BOOK CLUB: Lucinda’s Whirlwind

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Author: Louise Limerick
ISBN: 978-1-7426-1094-8
RRP:$24.99

After what seemed like an endless wait for this book to arrive in my hot little hands I received it this afternoon and knew it was a case of drop everything and get started so I could make sure I finished before the book clubbers. I couldn’t drop the kids, the housework, the dinner but I could pause the book I was reading (because I just couldn’t meet my own challenge to finish it today).

Finally the house is quiet and I can sit back and start reading. Ahh the bliss, even if I can still hear Nick Jr. in the background.

I am only one chapter in, I know little about the storyline or where this is going but I am IN LOVE with Lucinda. She’s never mastered the art of dealing with people and I feel her pain. She’s direct and she pulls no punches, I had to have a little giggle at her and I think she is definitely a character I am going to enjoying seeing evolve throughout the novel.

By the closing scenes I am pretty sure that there will have been some drastic evolution take place and I am looking forward to watching it.

I’m trying to decide how much else I can really say at this point because I have only read one chapter so it’s not a fantastic indication but what I have read has hooked me, well and truly. Limerick’s sentence structure is short and snappy for the most part though there are some that seem to be quite wordy and grammar filled but they just fit, and they are the sort of sentences I find myself writing at times and wondering if they will ever make sense to anyone else, I can’t say about mine but Limerick’s certainly do. ———–

lucindas whirlwind

Lucinda’s Whirlwind is a beautiful story of growth, it really is quite a whirlwind. What with it’s focus on different characters, and each character bearing an extremely different personality – hence a completely different writing style.

I still love Lucinda, I loved her from the very beginning and I still love her now. This strong-willed and brutally honest woman doesn’t understand tact. She calls it like she sees it, without that softener of sometimes realising it’s better to say nothing at all.

Lucinda finds herself about as far from her comfort zone as possible, certainly way further than she had ever imagined, when she responds to the distress call of her brother-in-law Brian. It seems that both he and her sister will be unable to pick the children up from school, it soon appears that the situation may take a little longer to resolve and Lucinda is required to stay on and take care of her niece and nephew.

This is all a world away from her tidy, ordered apartment, her job and her life. A place where everything is where and how it is expected.

It is the little things that Lucinda ultimately finds so insurmountable and as I read along I understand what she’s feeling. These are little things that most of us take for granted, and take in our stride, every day because they are simply a part of our lives and something we need to do. Lucinda is new to an environment like that, and new to situations where it is harder to remain distanced and closed off from those around you.

Jayne is Lucinda’s sister, she of the empty shoes Lucinda is left to fill and the polar opposite to Lucinda. Always wanting to ensure those around her are happy, putting herself on hold to fulfill the needs of others. The day finally arrived for it to be about her, and so she is on a journey of self discovery also.

Limerick’s characters are vibrant and relatable, all of them displaying qualities that we have, or wish we had. And their struggles are ones that we can understand. All of whom come together in a place of clarity and greater self-awareness.

Well written, engaging and an easy read, this is a book that kept me guessing with just how some of the connections worked. I would recommend it, especially to those who have ever been accused of being tactless – Lucinda may give you a bit of perspective.

9 thoughts on “BOOK CLUB: Lucinda’s Whirlwind

  1. What a surprising read Lucinda’s Whirlwind was. I wasn’t expecting such a delightful read. I must say though, after reading the first chapter, Lucinda did not warm to me at all. But as the story evolves, so too does the characters personalities, and you start to understand their trials and tribulations in life, and with that you begin to understand Lucinda better.

    There were numerous characters, which the story swapped between who were telling it. Even with the different people the story switched between, it never felt disjointed or out of place, it was all told smoothly. The characters themselves were all different and varied in personality and all gelled the story together. I especially loved Wesley and Kieran.

    Overall the book was very well written, and I thoroughly enjoyed the story! I even found myself laughing out loud at parts in the story, which is always a good indication to me that I’m enjoying it! It was a book that I wanted to know what would happen next, and I loved that it was set in Australia and I knew the locations that were mentioned. I will definitely be passing this book on and recommending it be read straight away.

  2. I loved this book! I literally did not put it down since I picked it up. Luckily, I was able to read it in one day, as my daughter was unwell.

    Lucinda touched me from the very start of the book. Her frankness and openness were brutally honest and I liked that about her character. She was totally different to her sister Jayne, but I could relate to where she came from, why she was they way she was and where she was going, being a loner at school myself.

    I was entranced from the very beginning. I was looking forward to how Lucinda was going to cope with looking after Brian and Jayne’s family, on such short notice.

    I loved the way the author told the story from each main character’s point of view, as it made me feel like I was there with them too. The fact that it was set in Australia was also good, as you find with many overseas books, you have no idea where they are!

    This is definitely one of the best books I have read recently and will definitely be passing it on to others to read.

    Thanks B&L for the opportunity to read and review this amazing book.

  3. I have just finished reading Lucinda’s Whirlwind and this book is so full of surprises in each chapter. For me when I start reading a book sometimes it takes a few pages before I actually get a groove of what or where the book is leading to. This book had captured my interest from the first page.

    I found the story to be wickedly funny and for a majority of the pages I was giggling and smiling throughout the book. I felt an instant bond with the main character Lucinda. Lucinda is a character that holds nothing back when she speaks. She comes across unfriendly and bossy to friends and family but for us as the reader, she makes us laugh with her antics. True to life, I could see just a few similarities to my family which was pretty scary. Her descriptions of picking up her niece at school were so funny because I could so relate to what she was feeling.

    All the characters felt so real and the story is totally engaging. The story relates mostly around Lucinda who is thrust into the position of looking after her niece and nephew when her sister Jayne decides to up and leave on a trip alone. Jayne’s husband Brian is supposedly left to take care of the kids but he ends up stranded in a remote Aboriginal community. Brian rings Lucinda to pick the kids up and look after them till he returns.

    Lucinda is furious as she has to take time off work and live in her sister’s house taking care of kids, a yapping dachshund and a character called Wesley who is just a teenager with his own family problems. Away from Jayne’s house, Lucinda thinks that she lives in a comfortable and very perfect world.

    Lucinda’s sister is the softer one who is grieving the loss of her mother more than Lucinda. Her mother had planned to take a trip to America to catch up with an old friend and had wanted to take her two daughters with her but due to her dying before the trip could take place, Jayne decided to take the trip alone.

    Lots of other characters to love in this story and I especially loved Wesley, Kieran and even Lucinda and Jayne’s father Raymond. This book is truly a whirlwind of a novel. It’s a very warm, lighthearted story about life and love. I so felt each of their pain, anger and sorrow.

    Lessons in life are a turning point for all the characters involved.

    This truly is a memorable book that everyone would enjoy reading.

  4. I am not quite finished the book yet as its been a busy week for me but I have loved the book so far.
    Let me first just say thanks so much to BeautyandLace for involving me in the book club. I just love reading books and it is one past time that I had forgotten about until now when I take time out to review books on here.

    From the moment this book arrived I was already captivated by the cover and the title and was very keen to learn more about the characters. This book did not disappoint. The characters easily fall into your heart and you become more involved with them as the you read on.
    It has some good moments that will get you smiling and other moments that you really delve into the characters situations.
    Lucinda has to deal with looking after her sisters children which she does with that certain wit about her.
    This was a well written novel that you will want to read and pass on.

  5. After reading the other reviews I feel a bit bad about putting this one up. I didn’t love the book, to me it was just OK. I love a book that I can’t put down and Lucinda’s Whirlwind was one that I could easily put down. There were a few questions that for me didn’t get answered and a few parts that I wished were delved into a bit more. I did like how it was told by a few different characters so that you get different points of view and the cover artwork is gorgeous.
    Thank you Beauty and Lace for letting me review this book. >:o)

  6. I totally fell in love with this book. A brilliant read that was full of everything that I like in a book. I found myself laughing out loud many many times. This fantastic book is now being passed around to everyone in the family. 🙂

  7. I am about to read the last three chapters tonight and although I can`t wait to snuggle up in bed and find out what happens in the end, I shall be sad that it has finished. Will be posting my review tomorrow. Thanks Beauty and Lace for this treat.

    1. Well I have now finished Lucinda`s Whirlwind and found it a very enjoyable book, that definitely had that “feel good” factor at the end.It was in fact a very good end which these days can be hard to find, but back to the beginning….

      From the first page this book did grab me and keep me reading with a fast pace. It was a quick and easy read, although I did slightly lose interest in the middle, but was soon pulled back in to the tale.The last third of the book really picks and starts pulling the story together.It is written in the first person of three characters..one to each chapter which always keeps the story flowing well…Lucinda, her sister Jayne and Jayne`s husband Brian.

      Lucinda is quite unlikable throughout the book and only redeems herself at the end, reluctantly it seems, but I think that is what kept me intrigued. Wondering what on earth she could say or think next in her dilemma of being left to look after her niece, nephew and resident “emo” Wesley while her sister suddenly leaves for the USA and her brother in law is stranded in the outback. I won`t ruin it with details but there was one particular thought she had about Kieran,a young friend of her niece, that I thought was very brave writing, or maybe insensitive writing by Limerick. Quite took my breath away.

      Jayne is Lucinda`s sister and I have to say I enjoyed her story most out of the three. I could really relate to that feeling of just wanting to find herself again. There was some very good, sensitive writing about her relationships with both Lucinda and her husband Brian, but especially her late mother. She goes on an endearing and often hilarious road trip.

      Brian`s predicament and story is a smaller part of the book but I found it really interesting and there were some good Aboriginal messages at the end.

      All in all it was a very good book, light and entertaining, yet touching at the same time. Everything flowed and came together well at the end.

      Still not quite sure why so many bird references kept popping up but maybe Limerick has a fascination with them?

  8. I found this book a little hard to get into, I managed to finish it finally but I didn’t really enjoy it. I felt the characters a little stiff and boring at times sorry to say! Maybe it just was not my kind of book.
    I wanted the story to take off a bit more for me and it seemed to jump around a fair bit with the characters.
    I enjoyed the children because they added humour and cheekiness which I liked.
    Other than that, I probably would not recommend it for a good read. Probably just a stack on the bedside table of “meaning to read” unfortunately. Thank you for giving me a chance to read it anyway, maybe one day I will pick it up again and it will be a totally different experience 🙂

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