By Megan Thomas
I have recommended this to whoever would listen recently. I won’t say “I don’t adore books often”, because that’s a lie. I adore loads of books. However, I will say that books don’t often root their way into the deepest crevices of my mind, turn everything upside down and inside out, before putting everything back where it was but leaving me better for it. Clearer.
Perhaps I’m overselling, and don’t get me wrong: nothing especially unique or out of the ordinary happens. But I think that’s why it was such an engaging read, because the characters’ experiences and relationships could, in every sense, have been my own.
It is a story about three women in their late 30s, though the first chapter is them at 29: living together, loving their East London life, drinking wine in the park and putting off their anxiety about the future because their friendship is an anchor that keeps the rest going. Ten years later, and they’re in very different phases of life. Hannah has sacrificed a lot of herself for financial success and her desperation to fall pregnant; Cate has left the city to raise a family and is trying to find a sense of her past self now that her days are dictated by the needs of her child and husband; Lissa is coming to terms with her unsuccessful career as an actor and giving in to temptations at the cost of her other relationships. Their friendship is changing, faltering, maturing but also regressing, and they all yearn for parts of each other’s lives while questioning the decisions that led to their own.
Expectation is raw, real, relatable – all the r’s. Razor-sharp. Radiant. Ruthless. Sorry, I’ll stop now. At its core, it is a case study of female friendship and the disappointment and jealousy mingled with joy and pride that are such an integral part of life.
BUY THE BOOK: Waterstones | Foyles | Amazon
Disclaimer: I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please get in touch if your preferred online platform is not listed here – I’ll see what I can do!
Read more of my all time favourite novels:
Have You Read This 
One response to “Expectation”
[…] 1. Expectation (Fiction – Contemporary) […]
LikeLike