Almost There - Nuala O' Faolain (Book)

80/100 of #100bookpact Almost There - Nuala O' Faolain Sometimes you come across amazing books just by chance and same happened with this series that I came across. A very dear friend got me this one which is the second of the three books written by a Irish woman. She wrote these books simply as her personal memoirs which became grand success as no one had done it earlier from Ireland. I tried finding the first book first but unfortunately neither it was available on-line nor on the book stores so had to read the second one first and now I am looking for the first one big time titled "Are You Somebody?" (An accidental memoir of a Dublin Woman), followed by this one "Almost There - The Onward Journey of a Dublin woman (A Memoir)" further followed by a work of fiction by her titled "My Dream of You" and by the time she ended this - she was working on her second novel (which will be her fourth). As I said those are some interesting titles, isn't it? which actually got me hooked to it and as I started this one - it turns out to be one of the most simply written books as she anyways claims it to be her personal Memoirs and that actually what it is - but written in most simplistic yet amazing ways. It is hilarious a times, gets you thinking too and most of its complete narrative - it looks like written out of our own lives too, as her life is no different from our own and that makes it all the more interesting for the readers.

A woman in her mid 50s with no family, friends (as she breaks off with her long time live in partner who was her only friend), no husband no kids, other then her Journalistic job she has got nothing to do but feed her cat and dog. She has enough money to see her through the rest of the life, followed by the Sr Citizen pension her country offers, what excites her and how she looks at her own town, country and the world is the book all about in continuation from the first. A comical tail of her travel mostly to USA and her partial stay there for longer duration at times because of her successful book makes it all the more interesting read. She does fall in love too may be not the right kind of guys like she says or may be she is too stubborn to go through it this late - her insecurities in relations are a serious food for thought. Also, her relations with her own parents and siblings specially her mother are heart warming affairs (too good). Her angle of looking at people with families, wives, kids and people to look forward to or fall back on is amazing and hilarious at times. I could actually see myself as one of the non fictitious characters, a wife follower and a doting father - she actually made me laugh out loud to know how she will look at me with contempt. It is so well written that I had to actually turn the book and look at the cover multiple times to look at her face - I hope its really her own picture on the book cover as that keeps coming to my mind as I read her own story and imagine that face as the main narrator. 

I believe a book like this (read a successful book) is very inspiring especially for those who themselves want to be writers as it is very motivating as she keeps saying herself that she has no idea that her personal memoirs could be so interesting to others that they will make it a grand success and will changer her life for good. Also, it is very engaging that I could just not help myself but fall in love with her so much so that I want to know now what happens in her life after she finishes this one and picks up her next work, how her life moves on. Would she be able to find a "Match" as she got hooked to that matchmaking site and actually goes on dates with the like minded guy(s). What happens to her family and its remaining members, will their yearly reunions in Italy continue? Will she go back to her old room made and patch up with them? I gotta find answers to all those questions and more.