Being old, sucks, sort of.

The Weekend 

Charlotte Wood 

259 pages, Paperback Published October 15, 2019 by Allen & Unwin

Three women all aged in their 70's and a geriatric dog arrive at their deceased friend Sylvie's beach house to prepare the house for sale.  

That is the basis of this novel in a nutshell. What evolves on the page is a story of depth, understanding, despair, longing, loneliness, love, misunderstanding, betrayal and grief. None of these things are handled with a sledgehammer by Wood. It would be easy to lecture the reader on the fragility of age but Wood weave these complex intricacies into the story. So that you find yourself unknowingly completely and utterly engulfed. As you learn about each woman, their history, their current situation and their uncertain futures.  

Wendy is an academic, a noted thinker and worried about cognitive decline. She diligently tries to keep her dog, Finn alive, even though he is deaf, blind and incontinent. Jude was a famous restaurant owner and has been in an affair with a married man for over 40 years. Adele is a once famous actress, who recently has been evicted by her partner and has had no work for over a year. They all believe that their friendship was held together by Sylvie and that being here is an imposition, a chore.  

What Wood paints is not a pretty picture it can be quite bleak, but somehow at the end you feel a sense of hope, of friendship that can overcome any obstacle.  

Truly a remarkable book and I would love to see this on the stage. 

For more on Charlotte Wood have a look at their website.