About the Book:
Beatrix is a loner. She has a love-hate relationship with her one friend, Ray, a hate-hate relationship with everyone else in her office and a genuine attachment to a stuffed canary named Horatio. She drinks alone far too much. Lately she's been finding the edge of the railway platform dangerously seductive.
Her life needs to change. Then she crosses paths with an old woman who seems to be stalking her, and that's exactly what happens. Eighty-something Fred is smart, earthy, funny and not the harmless elderly lady she appears to be. She is, in fact, quite literally something else. But what?
When something happens to Ray, Fred decides to reveal herself. And Beatrix realises she has some agonising choices to make.
Beatrix & Fred is an off-kilter love story wrapped in a satisfying layer of moral complexity and tied up with a ribbon of sheer fun. Warm, witty, more than slightly weird—it takes the age-old question of what it is to be human beyond humanity itself.
Published by Text Publishing
Released 29 August 2023
My Thoughts:
Beatrix and Fred would undoubtedly be the most refreshingly unique novel I've ever read. It was an utter delight, agonisingly tender, sharply witty, with a story arc that just kept on delivering the most unexpected twists and reveals.
I adored this novel and would have to say that it's right up there now in the ever-allusive category of 'favourite books ever'. Beatrix was not necessarily all that likeable in the beginning, and Fred was absolutely maddening with her stalking, literally driving Beatrix crazy. Yet, I began to love these characters with a fierceness as the story progressed, thinking about them when I wasn't reading, wondering what was going to happen next, puzzling over the mystery of Fred.
If you're looking for something different and completely marvellous to read and get lost in, Beatrix and Fred is the novel for you. There's nothing else like it and I was obsessed with reading it at every opportunity that presented itself to me. I loved it that much I'm considering listening to the audio book version. A top read of the year so far and I highly recommend it to all readers.
Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.
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