The Cactus - Book Review

I simply cannot disregard a book recommended by Reese Witherspoon book club. All the books recommended by her have been amazing for me (yet). "The Cactus" was one of those.

As the name suggests, "The Cactus" is all about finding love & surviving even being very complicated. Susan Green, the lead character, has her own equation of perfect life. Her messy emotions don't fit into the real world's emotions. She lives in a flat which is suitable for one person and goes on a date with someone completely based on business type arrangement. She likes when she controls the situation herself. In short, she is brittle, prickly and dry.

Her life takes a complete turn when she finds out that she is pregnant and her brother gets to live in their mother's house as long as he wants according to their mother's will. She feels that she is losing control and as her due date nears she finds that she is drawn towards her brother's friend, Rob, whom she initially felt repulsed. She accepts the support from her neighbour as well whom she hardly used to speak to.

Overall, a smartly written book with commendable narration from Sarah Haywood. I liked her English humour. Several topics such as sibling rivalry, inheritance issues, mature age pregnancy, marital issues and illness have been beautifully described and covered in her debut novel. An excellent debut novel by Sarah!

If you haven't grabbed a copy of it, you should definitely get it. As the book suggests, it is never too late to bloom!!!