12/14/2020
Youngson (Meet Me at the Museum) tosses together two middle-aged women on the precipice of change in this pleasing buddy tale. Ailing but hardened Anastasia, who lives on an English canal narrowboat, meets Sally Allsop and Eve Warburton when the two strangers break onto her boat after thinking Anastasia’s barking dog is in trouble. Quickly feeling trust for the women, Anastasia asks them to take up the duties of her vessel while she gets medical treatment for a mysterious illness. With just a few navigating tips and some gruff advice, recently fired Eve and recently separated Sally travel off down the canals of England, eagerly leaving their former lives behind. Youngson moves the wispy plot—which largely concerns the novice crew’s mishaps and encounters with colorful locals—along at a slow pace, frequently drawing parallels to nautical life: “How was it that, when they could plan all this and carry it out, she seemed incapable of following the routes they had chosen on a perfectly reproduced, accurate, annotated, scaled map.”Oddball characters, such as Billy the singing historian and Arthur the vagabond accountant, buoy the pleasant narrative. Youngson’s meditative story satisfies with its take on the joys of new friendship and the happiness that can be found in the mundane. (Jan.)
Praise for The Narrowboat Summer
“Hopeful...The Narrowboat Summer is a gentle, meandering tale, intelligently told and with no easy conclusions…Beauty, calm, and inspiration, wrapped in a good story.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Gentle and charming. A chance to think about what really matters.”—Reader's Digest
“Lovely...Another heartening story about the possibility of striking out in a new direction at any age. It is also a soothing read, especially welcome in these anxious times.” —Christian Science Monitor
“Life-affirming and funny.”—Good Housekeeping
“The Narrowboat Summer, by Anne Youngson, follows three women intent on reinvention. Charming and cozy, this novel is as warm as a hearth fire.” —Campus Circle
“A gentle meander down England's waterways with bittersweet charm.”—Daily Mail
“A tender story of friendship amidst the challenges and glory of canal-boat life.”—Woman's Weekly
“Touching and accomplished…Often humorous, always affecting, this episodic, character-driven novel shimmers with perception and humanity.” —Free Lance-Star
“Fans of Jane Smiley and Hannah Mary McKinnon will enjoy Youngson’s immersive, lyrical account of the women's narrowboat summer, especially the colorful characters they meet along their journey.” —Booklist
“Youngson, a heartfelt storyteller, takes readers on a charming excursion that provides a comforting, tender escape.” —Shelf Awareness
Praise for Meet Me at the Museum
Short-listed for the Costa First Novel Award
Indie Next Pick, LibraryReads Selection, Goodreads Best of the Month
“The charmer of the summer…A touching, hopeful story about figuring out what matters and mustering the courage to make necessary changes.” —NPR
“How subtle. How perceptive… Gently provoking, delving into how we interact with our children, our spouses, our communities, but mostly with ourselves.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Lovely.” —Woman’s Day (Editor’s Choice)
“Beautifully written and deeply moving.” —Shelf Awareness
08/01/2020
Youngson follows up the charming debut Meet Me at the Museum, short-listed for the Costa First Novel Award, with the tale of three women brought together by a narrowboat—a boat built to negotiate the UK's network of canals. Eve has ditched a longtime career to follow her whims, Sally has walked out on her barely-there husband and two grown children, and independent spirit Anastasia, who lives on the narrowboat, needs help as she awaits a major operation. With a 40,000-copy first printing.
Narrator Helen Lloyd’s consistent pace and subtle British inflections enhance this sweet story about seizing the day with friends. Eve has left her career, and Sally has left her passionless husband; thus, they are both in the market for something new. Cue their introduction to Anastasia when they have a run-in with her dog on one of England’s canals, an event that sparks a serendipitous deal. Eve and Sally will pilot Anastasia’s boat along England’s canals while she awaits an operation. Lloyd uses a similar timbre for the fast friends Eve and Sally; Anastasia’s slightly gravelly tone signals her age. All three women have sensible attitudes, a commonality that requires less vocal variety from Lloyd but is true to character. The boaters run into interesting characters, who are each given a voice as unique as their personality. A.L.C. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
2020-11-18
Two women use a narrowboat to discover what they truly want in this easygoing road-trip tale.
Eve has just been let go from the corporate job she’s been striving at for 30 years. Sally has just left her husband, not out of anger but boredom. Both women, in the prime of their midlives but unsure what they wish to do now, find themselves on the same towpath by the canal in a town near London when they hear a dog barking his head off on a nearby narrowboat. Freeing and subsequently losing the dog is how they meet his owner, the enigmatic Anastasia, a woman of the canals who is in need of a serious medical procedure. Anastasia has to stay in town to be near the hospital, but her beloved boat, the Number One, needs to be driven up to Chester for repairs. Despite having just met, it seems like kismet, and Eve and Sally agree to take the boat while Anastasia stays at Eve’s apartment. As the two women wind their way north, they meet people, learn about the boat, and find out more about who they truly are. Youngson has populated this journey with so many interesting characters: Arthur, who appears and disappears as he pleases; Billy and Trompette, young lovers Eve and Sally keep bumping into; Owen, the taciturn shop owner they’re taking the boat to. Having two women whose lives are adrift be surrounded by far more attention-grabbing folks is, unfortunately, a missed opportunity. Sally's and Eve’s personal journeys just never quite match up to the backstories of their new friends. While the tale is a lovely little meander, it’s a shame the most exciting things happen off page.
Like a canal, lovely but shallow.
