Beth and Chris, Sarah and Tony, and Marie and Duncan are three married couples with children who live in the English town of Morbeck. The adults have known each other for years, and socialize by hosting a monthly dinner party on a rotating basis.
Tonight's hosts are Beth and Chris, and Beth - who works as a nurse - is scrambling to get ready. As Beth dresses in her usual dowdy clothes she recalls a time - decades ago - when a cute boy called her cuddly. Beth interpreted this as chubby, and she still thinks of herself as frumpy and undesirable. Beth sometimes wonders if this is why she sticks it out with her postman husband Chris, who's good-natured but forgetful, annoying and dull.
Beth's negative mood is reinforced when Chris strolls in and announces - out of the blue - that he's invited a friend to the monthly dinner. The man, called Simon, is having a marital crisis and Chris thinks he'd benefit from a spot of company.
Beth is thinking about how to stretch dinner for six - including fondue, steaks, and lemon desserts - to feed seven while Chris is sent out to buy wine.
Meanwhile, Beth and Chris's couple friends arrive.
• Sarah and Tony: Pretty Sarah was a glamorous fashion buyer in London when she started an adulterous affair with Tony, a rich architect. The duo ditched their spouses to marry each other, and then moved to Morbeck. Sarah, now a stay-at-home mom, spends her time decorating their lovely home.....and is bored out of her mind.
• Marie and Duncan: Marie is a curvaceous sexpot who works in a woman's clothing boutique, and Duncan is the director of a call center. Duncan is an easygoing guy who takes it in stride when his wife flirts with other men.....just glad that she 'picked him' to spend her life with.
The six friends are chatting and sipping wine (or beer in Chris's case) when Simon arrives at the front door. As fate would have it Simon is a handsome, ripped fellow (in a tight shirt) who's in despair about the loss of his no-good cheating wife.
All the dinner guests, especially the women, are empathetic about Simon's plight, and - as things play out - the ladies offer sympathy, advice, a helping hand, a shoulder to cry on, and maybe a bit more (wink wink).
Chris is happy for his suffering friend, but Tony and Duncan are irked....and ALL the men inadvertently get sucked into Simon's affairs....especially as Simon is invited to subsequent dinner parties.
Things take unexpected - generally humorous - turns as the story unfolds. The funniest (and most frustrating) character in the novel is Chris, a clueless 'nice guy' who's always up for a good time - preferably in an eatery that serves beer, Pringles and dip, fish and chips, chicken wings, and mushy peas.
The book is structured around an interview by a journalist, who - months after the occurrences in the story - is speaking to some of the characters. As the people answer her questions, we also learn about past events in their lives.
All this rolls along to a fitting climax that's believable and satisfying.
The book is a light read that imparts some of life's hard truths. I enjoyed the novel and recommend it to fans of humorous literature.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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