A Tiny Bit Marvellous
by Dawn French
(Penguin, R120)
Written from the point of view of three members of the, aptly named Battle family, Dawn French (probably best known here for her ribald minister in The Vicar of Dibley), has produced an amusing tale of yet another dysfunctional family.
Amusing it is, but, written diary-form, I couldn’t help comparing French’s writing to that of the fabulous Sue Townsend. If you are looking for laugh-out-loud reading, Townsend’s Adrian Mole diaries are, for my money, still unsurpassed.
Still, French has her moments, not the least with the character of precocious Peter Battle, the flamboyant, gay, 16-year-old son who, worshipping at the Oscar Wilde shrine, has re-named himself Oscar.
Young Oscar’s descriptions of his sufferings, within a “lower-middle-class shackled” family (who just don’t understand his deep need for a velvet smoking jacket…), are, at times, hilarious.
Life is a constant anticlimax for Oscar: “I am exhausted from the disappointment, I must needs take to my bed.”
Meanwhile, mother, Mo, a psychiatrist, is in mid mid-life crisis, not the least due to her irritating and foul-mouthed daughter Dora, whose vacuous raison d’etre is to retain a boyfriend and sing on the telly.
Dad tends to remain in the background while Pamela, the grandmother we all wish we had, churns out fabulous cakes and good advice.
But there are funny moments, and French has a way with words.
As for the catalyst which brings the family together, it just doesn’t ring true.
A nice touch, the recipes for Pamela’s cakes are included! – Daily News