The Flatshare - Beth O'Leary
This book was so much more than I thought it would be, and more than I could have hoped for.
I was ultra frustrated at the library. Who does that? The library is my happy place! My son was being awesome sitting and looking through the books he had picked out and I had found the new Jeff Vandermeer novel for my husband and I just could not find anything I wanted heading into a rainy weekend - ugh! It was a bit like going to a restaurant with a massive menu and having no idea what you feel like eating. Or having 700 TV channels and no idea what you feel like watching. That was me at the library last week. I had just finished The Starless Sea which broke my brain and The Stationary Shop which broke my heart. AND I didn't have my handy dandy list of "to-read" books available.
Frustrated and giving up, I saw The Flatshare. It vaguely remembered the cover being on my Goodreads : To Read list and it looked light, predictable, and easy. Perfect to mend my heart & brain that had recently been demolished (but not in a bad way!).
The Flatshare was SO. MUCH. MORE than easy, predictable, and light. I read it in two sittings (abnormal for me!) and am feeling severely sleep deprived today... but that's ok. That's great actually. This is the story of two strangers sharing a space without actually meeting. Inevitably, there is communication. You think you know where this is going? You're not wrong... but there are layers to this story that you just don't expect. The Flatshare had an elegant complexity to it that was not heavy or difficult. I genuinely enjoy and seek out stories that have a lightness to them, but still have substance - and this one is a gem.
If you're looking for a book you can devour this weekend that has an aspect of predictable familiarity as well as a fresh depth to your typical "chick-lit"...this is totally your book.
Next on deck: The 10 Doors of January
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