Review: Oh Dear Silvia by Dawn French

Title: Oh Dear Silvia

Author: Dawn French

Published: Michael Joseph Penguin October 2012

Synopsis: Who is in Coma Suite Number 5? A matchless lover? A supreme egotist? A selfless martyr? A bad mother? A cherished sister? A selfish wife? All of these. For this is Silvia Shute who has always done exactly what she wants. Until now, when her life suddenly, shockingly stops. Her past holds a dark and terrible secret, and now that she is unconscious in a hospital bed, her constant stream of visitors are set to uncover the mystery of her broken life. And she must lie there, victim of the beloveds, the borings, the babblings and the plain bonkers. Like it or not, the truth is about to pay Silvia a visit. Again, and again and again . . Read an Extract

Status: Read from November 05 to 06, 2012 — I own a copy {Courtesy Penguin Australia}

My Thoughts:

Oh Dear Sylvia is the second novel by Dawn French, her first A Tiny Bit Marvellous, published in 2011, became a bestseller in the UK.

The novel begins by introducing Ed who is seated by his ex-wife’s hospital bed where Silvia rests, unresponsive and on life support after a severe head injury, with subsequent chapters shifting between the perspectives of Ed, Silvia’s nurse (Winnie), housekeeper (Tia), partner (Cat), sister (Jo) and daughter (Cassandra). As each character spends time with Silvia, reminiscing about their respective relationships with her, they develop a portrait of a complicated woman for the reader. Just as you are sure you know and violently dislike Silvia, one of her visitors makes a stunning revelation that proves the old adage that you can never really know another person.

I thought the way in which the author structured this novel was very clever. The plot is carefully constructed to reveal critical information with perfect timing, betraying secrets and truths that reflect not only on Silvia but also her visitors.
The darker, serious elements of the story are tempered by the lighter, often farcical, moments, such as Jo’s attempts at pet therapy and Tia’s prattle about celebrity gossip, yet an undercurrent of grief is always present.

I have to admit while I found Tia’s muddled, and often accidentally profane, speech hilarious, I found Winnie’s Jamaican patios very difficult to read. British, and American readers, might be more attuned to the accent and therefore more comfortable with the odd rhythm but it’s not familiar to me, so I struggled with her chapters.

While there are similarities in style between A Tiny Bit Marvellous and Oh Dear Sylvia, notably the multiple perspectives and French’s irreverent style of humour, somewhat disappointingly, there is barely a hint of Dawn’s distinct voice.

Oh Dear Silvia is a come-tragedy which is hilarious, dark and moving in turn. Though it is not entirely what I expected from Dawn French the novel has its’ own unique charm which should appeal to a broad audience.

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