A Tiny Bit Marvellous

Beware of preconceived notions. I consider Dawn French to be one of the funniest women on earth. And thus, I approached her novel A Tiny Bit Marvellous expecting to laugh my head off, bust a gut, and spend hours reveling in her trademark humor. Well, the book had a few moments where I laughed out loud, a lot of moments that amused me, but mostly I didn’t find it funny. And I doubt Dawn intended me to, at least in its entirety. Told in alternating diary entries, the novel features entries from Mo, the mother turning fifty years old; daughter Dora, turning eighteen; and Oscar, the sixteen year old son whose birth name is Peter but he much prefers Oscar as an homage to his hero Oscar Wilde. French’s story is part mid-life crisis, part coming of age, and part teenage angst. I wish the format had provided more chance for dialogue, for I prefer a mix of narrative and dialogue, but diary entries leave little chance for dialogue. When it does come, it is often with Husband, the father of these two teens, and Pamela, the mother of Mo. Both of these characters, though they appear only sporadically, are formidable people in the lives of our narrators. In short, I found A Tiny Bit Marvellous to be wildly entertaining, extremely heartfelt, and fine diversion. I can see why the book sold half a million copies!

Both funny and poignant, a delightful work of fiction about a very real family. Interesting character interaction and development. A good read in true Vicar of Dibley fashion with a glass of wine and a box of chocolates, and the odd tissue or two.

A typical Dawn French book with lots of laughter, slang and back-chat. A good summer read, but you could be needing more than this one book on your travels, it takes less than 2 days to read it!

What a great read!The only disappointment I had with this book is that I finished it too quickly. I could not put it down. What a wordsmith Dawn French is.The characters are so real and human and funny and likeable. It was very easy to become swept up into their individual stories. I found that I related to Mo in some ways, being of a similar vintage, and enjoyed reading her enterpretation of daily life. The children Dora and Oscar were also just as 'enchanting' and the background characters of Husband and Pamela added that extra zing and humour to this fabulous book.

A fantastic read, witty and funny, Dawn takes us on an adventure of love, life and family. Such a great story about an ordinary family navigating the trials and tribulations of adolescence, sibling rivalry, parental relations and the struggle for independence. The story is told through the books characters, the Battle family, Dora, Oscar and Mo. A treat to read!

Very enjoyable but not her best work

I expected a book by Dawn French to be funny, but after reading the first few, very short, chapters this is not. What I didn't like about this book are that the characters are unlikable, they are really people who I couldn't care about and tus stopped reading the book. A waste of money for me!

Randy (Ottawa, Canada)With the possible exception of "The Book Thief" this is the best book I've read in the year that I've had my Kindle.It's a "chick" book but has lessons for all. The relationships are deep and the perspectives insightful. For parents and their children alike a must read. Understanding how the same situation can be interpreted so differently should help bridge the abyss the teenage years bring. A better understanding for both sides can be gleaned from these pages.Dawn French has been and is a comedic genius (this what attracted me to the book initially) and while this comes through it is not the reason this such a good read. There is a poingiancy (?) that is very endearing about this story. A seemingly disfunctional family that all have similar problems and manage to come together in the end as they all grow.To the Alberta reviewer, Read for the pleasureof it and if you must read for work don't review.

Fab book I will now purchase all of her books without hesitation! Funny moving and I couldn't predict the outcome

Wonderful read. You will enjoy this one. Sitting on your couch with a nice warm cup of tea. All characters come to life. It is hard to close the book at the end. You just want it to go on.

Books in excellent condition & very reasonably priced too.

It is a very funny book. Dawn French is a very funny writer, we just love her and intend to read her latest book also.

This is by far the funniest book I've read in years. The characters are absolutely hilarious and all of them interesing in their own right. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to anybody looking for something entertaining to read.