julietta Henderson has given us a gift. I feel like I have spent time with close friends that I don't want to part ways. I laughed out loud, I sighed, I cried, I smiled and I hurt. The closer they get, the more Sadie worries about her fragile boy in front of a critical audience, but Norman reassures her: “The worst thing already happened. Everything already went to hell in a hand basket, so it’s all got to be OK from now on, because nothing else could ever, ever be that bad. You don’t have to worry about me, Mum, honest.” Ron Rash is renowned for his writing about Appalachia, but his latest book, The Caretaker, begins ...On title alone, you could be forgiven for thinking that The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman by Julietta Henderson is one of those deliciously escapist slice-of-life British adventures where idiosyncratically good things happen to people who really need some good to come into their beleaguered lives.

Norman's mother Sadie also misses Jax. Not just for his friendship and what it meant to Norman but for his noisy and lively presence in their home and his never-ending schemes. A single mother, Sadie lost her father, a not very successful comedian, the year before Norman was born while she was away at University. Her grief and anger at his death lead her to a short period of drinking and one-night stands so she was never sure who Norman's father could be. With her family of two and her boring job with an obnoxious boss, she's not sure that she's a good mother to Norman but knows she has to do something to help him overcome his deep misery. When she spills all her woes to Leonard, an elderly pensioner who works part time with her, he comes up with a plan to help Norman and so the three of them set off on a road trip from their home in Penzance to Edinburgh. Memories of Jax were pivotal to the story but the action was centred around Norman's quest to fulfill a dream he and his buddy had shared since they were ten. The boys had planned to perform as a comedy duo at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Norman was the straight man to the showy and comedic Jax, a-lá Abbott and Costello. Now Norman is determined to go solo even though he's terrified (and he knows he's not that funny), but the memory of Jax's words give him the courage he needs. The message being that when you’re scared to do something you should just think about the worst thing that could possibly happen and then get in there and have a go anyhow. Norman figures the worst thing has already happened so what does he have to lose. The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman is one of the funniest, most heart-warming, beautifully written books I’ve read in a VERY long time. I really didn’t want it to end. There’s a good chance Norman’s father is one of four people. Now I know how that makes me sound, but it’s a fairly reasonable alternative to the other scenario, which is that he would quite possibly have been one of several more if circumstances had allowed.” When Jax Fenton was alive, he and Norman were tight, they did everything together and mostly that was comedy. They were little old men in little boy bodies with dreams and goals already in place. They dreamed of being a comedy team and going to the Edinburgh Fringe, but something interrupted that plan. Jax died.Julietta Henderson grew up in the rainforests of North Queensland, and developed her passion for the written word producing 'magazines' for school friends and neighbours with her sister. She has worked her way through jobs as diverse as bicycle tour guide in Tuscany, nanny in the Italian Alps and breakfast waitress in the wilds of Scotland. Like many Australians, her love affair with Europe began when she came to London and stayed for more than a decade. I enjoyed The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman. It’s not perfect but it avoids most of the pitfalls which could have spoiled it and I found it readable, amusing and touching.