The Cactus

by Sarah Haywood

Overview

A Reese's Book Club Pick and New York Times Bestseller

“Fans of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine will love The Cactus.” —Red magazine

An unforgettable love story that shows sometimes you have to embrace the unexpected.

Susan Green is like a cactus: you can't get too close. She likes things perfectly ordered and predictable. No surprises. But suddenly confronted with the loss of her mother and the unexpected news that she is about to become a mother herself, Susan’s greatest fear is realized. She is losing control.

Enter Rob, the dubious but well-meaning friend of her lazy brother. As Susan’s due date draws near and her world falls further into a tailspin, Susan finds an unlikely ally in Rob. She might have a chance at finding real love and learning to love herself, if only she can figure out how to let go.

"I found myself laughing out loud." —Reese Witherspoon

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781488078729
Publisher:	Park Row Books
Publication date:	05/01/2018
Sold by:	HARLEQUIN
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	181,620
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Sarah Haywood studied law and has worked as a solicitor, an advice worker and as an investigator of complaints about lawyers. She now lives in the UK with her husband and two sons. The Cactus is her first novel.

Editorial Reviews

03/26/2018
A cactus is the perfect metaphor for Haywood’s hilarious and endearing debut about a prickly woman who thrives no matter her environment. Londoner Susan Green is a controlling single 45-year-old woman who is successful in both her professional life as a civil service worker and in her personal life with formally scheduled liaisons with Richard, a similarly organized and methodical businessman. Susan’s disciplined life is rocked when her widowed mother dies and the will specifies that Susan’s undeserving, ne’er-do-well younger brother, Edward, whom Susan despises and has little to do with for good reason, can inhabit the family’s suburban home until he wants to sell it, at which time the proceeds will be evenly split. To make matters even more complicated, Susan discovers she is pregnant with Richard’s child, whom she will raise alone because she doesn’t want to be beholden to anyone. She intends to prove that her brother, now living in the house with his buddy, Rob, had undue influence on the content of their infirm mother’s will. As Susan builds a case against her brother, she forms a dubious connection with Rob, hoping that will help her garner the truth about Edward’s motives. What she eventually learns—not only about her mother but also about herself—thoroughly alters her approach to life, which Haywood lovingly and humorously demonstrates is actually a very good thing. The novel is consistently enjoyable, anchored by the splendid character of Susan. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"Original, engaging and totally believable." -Graeme Simsion, author of The Rosie Project and with Anne Buist, Two Steps Forward

"Fans of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine will love The Cactus." -Red magazine

"A heartfelt and charming story of one woman's transition from a solitary, orderly existence to a messy life full of love." -Booklist

"Heartfelt and funny, this will delight fans of The Rosie Project." -Book Riot

"If, like me, you never stopped to think what a child born of The Rosie Project's Don Tillman and Bridget Jones might be like, there's one way to find out. Read Sarah Haywood's The Cactus." -Julia Claiborne Johnson, author of Be Frank with Me

"Equal parts intelligent, funny and devastating, Haywood breathes life into an unlikely heroine in a bold, emotionally-charged debut." -Phaedra Patrick, author of The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper

"Haywood concocts a delightful collection of characters to lead Susan out of her emotionally cloistered life.... A warm, witty portrait of a woman finally creating the family she deserves." -Kirkus Reviews

"Hilarious and endearing... The novel is consistently enjoyable, anchored by the splendid character of Susan." -Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2018-03-06
Unexpectedly pregnant at age 45, Susan Green finds her perfectly organized life turning upside down. And then her mother dies, leaving the family house to Susan's ne'er-do-well brother, Edward, for as long as he wants to live in it.Susan has spent her life trying to keep messy feelings at bay. An attorney by training, she's chosen to avoid the troublesome job of looking after actual people's problems and instead works as a data analyst in London. Even her love life is carefully choreographed: Instead of dating, she sensibly answered a lonely hearts ad from a well-groomed, well-employed gentleman looking for a companion, and for 12 years, she and Richard spent each Wednesday visiting art exhibits and having no-strings-attached intimate encounters. Once pregnant, Susan ends the relationship, not willing to risk her independence. Yet her mother's will cracks open Susan's carefully controlled emotions. Outraged that her drunken brother—the same brother who siphoned off all her mother's affection and humiliated Susan in grade school—can live in the house for as long as he likes, Susan decides to take him to court to force him to sell it and split the proceeds with her. But unearthing evidence that he inappropriately influenced their mother proves challenging. In this, her debut novel, Haywood concocts a delightful collection of characters to lead Susan out of her emotionally cloistered life. Boozy villain Edward pushes her while his friend Rob, a charmingly disheveled landscape architect, finds himself falling for her as he tries to run interference. Susan also befriends her upstairs neighbor, Kate, whose partner abandoned her with two small children. Haywood deftly twists and turns Susan's investigation, so each conversation with her gregarious Aunt Sylvia and even her mother's vicar reveals not only more about her mother's will, but also more of the secrets she kept from Susan. With new friends Rob and Kate, Susan begins to let her defenses down, accepting real love for perhaps the first time.A warm, witty portrait of a woman finally creating the family she deserves.

Kirkus Reviews