A Very Good Read

Away With The Peguins by Hazel Prior

If, like me, you have a fondness for penguins, and what’s not to love about those perfect little gentlemen waddling around dressed in tuxedos, you will love this book. It’s a lovely, charming, gentle story.

Veronica McCreedy is 85 and lives in a mansion by the sea. She loves a nice cup of Darjeeling tea whilst watching a good wildlife documentary. And she’s never seen without her ruby-red lipstick. Although nowadays Veronica is rarely seen by anyone because her days are spent mostly at home alone. “Being alone is supposed to be an issue for people such as me, but I have to say I find it deeply satisfying”. She spends her time  either collecting litter from the beach “People who litter the countryside should be shot”, trying to locate her glasses “Someone must have moved them” or shouting instructions to her assistant, Eileen “Eileen, door!”.

I liked Veronica, she hasn't always been cranky and bad-tempered. In her youth she was full of life, with a big heart, but after losing her parents in WW2 at the tender age of 14, the loss of her baby, and her marriage she built a wall of defence to protect herself from more heartache. Now alone in the world Veronica is starting to think about what to do with her considerable wealth before she dies.

One day Eileen finds a wooden box that has been tucked away for over seventy years. As Veronica wistfully sifts through the contents she finds her treasured locket and diaries, and she begins to wonder if she has any family members still alive. A bit of research uncovers a grandson. Veronica contacts him and arranges a meeting which doesn’t go well. He thinks she is the quintessential grumpy old curmudgeon, and she, finding him rude, unkempt and smoking pot, doesn’t think he is worthy of her fortune.

A TV program captures Veronica's fancy. It's about the plight of the Amelie Penguins on Locket Island, which she sees as a sign, and decides that the scientists trying to save the penguins might be the perfect recipients of her fortune. But before she commits, she decides that she needs to visit the research station and get to know the people she's leaving her money to. She contacts the scientists promising funding and requires them to provide living accommodation for 3 weeks. She takes absolutely no notice of their frantic efforts to dissuade her, like the penguins, Veronica is feisty, persistent, and an unstoppable force of nature.  She says “It's been a very long time since I've had an adventure”.

 

You might be thinking that an 85 year old lady going to Antarctica on her own makes for an improbable story, but not impossible, given enough money and decent health. Prior makes us believe it all and gives us some thoughts about what we're doing to our environment. She also includes penguin facts throughout.

 

I absolutely loved it.

∼ Happy Reading ∼ 

Polly x