Reading Noelle McCarthy I can hear her dulcet tones from bFM and Radio NZ...it's like we're already acquainted.
Reviewed by Michelle
When I first heard about this book, I was intrigued. I'd always loved listening to Noelle on the radio. Beautiful accent, intelligent commentary, an interviewer who actually listened and empathised. She seemed relatively normal and relateable - within reach of listeners like me, except of course she wasn't.
Grand provides a similar experience. So many parts of the book are relateable - even if you don't come from Cork and have an alcoholic mother. She manages to illustrate the frustrations and resentments formed in childhood and their reverbrations throughout our adulthood, for some into their own journey of parenthood.
There's a lot to this book. It just got better the more I read and the further along Noelle's journey I got. I loved the eventual revelations about her relationships with her siblings. I adored following her journey into an unplanned career in journalism, while navigating numerous romantic relationships and oh my god...the drinking.
There have been a smattering of books about drinking and alcoholism in NZ. But given the statistics, not nearly enough. Noelle tells it like it is - and it's devastatlingly sad and relateable. I have huge admiration for her honesty and the deep dive she takes into her alcoholism and state of mind. She's got guts.
I found Grand a tiny bit hard to get into at the start, but boy am I glad I stuck with it. By the middle I couldn't put it down and by the end I was wiping away tears. Always the sign of a good read. Highly recommended - one I'd like to read again in a year or two. So much is presented to the reader in this book, I think it will appeal to a wide range of ages and stages. If you loved listening to bFM or frequented the bars on Ponsonby Road in the 2000's this is definitely a read you don't want to miss - it's like reminiscing with an old friend.
Grand
Noelle McCarthy
Published 2022, Penguin Random House
$35
Click here to buy now.
