The Marmalade Diaries: The True Story of an Odd Couple

The Marmalade Diaries: The True Story of an Odd Couple

  • Downloads：7741
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-03-05 00:51:34
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Ben Aitken
  • ISBN：1785788132
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

From the author of The Gran Tour， a portrait of an intergenerational friendship。

Recently widowed， Winnie， 84， was in need of some companionship。 Someone to help with the weekly food shop and offer tips on the crossword。 Ben， 34， was looking for a new housemate。

As the UK was locked down in 2020， Ben and Winnie's lives interwove， forming an unlikely friendship， where lessons were learnt （heat the red wine in the oven with the plates; preserve or pickle whatever you can; never throw anything away） and grief， both personal and that of a nation， was explored。

Charting both their time together， and the details of Winnie's life that are shared with Ben in fragments， The Marmalade Diaries， from the author of The Gran Tour， is a very human exploration of home， of the passage time， of the growing relationship between an odd couple， told with warmth， wit and candour。

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Reviews

Miss Anna ，

Quite an unusual and quaint read this， I really enjoyed it。Thousands of people have used the lockdowns and breaks in work and 'real life' to write books but I think this remains an interesting and refreshing approach。Characters are well developed throughout and the reader grows to care about what happens to many of the key players。With some emotional twists and turns along the way there is plenty to keep you turning the pages and very little sugar coating of some of the difficulties we have all Quite an unusual and quaint read this， I really enjoyed it。Thousands of people have used the lockdowns and breaks in work and 'real life' to write books but I think this remains an interesting and refreshing approach。Characters are well developed throughout and the reader grows to care about what happens to many of the key players。With some emotional twists and turns along the way there is plenty to keep you turning the pages and very little sugar coating of some of the difficulties we have all learned to live with and the differing ways we have developed to cope with pandemic life。 。。。more

Jordan ，

For reasons that I'm still not sure about， the author Ben Aitken spent the 2020/1 lockdown in the same house as a woman old enough to be his Nan， her name is Winnie Carter and she is 'a character'。Winnie doesn't think much of Ben， and Ben isn't quite sure about Winnie。 But as they spend far too much time together out of necessity they come to rely on each-other and something similar to a familial/friendly love arises between them。 Winnie is such an interesting person that Ben can't help but writ For reasons that I'm still not sure about， the author Ben Aitken spent the 2020/1 lockdown in the same house as a woman old enough to be his Nan， her name is Winnie Carter and she is 'a character'。Winnie doesn't think much of Ben， and Ben isn't quite sure about Winnie。 But as they spend far too much time together out of necessity they come to rely on each-other and something similar to a familial/friendly love arises between them。 Winnie is such an interesting person that Ben can't help but write about her idiosyncrasies， but without the author's patience and understanding of grief and loss a friendship might never have developed。I've read a couple of lockdown memoirs - and this is the only one that hasn't bored me to tears。 There's no recipes， no moaning about how unfair and oppressive everything is， no tales of death an destruction。 It features COVID-19 the way most regular people experienced it - as something to be adapted to rather than the central driving force of existence - and the little politics that is written about is refreshingly free from polemic。 'The Marmalade Diaries' reminded me of 'Diary of a Nobody' by the Grossmith brothers。: it is funny in parts， meaningful in parts and somehow about nothing in particular。 There is definitely a 'beginning， middle and an end' but there isn't a big bang， or a long and lengthy treatise about the meaning of life hidden between the pages。 There's no reason to read this book， and every reason to read it。If you are taking a trip on a train or canal boat and would like to read a little and then look out of the window a little， this would be a good book for you。If you want a meandering， easy-to-read， lighthearted take on the pandemic divided into short sections （something you can read in a queue） then this would be a good book for you。If you are a history student in 2050 writing an essay entitled 'How the 2020/1 lockdown impacted the daily life of Britian' I highly recommend this as a primary source。If you are looking for a comprehensive and detailed timeline of the 2020/1 lockdown with a breakdown of how it impacted different parts of society and some good analysis of the crisis then you will need to look elsewhere。 。。。more

Reference

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The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Marmalade Diaries: The True Story of an Odd Couple&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0