Book Review: Distorted Days by Louise Worthington

Life works in mysterious ways. Up one minute, and then down, but nearly always it goes up again. Just ask the characters in my latest book review.

Blurb

Distorted Days by Louise Worthington

If she could speak to them, she would say they have exploded her heart, released firecrackers through her senses. She wishes she could call the police, the ambulance, the fire brigade, to arrest and anaesthetise and waterboard the bastards.

So what happens when your husband runs off with your best friend? When you discover the dead body of an old man halfway through your delivery round? When your house is burgled and you get beaten up? Doris, Andy and Colleen are about to find out. They’re also about to discover that you can find friendship and support in the oddest of places…

Heart-rending, humorous and above all authentic, Distorted Days is an exquisitely written account of the ways in which life can knock you off our feet – and how you can pick yourself up again. If you’ve experienced the fickleness of fortune, this is a book that you’ll never forget.

Review

The theme of “distortion” runs heavily through this book. Not just from the characters’ story; look at that amazing book cover too! I also found it in the writing style. The story whips back and forth and sometimes I felt there was a gap or something left unsaid. It was a true reflection of how distorted and erratic life can truly be.

But the author’s wonderful talent doesn’t end there. The imagery in Distorted Days is incredible. There is a really intense scene at the beginning of the book where Doris is lying on the bathroom floor after having a miscarriage. We are given a wonderful description of Doris’ feelings, the colour red, and the run-down bathroom that really drove home the emotion behind this scene. It also really made clear just how lonely Doris is at this point and sets of the theme of loneliness that features heavily throughout the book.

The scene that I just mentioned with Doris may give the impression that this is a very dramatic book. That’s not the case at all. It is simply a story of ordinary people with ordinary lives – but that’s what makes it so good. We sympathise with the characters, we cheer them on, and we empathise, remembering a time we were in a similar position. Doris, Andy, and Colleen could be any of us and that is what makes Distorted Days such an emotional read and, of course, a book worth picking up.

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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