Liddy James has it all. A ruthless New York divorce lawyer whose motto is to “make ‘em relax before we screw ‘em”, she is a single mother of two as well as a best-selling author and columnist who appears to thrive under the pressure of her hectic lifestyle.
The daughter of Irish immigrants, she has worked hard to become a woman who lives “in the vivid colour of a constantly reinvented present”. At times, though, she wonders if she has lost something along the way: “Weather . . . was something she looked out of a window at.” After a meltdown on live TV, she flees to Ireland where she spends the summer reconnecting with her sons – and with herself.
An entertaining twist on the “having it all” genre, Casey’s novel addresses all the complexities of modern existence – from “blended” families to older pregnancies and the economic consequences of divorce – in a style that is both fresh and funny. After all, as one character puts it, “all of us with kids and a job are hovering on the edge of a nervous breakdown, right?”
