This was one of those books that i didn't want to end and had me engrossed from start to finish. A wonderful story, with wonderful characters. Easily one of the best books that i have read this year. Highly recommended.

Bitter sweet is how I can describe this novel. Francesca writes an exquisite tale that explores human nature. She uses emotive language and creates a storyline that has you clambering the pages for more. I loved it.

Wow, why I first thought about this book is not what I feel at the end, I mean I have tears!! I didn’t know what I was going to get with this book, I mean Gilda is most definitely on the verge of some sort of breakdown, some of her actions were just unbelievable! One point when she dresses up in this pink dress I was just floored by her audacity in her actions and how situations spiral out of control.

We see Gilda’s life from a young age has been harsh, banished to England by her father, sister despised her and mother hasn’t got any time for her. She is then married off at a young age to someone who is twice as old for her fathers “business relations.” She was not giving a chance to live her life and so mistakes were made, which impacted her future and her relationships.

Gilda’s life begins and ends with her son Reuben, the problem is he just sees her as inconvenience due to actions in the past. He has no time for her so she begins “stalking” for want of a better word his wife. As I said, some actions are questionable, all I will say the scene with the raspberry-red dress!! Gilda will do anything to be close to her son and to build a relationship. The shine is always taken away and his father, Frank, and his wife Berta can do no wrong.

When we learn the through of everything has happened in the last 30 years that’s when my eyes start to leak. So much hardship and grief for one person was palpable and too much. This is Gilda’s story and we watch her come alive in technicolour throughout the book. It is definitely a thought-provoking book as you think about how our actions can affect people later on in life.

Jakobi’s writing entices you along. I kept missing my checkpoints with Rae because I just didn’t want to put the book down and I know she didn’t either so we would keep saying oh I got to x chapter oops! I thought the way the book started that this would be a bit more dark and twisty instead of a coming of age book, and I am thankful for that. Gilda has issues that are clear to see, but in those times they didn’t understand mental health and just thought women were having a “funny turn.” It was hard to see her struggle day to day and not understand why.

When I first started this book, I didn’t like Gilda, I didn’t want to like her. I couldn’t warm to her, although I felt sorry for her by the end, and I most definitely did warm to her. I wanted her to be well and I wanted her to start living her life again. I did wonder if this book would be like Looker by Laura Sims as it has that feel to it initially but no this went down a different path (eventually!).

I am finding to find the right words for Bitter, but it’s hard. The title of the book is spot-on as there is a lot of bitterness in the book and it’s about letting it go because life really is too short. I would definitely read another book by Jakobi because I am fascinated by what she writes. She slowly draws you in, short chapters, interesting complex characters and a storyline to keep you guessing!

My first Francesca Jakobi book and I was very impressed with her writing style. Sharp, witty and at times hilariously funny. Well worth reading.

Oh, Gilda! It's been ages since I enjoyed a narrator's voice this much. My husband knew I liked it when we sat on different sofas in the evening and he'd hear me giggling, interrupting his viewing. The story is set in the 1940s - a period I knew little about and which is beautifully and unobtrusively drawn - and concerns a twice-divorced, painfully socially dysfunctional German jewess, Gilda. It reminded me a little of Zoe Heller's Notes on a Scandal (many have made this comparison), a little of Elinor Oliphant. Dry, witty, very often moving and - despite the quasi-farce of some of the scenes - acutely believable. Hugely recommended.

This was a great read, and really interesting too. Definitely makes you think about the impact of our childhood to how we act as adults. I didn't want to put this one down, and I hope to read something by this author again!

Bitter by Francesca Jakobi.
It's 1969, and while the summer of love lingers in London, Gilda is consumed by the mistakes of her past. She walked out on her beloved son Reuben when he was just a boy and fears he'll never forgive her.

When Reuben marries a petite blonde gentile, Gilda takes it as the ultimate rejection. Her cold, distant son seems transformed by love - a love she's craved his entire adult life. What does his new wife have that she doesn't? And how far will she go to find out? It's an obsession that will bring shocking truths about the past to light . . .
A great read. 4*.

Obsessed by her son and willing to go to extreme lengths to be in his life even if that means rejection. A tale that is both heartbreaking and addictive. The best so far this summer of novels, will take you on an in depth journey of love and loss.

A strangely unsettling read. Beautifully written but rather unnerving. Gilda is - in the 'now' of the book, 1969 - a middle aged woman, but the book moves between her present and her history, as a Jewish immigrant escaping Nazi Germany to settle in a not-very-welcoming (plus ca change) England, It's a book you can never really quite "enjoy" but is absorbing and unsetling and stays in the memory for a long time.

This book sat on my TBR pile for far too long. Totally not what I expected in the best possible way as I was totally enchanted by this story from start to finish. A beautifully written story that tugs at your heart as you feel Gildas hurt and loneliness.

What a powerful, extraordinary and perceptive novel. Gilda is the main character. She has a jaundiced perspective on life and the people around her. You reap what you sow in life is the message here, and many of Gilda’s woes are self-inflicted. She’s the pain in the proverbial type of person. She struggles to see the best in people and is super-critical of everything. As the plot unfolds, there are underlying signs of acute loneliness, insecurity and vulnerability which makes your empathy wobble precariously when you recognise that she’s also a snoop, a stalker and has an unhealthy obsession about two people in her life. The novel reveals an exceptional power of observation of people with their quirks, mannerisms, habits, unspoken thoughts and hopes. There is a lot of wit and humour included. It intrigued me beyond measure how far she was prepared to go to secure the love and gratification she sought. I heard myself gasp a few times at her flagrant audacity and her lack of remorse at her bizarre actions. Thank you to NetGalley and Orion Books for an ARC.

Divorcee Gilda feels cut out of her son's life after he marries, so she resorts to stalking him and his new wife. Literary novel set in the 1960s which is surprisingly moving and a beautiful study of character.

Bitter is the story of a German Jewish woman and her troubled life, from her girlhood in an English boarding school in the 1930s, to an arranged marriage to her father's business associate, motherhood and divorce. This is a thoughtfully written novel with a strong sense of time and place.

As someone who thinks that likeability is a much overrated quality in a protagonist (particularly a female one) Bitter is a joy to read.

It is 1969. Gilda Meyer’s son, Reuben, is getting married to Alice, a blonde, petite Gentile – a woman who is everything Gilda is not. Gilda feels ill at ease at the wedding (she wore white and the dress was too tight) and finds fault with everyone there.

Reuben grew up with his father after their divorce and she has never been close to her son. When he looks at Alice, Gilda sees a side he has never shown her – one that is warm and loving.

Gilda becomes increasingly obsessed with Reuben and Alice, and her behaviour as a result is both comical and disturbing.

Gilda’s ‘present’ is interspersed with her memories of the past, from her affluent but unloving childhood in Hamburg, to her abrupt move to London and her marriage. She says at one point she feels guilty because she hasn’t suffered as a German Jew in the way people expect, she can’t tell them the stories they want to hear. Her unhappiness is small, domestic. Even in this she is someone who doesn’t quite fit.

One of the beauties of the first-person narration is that we are in thrall to Gilda’s voice. (And it’s a wonderful voice, the prose is so crisp and clear you hardly feel you’re reading at all.) We are left in some uncertainty about, for example, whether Reuben is indeed blameless for the difficulties in their relationship.

It also makes us complicit. Gilda does some shocking things but we are so wrapped up in her reasoning we don’t just sympathise, we want her to win through. We can also laugh at her sly barbs even as we know they’re unkind.

One of the most moving elements of the book for me was Gilda’s friendship with Margo. They were brought together at school by their shared unpopularity, but somehow the bond has endured. Gilda is frequently dismissive, and at times you think they are united only by expediency. Gilda exploits Margo’s kindness, but at the same time, Margo has a strength and self-sufficiency that shines through. (Gilda’s tone-deafness to Margo’s private life is also nicely done.)

The other significant woman is of course Alice, who has many of the qualities expected of a woman and a wife which Gilda lacks – her looks, her culinary skills, her willingness to please. She not only has the love of Reuben, which Gilda longs for, but she embodies everything that Gilda has failed to be.

The title of the book comes from the nickname foisted on Gilda at her British boarding school when one day she inadvertently said the German ‘bitte’ instead of ‘please’. This duality sums up Gilda. She repels people with her sharpness while desperately longing for them to come close.

Is she an unpleasant individual, a victim of circumstance, or a woman being punished for choosing her own path? I’m still wondering about Gilda, even now. A book to savour.

Read this in three days & found it quite different from my usual books, very readable, with short chapters that held my interest.

Such a complicated set of main characters, alongside descriptive writing. My feelings towards Gilda kept shifting throughout but on the whole I would recommend this book.

It's so hard to believe this book is a debut novel, the characters are so vividly and wonderfully drawn, it's totally compelling, engaging, perfectly paced and beautifully written - I was loath to put it down.

A story of obsession, dysfunctional relationships and manipulation, of the best and worst of parenting - it's a mesmerising read, heartbreaking at times yet there is love and friendship and humour - As her story unfolded I grew to understand and love Gilda almost as much as I hated her parents.

An unreserved 5 stars - really looking forward to reading more from this author!

An interesting and troubling debut about a mother’s love for her son and her own unresolved issues. This is historical fiction set in 1969, but strangely Gilda and her story seem very modern.

The writing and plot are well done, it’s structured effectively and clearly has been edited well. However this story bothered me as I left feeling no connection with the characters and that makes it difficult to care or even want to finish they’re journey.

I had to force myself to finish this and tbh it wasn’t spectacular. Middle of the road debut.

This is the story of Gilda - and her love for her son, Reuben. A love who she walked on when he was a child but now loves to the point of obsession and seeks out every opportunity to reconnect with Reuben and make up for her past mistakes in life.
Unfortunately Reuben is about to marry Alice which sends Gilda into a downward spiral of jealousy, obsession and destruction - fuelled also in part by alcohol.
As the story continues we learn more about Gilda's background which will provoke sympathy in even the hardest of hearts.
I believe this a debut novel and it is an excellent and heartbreaking one at that - so wonderfully written and stayed in my mind long after the final chapter. Beautiful!
5 well deserved stars and huge thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

I really don't know how or where to start with this novel.  Bitter is a really dark, emotionally powerful, uncomfortable story about obsession, family, parenting, marriage and  relationships.

Gilda is our narrator.  A 53 year old Jewish mother who is obsessed with her son Reuben and his newly married "shiksa" wife Alice.  The story is set in 1969 in London, but we also alternate to Gilda's early life pre-war in Germany where she lived with her younger (and favoured) sister and wealthy parents.

It is clear that Gilda is "slightly" unhinged, her obsessions, behaviour and actions speak volumes, but when we learn more about her own upbringing and childhood, it becomes clear why Gilda behaves as she does.

All the characters were so wonderfully crafted and believable that my emotions towards Gilda were so mixed I had to keep reminding myself she was a fictional character, despite reminding me of several older Jewish ladies I know in real life. The relationships between Gilda and her childhood friend Margo was wonderful and their friendship was truly beautiful and touching.

This is a really moving and heart-breaking story about how our childhood and parents can shape our adulthood.  An excellent debut novel and I look forward to reading more from this author.

The story of Gilda is set in three timelines, as a child in 1920's Germany to an English boarding school and on to marriage and motherhood. The title Bitter could not be more appropriate, Gilda's obsession with her son is uncomfortable, quite sad and at times frustrating. When Reuben goes on to marry, Gilda's contempt goes up another gear. The book is creepy at times but full of suspense throughout. A reminder that even intensely flawed characters can take an emotional hold on the reader.