Beth O’Leary loves writing uplifting books and this is certainly one of those. A feel-good book with a bit of depth in it, though not as much as in “The Flatshare”. What “The Switch” teaches you is that you are never too old to enjoy life (grandma Eileen really rocks London!). You are also never too old for a second chance in life. Above all the novel clearly shows us readers the importance of community and belonging. I think that is a very powerful message to bring across in a book published in 2020, the year in which we all lost a sense of community and belonging.
Grief also plays a role in this book, but I missed some emotional depth there. I also missed some depth in some of the characters. Because the author introduces quite a lot of characters in London and Yorkshire, many of them stay pretty superficial. This is what I liked much better in “The Flatshare”: less characters and each playing a real part in the story. I think Beth O’Leary overdid the number of characters in this book and in doing so underdid their role in the story. A few storylines less would have made the story spicier and probably also more realistic.
What I absolutely, absolutely loved in this book is the language. Especially grandma Eileen is simply fabulous in the way she talks. She delivers her points so sharp and charming that I couldn’t help laughing out loud regularly. Beth O’Leary certainly knows how to entertain you with her language. This alone would be reason enough to read this book. We can all use some laughter from time to time and when you can get it as good as here, with some life lessons too, you should take your chance and read “The Switch”!
