Lush: A True Story, Soaked in Gin by Gabrielle Fernie
4 stars
Lush: A True Story, Soaked in Gin is a wonderful witty book. It opens with Gabby hearing news that her best friend is getting married. But she’s been side-stepped for the role of Maid of Honour due to her capricious nature. The reader is then taken on a roller-coaster year-long ride as Gabby prepares for the wedding finale; here she hopes to show everyone that she can actually be a well behaved grown-up.
Gabby is currently an out of work actress; she’s happy to tell you that she drinks, smokes and enjoys her food. She also behaves outrageously and inappropriately, especially when she’s drunk. But she’s also happy to laugh at herself.
The reader is thrown into Gabby’s disastrous life as she tries desperately to find a decent job, a boyfriend for keeps and a diet plan that works. It’s very, very funny; I laughed so much I had tears rolling down my face. I particularly enjoyed the fat farm; five days of sergeant-major style workouts. Also the Dinner Date, a TV show which mixed Come Dine With Me and First Date. And I fell in love with Nana Edna, with her knitted swimsuit and motorised wheelchair.
Comedy can be a hard genre to write, and humour itself is such a personal thing. Something that one person finds hilarious might barely raise a smile in another. This worked for me as the comedy was all about Gabby and her life. A very enjoyable book.
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‘Arms linked, just as we did when we were seventeen, we teeter our way to the club, pausing to tug Emma’s stiletto out of a drain cover and sling our empty wine bottle into the bin. For the first time in a long while I feel truly happy. I want to be standing arm-in-arm with my best friend, both completely pole-axed, for the rest of my days. And then it comes to me, with a stab: this is possibly our last night out together as free women…’
Gabby and Emma have been best friends since primary school in Wales. Emma has a stable job, a nice home and has just got engaged. Gabby has had a succession of disastrous one-night-stands and five awful jobs since drama school . . . and she has just been diagnosed with scurvy. She has one year until the wedding to pull herself together and prove to her friends and family that she can be a proper grown-up.
Rosie Amber 
It sounds great! Thanks, Rosie!
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Reblogged this on Morgen 'with an e' Bailey and commented:
…and for “wonderfully witty”…
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What a wonderful review 🙂 Thank you for adding it to the link-up!
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Thank you Eline.
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