Maggie O’Farrell resides in Edinburgh, so it’s no surprise that I have heard a lot about Instructions For A Heatwave since the day it was published way back in early 2013. She is one of those British authors who I knew I should read, but never got around to. And she truly is a British author – born in Northern Ireland, raised in Wales, educated at Cambridge and now living in Edinburgh.
Instructions For A Heatwave is one of those books that could never be written if it weren’t for the dysfunctional family. Siblings who aren’t talking to each other, secrets that come to light and marriages falling apart – all those are in this book. It is, generally, what one would expect in this type of novel.
However, at the end of it I felt that all the ends weren’t sufficiently tied up. I felt it lacked resolution. Mystery solved, THE END.
Who would like this book? Yep, you guessed it. Instructions For A Heatwave is for those who love dysfunctional families. It was less overtly comedic that This is Where I Leave You (review). And the sheer Britishness of it reminded me of Meeting the English (review). My goodness, Brits do not do well with heat. There really is the strong possibility that they may melt!
52 books or bust 
I keep wondering about this book but I think you’ve talked me into it.
I do love dysfunctional families but I also hate unsatisfying endings, so I’m uncertain about this one. I hadn’t heard of the book before, so I’m happy to have read your review 🙂
I like a good dysfunctional family, but endings that leave me wanting more are so frustrating. LOVE the cover though.
Just wait, I’m going to do a cover war with it. This is the UK cover. I like it much better than the North American one.
I discovered Maggie O’Farrell with The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, which is one of the best books I’ve read this year. The end is surprising, very quick, and you feel like something more should have happened. It’s a bit frustrating at first, and then… You realise that it is for the best. I really want to read Instructions for a Heatwave :).
I have heard so many good things about Esme Lennox. I’m definitely going to read it.
Pingback: Cover Wars: Instructions For A Heatwave | 52 books or bust