Article contributed by Laura Glassman
The Neighbours tells the story of two women, their unlikely friendship, and how each puts their life back together after they experience personal and professional upsets.
Ginny, the most central character, is 34 at the time that the story opens. At the start of the novel, she reflects that her life is not where she hoped or expected it to be at that time. She works an uninteresting job in public relations, but really dreams of writing a novel one day. One day, she discovers her boyfriend of the time cheating on her with her boss in her own apartment. She dumps her boyfriend and, unsurprisingly, cannot stay at her job. This provokes many further thoughts and feelings about where she is in her life and her goals for herself.
Before long, Ginny encounters Cassie, her downstairs neighbour. Cassie is a 50-something year old actress who is suffering a career upset after a series of reputation-damaging stories following an embarrassing television appearance. She has also experienced more than one failed marriage. Ginny initially judges Cassie and it appears that she has little in common with her given their different life experiences. However, she slowly gets to know her, eventually accepting an offer from Cassie to do PR for her personally. However unlikely the friendship appears at first, the friendship that develops is a very positive one. Because of the similarities of their perceived failures, they are able to help each other through the things that they are going through and support and encourage each other both emotionally and in their romantic and professional lives.
This is an excellent book for anyone who’s ever felt that they should be in a certain place or have accomplished something specific at a certain point in their life, but had not. For instance, all of the things that happen to Ginny at the start of the novel happen when she is in her mid 30’s. As a result, she constantly worries that she’ll never get a chance to have kids because she doesn’t have the right relationship. She finds herself comparing herself to her sister, who seems to have it all together compared to her. She feels like a total mess for a time. Many readers will find this refreshing because so many of us have had a period in our lives when we feel like we haven’t accomplished enough or are comparing ourselves to others. None of us are perfect.
Ginny’s narrative is completely honest and funny. It is often stream of thought, Ginny imagining what she’d say or do in a situation. She is self-conscious and uncertain of herself early on, but she has a sense of humour about it (“Perhaps I can run masterclasses on how now to behave in interviews.”) It is easy to sense her disappointment at her failures and to inwardly cheer for her successes. Cassie is often insecure but also doesn’t realise what good judgement she truly has. She is so genuine that she can’t help but be a character who many readers will find relatable.
As Nicola Gill writes, “This is a book that celebrates friendship” and it does that well. It is an enjoyable book for those who appreciate stories about seemingly different people who find a connection with each other and become dear friends. Ginny goes from initially judging Cassie to enjoying her company and standing up for her. Cassie initially appears simply snobby and ungrounded, but she ends up giving Ginny useful insights into herself and life advice, for instance encouraging her to take a creative writing class. This is a lovely story about how friends support each other, even when growth and improvement of life circumstances is not linear. Eventually, it becomes clear that Cassie is like family to Ginny and her well-being takes precedence over other things including work commitments and her love life. This book is a testament to the value of good friendships in our lives. It also shows how people can show up for each other and come along in your life in ways that you don’t expect. Friends can truly save one another.
One caveat is that in this novel, the story about the friendship far outshines other parts of the storyline. This reader found the plot as it related to the development of Ginny and Cassie’s romantic lives relatively uninteresting and less developed compared with the story of their burgeoning friendship. I wished more time had been devoted to the development of Ginny’s newer relationship after her breakup, or her boyfriend Nick’s character. It felt like she just jumped right into things and it went from point A to point B with little build up. Though there are more twists to that aspect of the story than what initially happens, this felt like a let- down. Additionally, I was not as invested in the story of who Cassie finds romantically. To Nicola Gill’s credit, this is a story that was intended first and foremost to be about celebrating friendship, and it does that well. It just would have been nice to have felt more invested in the side storylines as well.
The book touches on mental health issues (namely, depression) and the importance of taking them seriously rather than being dismissive of them. Nicola Gill showcases this issue in a sensitive way and shows how someone can be a good friend to a person with depression. She also talks about therapy in a way that is positive about the benefits it can have.
Both characters grow and change substantially over the course of the novel, and so, this is a story about two women’s journeys in picking up their lives and finding greater happiness. Ginny grows and begins to take greater ownership of her decisions, and Cassie finds happier relationships and peace in who she is. It is only through the way the two support one another that they are each able to find greater happiness. While The Neighbours is missing depth in some areas, it is a tremendous testament to the power of friendship and the way people can be there for each other through thick and thin.
The Neighbours is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers as of February 6th 2020.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Meet Ginny, 34, and Cassie, 55. Neighbours, and (very) unlikely friends. Some women have it all. Others are thirty-four, renting a tiny flat alone because they recently found their long-term boyfriend in bed with their boss. Unfortunately, the latter applies to Ginny Taylor. Single and jobless, Ginny is certain her life can’t get any worse. But then she encounters her downstairs neighbour for the very first time… Cassie Frost is a woman who had it all – she was a once-loved actress, but a recent stint on reality TV has rocketed her to online infamy. She’s suddenly become a national hate figure – and she desperately needs a new publicist. And Ginny is a publicist who desperately needs a job… but can she be persuaded to work for the uber-difficult, excessively prickly woman that lives below her floorboards? Because sometimes – just sometimes – bad neighbours become good friends…
