So Lucky by Dawn O’Porter

Review

To be completely frank I found it dark, depressing, I disliked it and it made me angry. Why? Because O’Porter is just spot on with the portrayal of her characters. Too real. She hits the nail on the head when it comes to the judgmental and toxic atmosphere women live in and with.

Believing they have to adhere to physical, emotional and psychological standards set by a patriarchal society, and what’s often worse when those standards are demanded of them by other women.

As the story evolved I found myself nodding and snarking at the words ‘so lucky’ throughout. It’s what society tells us we are supposed to be and supposed to feel. The implication being that we shouldn’t dare to want more than we have or dare to ask for the fulfillment of our needs, wishes, dreams and desires. No, we should be lucky with our lot, no matter how that may look and regardless of whether we are happy or not.

Ruby is caught in a vicious cycle of emotional neglect, which she is repeating with her young daughter Bonnie. She hates her body, has no self-esteem and spends her entire life pushing people away and battling anxiety.

Beth has to cope with a husband who seems to have lost interest in her since she gave birth to her baby. She is a working mother with a raging libido. Is it only a question of time until her marriage starts to implode?

Watch out for the mother-in-law in Beth’s part of the story. I would be burying the woman in the back garden – no doubt about it.

Then there is Lauren, the Insta-famous and Insta-perfect celebrity living her best life and well on her way to marrying a global celebrity. Interjected intermittently are her Instagram feeds and comments, which really set the tone for the level of perfection everyone expects and simultaneously are willing to fake to get followers, likes and fame.

O’Porter has her hand on the pulse of femininity, women, sexuality and also how conflicted women are at times. It’s not easy being pulled in so many different directions at the same time or being judged for every choice and decision.

It’s pithy and brutally frank women’s fiction. The author takes no prisoners, and kudos to her for the honest approach. It’s a gritty, moving and sincere piece of fiction. There is never a dull moment when you read a book by O’Porter. She wants her readers to laugh, to cry and to get angry. It’s pure empowerment, even if it doesn’t appear to be anything like that at the beginning.

Buy So Lucky at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: HarperCollins/HQ; pub date 31 Oct. 2019. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Hive.

Follow @hotpatooties on Twitter, on Amazon, on Goodreads, on Instagram,Visit Dawnoporter.co.uk

Read my review of The Cows by Dawn O’Porter.

The Cows by Dawn O’Porter

Sometimes when a celebrity writes a book their image conjures up certain expectations, so I was ready for something pleasant, warm and funny.

Instead I was surprised, in a good way I might add, by how gritty, feisty, hardcore and brutally honest it was. When O’Porter says cows she really means cows.

The reader follows the lives of Tara, Stella and Cam. Tara is a successful documentary maker, who has to put up with a misogynistic boss. Stella is grieving the death of her sister and trying to establish her own identity. Cam is a feisty blogger, who ends up becoming a bit of an online celebrity after she tells the world that she doesn’t want to have children.

The lives of these three women become linked when one of them becomes a viral sensation when she is secretly filmed during a very private moment.

Leaving aside the plot and multiple story-lines for a moment, I do think the author has managed to create a sort of megaphone for women, and their opinions, in this book. Women often aren’t aware that other women are actually their worst enemy and at the spearhead of the fiercest vocal opposition.

You kind of expect men to try to undermine, control and belittle women. It is unfortunately part of as yet unbroken ancient societal habits. However when other women try to bring you down, it often feels like more of an affront. Surely other women should know exactly how you feel, think and all about the problems one encounters as a woman?

One of the topics Porter sheds a light on to make this point is women who choose not to have children. You wouldn’t believe the amount of criticism a by choice childless woman encounters in her lifetime. They are accused of not fulfilling their duties, not contributing to the world as they should. More power to them I say. I have plenty of friends for whom no children was and is a life choice. It has never even dawned on me to try and point the finger, convince them otherwise or chastise them. Regardless of with or without children I admire anyone who has a clear view of what is best for them, and has the guts to live the way they want to.

Women should learn to empower other women. To support other women instead of trying to break them down in an attempt to justify their own life choices or mistakes.

The second point the author makes is about the hypocritical way women are treated when it comes to sexuality, to be more specific, their sexual pleasure. They are shamed and ridiculed for having wants and needs. In this case no one points the finger at the voyeur or the person filming Tara secretly. In one foul swoop she is treated like a pariah, an unfit parent and a very loose woman. All because of one moment of intimate pleasure.

As I mentioned before I was pleasantly surprised by the in your face brutal honesty and to be quite frank our painful reality. O’Porter is definitely a voice to listen to in a crowd full of noisy voices.

Buy The Cows at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Follow @hotpatooties or visit Dawnoporter.co.uk