‘If life was easy then everyone would get it right first time. A few do. You might be one of them.’ [p. 126]
Jenny Dove has been raised by her aunt and uncle to believe that she's at risk of being institutionalised. She does have a bad stammer, and she feels invisible. Aged thirteen, she decides to kill herself -- but is saved by the sudden appearance of a great golden horse who smells of ginger biscuits, is invisible (and, luckily, inaudible) to everyone but Jenny, and who remarks that she hadn't really meant to kill herself, since she'd done her homework for Monday... Jenny and Thomas (the horse) spend the next 15 years quietly but happily: then Thomas persuades Jenny to attend a party, where she meets the very drunken Russell Checkland, an artist whose muse has deserted him along with his fiancee (who happens to be Jenny's cousin Francesca). In short order a marriage of convenience is arranged -- he wants her money, she wants to escape from her aunt and uncle -- and the stage is set for a pleasingly Gothic romance.
This was surprisingly sweet. Thomas (the horse) is delightful, possessed of a wry and sometimes savage sense of humour, and always ready to push Jenny past her innate shyness and lack of confidence. Until, one day, he has to go away... There are, by then, plenty of other people (and animals) on Jenny's side: Mrs Crisp the housekeeper, Russell's cousin Andrew and his partner Tanya, Marilyn the donkey, Kevin the inept mugger. But is Russell on Jenny's side, or is he plotting against her?
The presence of Thomas (who may be some kind of guardian angel) lifted it out of the ordinary, and also added poignancy: the love between him and Jenny was beautifully written. The Nothing Girl is nicely (if sometimes predictably) plotted, and Taylor's prose is smooth and humorous. Light and fun: a heartening tale of a woman discovering that life is, unexpectedly, full of possibilities.
For Shop Your Shelves Bingo, Summer 2023: purchased 22SEP2014, prompt 'my precious' -- there are definite fantastical elements.
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