I like an unlikeable character and Gilda is a perfect example. Unsympathetic at the start, the novel twists the reader's judgement of a 'bad mother' to breaking point; heart-breaking point. A novel about very human mistakes and the true depth of a mother's love.

It's 1969 and Gilda's son is getting married. His wife to be Alice is a petite blonde and pretty girl who makes Gilda feel inadequate. Her son's besotted with his new wife and Gilda becomes obsessed with her following her when she's out shopping, at work or at the hairdressers. She loves when they randomly bump into each other and Alice makes a fuss of her.

Young Gilda witnessed something she shouldn't have seen and her father banished her from the family home in Germany to boarding school in England where she just can't fit in. She had one friend, the loyal Margo who has stuck by her through thick and thin, all through the years and during her arranged marriage to Frank who she never loved although he is Reuben's father and her subsequent stormy and passionate marriage to Leo.

Frank and his second wife Berta make it difficult for Gilda to spend quality time with her son which makes her more of a stranger to him. All she really wants is her son to love her and for her to feel part of a family. I liked how Gilda turns things around and gains confidence in who she is. and realises what a good and faithful friend Margo is.

A stunning first novel which I absolutely loved.

Wow what a great debut novel, highly recommend
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Book Description: 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 Ruben when he was just a boy and fears he’ll never forgive her.

When Ruben 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…..

Bitter is a beautiful and devastating novel about the decisions that define our lives, the fragility of love and the bond between mother and son.

With short sharp chapters this book flies the reader through the life of Gilda a much flawed and lonely woman in her 50’s.

It takes us, very movingly, through her life from 1920’s Germany, to an English boarding school then marriage and the mistakes and decisions she makes over the next 30 years.

The story starts at the marriage of her only son Ruben to a girl called Alice. At the wedding Ruben calls Alice the person who taught him how to love, opening a floodgate of emotions for Gilda that prompts her into a dangerous and alarming obsession. This leads to her stalking the woman in a desperate attempt to try to be a part of her son and daughter in laws life.

The character of Gilda had me moving from dislike, to anger, to pity as her story unfolded, which it quite literally does as you read, but equally also for Ruben, even though he is one of the ones who has suffered from her actions.

I loved the character of Alice and also of Gilda’s friend Margo who sees through all of Gilda’s lies and fibs, yet never calls her up on them because of their shared past but also for her unmoving love for Gilda.

I found this an addictive read that I couldn’t put down even when at the beginning I wasn’t warming to Gilda at all, I needed to know if she would change.

I was sent an uncorrected manuscript proof of Bitter by Francesca Jakobi to read and review by NetGalley.
Bitter by name bitter by nature! This book certainly lives up to its title. While the novel is easy to read I did find it difficult to relax into it as the said bitterness was all consuming and very draining. The continuous carping and self-pity of protagonist Gilda made it very hard to empathise with her, especially as she was a woman used to such privilege and status. The book was quite cleverly set out, sliding between the past and present, although I would have preferred a little more definition between each section - rather than a paragraph from one era changing immediately to one of another (this may of course have changed by publication). Bitter is an exploration of how our experiences and how we treat each other fundamentally affect our psyche and our relationships. Insightful but very bitter!

Bitter by Francesca Jakobi is one of those books that burrows its way under your skin and deep into your heart leaving an impression long after the last page. It is a startling and accomplished debut novel; subtle, nuanced and exquisitely drawn with a flawed protoganist who is deeply damaged and utterly compelling.

Gilda is a complex woman. A German jew who was sent to a boarding school in England and married off to her Father’s business associate just before the outbreak of World War 2, she is troubled and carries the scars of her past deep in her psyche. Her son, Reuben has recently married Alice and she is profoundly jealous of their union and of the easy way in which he shows love to his new wife. His and Gilda’s relationship is fractious, he holds her at arms length and she seems to be permanently trying to bridge the gap between them.

It is the relationship between Gilda and her son that is at the heart of this book. Francesca Jakobi writes movingly and affectingly about their complicated and multi-layered relationship. He has never forgiven her for abandoning him as a child but as we discover through the compelling and engaging flashbacks that things were not quite as straightforward as they appeared to be.

I really enjoyed the flashbacks and glimpses into Gilda’s life as a child, teen and adult. The descriptions of an affluent household in pre-war Germany allowed us to see a part of social history that isn’t always examined, especially the impact on German jews who fled the country. It is through these moments that we come to understand Gilda and put the pieces together. On the surface she appears to be a complicated woman but in reality she is the opposite needing only one thing from life; love.

It takes an incredibly skilled writer to write a character like Gilda and make her both likeable and believable. Francesca Jakobi weaves a quietly unsettling tale which explores Gilda’s determination to be involved in Reuben and Alice’s life. Her behaviour is obsessive and uncomfortable but heartbreakingly sad and emotionally affecting. It is a compelling read with a quiet power and a plot which quietly draws you in. I know that I won’t forget this book in a hurry.

Bitter is a really strange book. When I read it, I initially disliked Gilda intensely. She is nasty and cruel and reminded me of someone, and I didn't like how obsessed she was with her son. Like really, it is unhealthy. She is not a likeable character at all. And yet she is the main character of the book and we need to follow her story, and as we do, we slowly learn more about her.

Gilda has a fantastic friend she treats like dirt but who loves her enough to stick around, though why anyone would put up with that for as long is beyond me. Then there is her obsession with her son and jealousy of his wife. It is pretty intense when a mother cannot see her son (child) as an individual, something more than just a title, a person who has hopes and dreams, but instead has a concept for them that they must adhere to, but still insists that they know their child better than anyone.

Anyway, let me not get caught up in that. It really seems that Gilda needs some serious mental health help, and the book goes on to show you the disturbing things she does, and as it does so, you learn more about her, that ultimately you can understand how Gilda got to the place she is in life, and you really hope that she will be able to overcome it. Bitter is not an easy read, though it reads fast. It is a decent one, one I am glad that I read. I could definitely recommend Bitter to anyone interested in darker books that are more of a character study.

We all make mistakes in our lives and Gilda made the ultimate error and has paid for it all her life. Growing up in the time of war and in a loveless marriage, she turns her back and in so doing, alienates herself from her son for the rest of her life.
In middle age she tries her hardest to put it right but is it all too late?
A sad, heartbreaking story but it also has its heart warming moments.
Maybe there’s a message in this book for us all that family is what’s most important?

There are some stories that break your heart and infuriate you at the same time and Bitter is most definitely one of those stories that will get under your skin.

We meet Gilda in 1969 at her son Reuben's wedding to a beautiful kind woman. Gilda is not happy for her son in the slightest. In fact she's taken his marriage to this kind of woman as the ultimate rejection.

Told all from Gilda's point of view we flit back and forth from the WWII to the 1969 to find out why Gilda is indeed so bitter and what life has taught her (or not in this case) about motherhood.

Gilda has had a very hard life. Shown no affection from any of her family, she was packed off to England from Germany to a boarding school. As her and her family are Jewish the implications of why she was sent away just before the war seem obvious to us the reader, but to a young girl who has no knowledge or care of politics or the world around her she sees this as a cruel rejection. Her family never write nor care to ask how she is doing. In the last year of boarding school (after being bullied mercilessly by the other school girls for her accent) her father writes to her to say he is marrying her to a business associate (who is much older).

Years later she has had a son but sinks into a deep depression and cannot bring herself to get dressed, let alone be a mother. In a way she perpetuates the cycle of her own childhood and packs him off to boarding school at a young age but does burn with love for her son.

At times I felt intense sorrow for Gilda. She has been shown little kindness and had no nurturing or guidance in her own foray into motherhood. She is crippled with the things she would love to say to her son, but everything that comes out is abrupt and brash.

This book is one that tugged at my heart strings. A real character piece with very flawed humans in. The only thing that let it down slightly for me is the ending. It felt very abrupt and I would have loved a little more. I don't need things wrapped up in a neat bow at the end but it just felt a little rushed.

A 4 star read for me.

I would like to thank Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Structured around short, fast-paced chapters, this first-person narrative is told from the perspective of Gilda: a twice-divorced, middle-aged woman whose only child has just married. Whilst the protagonist has been characterised as a stereotypical, over-bearing, Jewish mother, this characterisation is uniquely three-dimensional, where past and present timelines are brought together allowing the reader to empathise with Gilda’s heart-breaking story.

Affected by events of the past, Gilda’s relationship with her son, Rueben, is a distant one and her jealousy towards Rueben’s adoration of his new wife soon becomes an obsession for Gilda. But whilst the plot has an abundance of melancholic scenes, these are lifted by the narrator’s wonderfully dry sense of humour, which is prevalent right from the very start. The author’s strong metaphorical imagery is closely linked to this humour: ‘I planned this outfit months ago but this tight, white suit is too tight and too white. And this hat, all the netting …’.

The novel’s title is also metaphorical, with bitter being German for please. As a German girl living in an English boarding school in the early 1930s, when Gilda accidentally reverts to her native language with the use of the word bitter instead of please, she is ridiculed; highlighting Gilda’s both physical and metaphorical displacement in life.

Whilst I wouldn’t call this novel a psychological thriller as such, Gilda’s obsession towards her daughter-in-law comes very close to the line. There are moments of high suspense which will have you holding your breath, which together with its tight chapter structure, makes for an incredible edge-of-the-seat ride: just one little push and things could have turned very nasty indeed on more than one occasion!

But whilst this story has hints of a creepy psychological thriller, it is more a story of love, kindness, and true enduring friendship. This was a thoroughly enjoyable debut and I look forward to reading more from this author. I recommend this book to anybody who likes Carol Mason, Kit de Waal, or Mary Paulson-Ellis

Under Literature Love’s rating scheme this book has been awarded 5 out of 5 stars.

I sought out this book after I read a recommendation in the Guardian that compared it to Notes On a Scandal. I think perhaps that set the bar a bit too high for me, which this book wasn't able to live up to but it is still worth a read. Set in 1969, Gilda is a divorcee in her late 40s (I think?) who is fixated on her emotionally distant son. As she grows increasingly desperate and obsessive, she resorts to stalking him and his pretty blonde wife, as we gradually learn more about why their relationship soured. This story left me feeling very sad and frustrated; a good reminder as to why it is important that women have control over their own lives.

This is just a beautiful, poignant impressive first novel. I read this in two long sittings after having a rare weekend to myself. I loved the characters and the different time story telling. Gilda is a character I will long remember.

Imagine growing up in a household where your mother shows you no affection, more interested in attending cocktail parties, then spending any time with her daughters. Imagine a Father that has no kind words or a sister that treats you with contempt. This is Gilda’s world, as she grows up in pre-war Germany. Life doesn’t get much better when she is shipped off to an English boarding school where she is treated with scorn and derision for being German and Jewish. As war approaches her family must flee Germany and Gilda is married off to her father’s business associate, Frank. Much older then Gilda, theirs is a comfortable life and seems complete when Gilda welcomes her son Reuben, except how can Gilda be a mother when she doesn’t know how to be one.

It is an issue Gilda wrestles with for most of her adult life, and her turmoil intensifies when Reuben marries, sweet, petite Alice. As she sees her sons happiness and the ease at which he showers Alice with love and affection Gilda becomes increasingly jealous. Why can he not show her such love and affection, and so begins Gilda’s obsession with Alice. This was where the story became particularly interesting as the layers of Gilda’s past life were slowly peeled away. From a character that you really wanted to dislike, even hate, you slowly began to feel great sorrow for Gilda. Jakobi was brilliant at laying bare the immense turmoil and damage done to Gilda over many years. You could feel her aching with loneliness, not even able to find solace in her one and only best friend Margo. It was as though she had pressed the self destruct button and didn’t know how to make it all stop.

I felt myself willing Reuben to pull down his barriers, to show his Mum some affection and understanding and perhaps forgive her just a little bit. Yes, Gilda had made mistakes, but she was for the most part a victim of circumstance, of having no role models to look up to or persons to seek advice and guidance. Reuben sees only ones side, his, and his feelings of rejection run pretty deep.

I liked the role Jakobi gave Alice, the go between, the one normal person who had a loving, warm and secure family background. Gilda’s actions towards Alice are the most chilling aspect of the book, hinting of desperation and I was never sure if she actually wanted to harm Alice or just scare her. Unaware of what is happening and able to see the issues from both sides, Alice works tirelessly to try and bring the two together.

Jakobi’s writing is wonderfully evocative. I could feel the desperation and aching loneliness of Gilda in her later life and the coldness that emanated from her parents as she endured a loveless childhood, her bitterness oozing from the pages. The alternating timelines between past and present was seamlessly done, and the short staccato chapters perfectly reflected the sharpness we often associate with bitterness.

It is a novel full of anguish, of the relationship between mothers and their children, the good and the bad. It is profoundly sad but also full of hope, that redemption and forgiveness may be possible.

It is hard to believe that this is Jakobi’s first novel, it is remarkably well written and I look forward to reading her next novel.

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Orion, and the author Francesca Jakobi.
Bitter was an interesting read. It was easy to be fully involved and immersed in the story, but it was overwhelmingly depressing at times, and lacked any real action. The characters also did not feel fully developed, and it was hard to feel any sort of compassion and understanding of their motives.
It is undoubtedly well written, and the narrative is strong, but the switch from past to present often wasn't clear, and so the story arc often felt disjointed.
Overall, I am left with no strong feelings or lasting impression on this one. Take it or leave it!

This is a truly outstanding debut novel and a definite stand out of 2018. The writing is perfect and the storyline so engaging that I finished it in one sitting. It’s a touching story that will stay with me for a long time. A well deserved 5 stars.

This is an absolutely stunning debut novel. It tells the story of Gilda, sent away to school at a young age by her father in the face of looming war and family scandal, then used through marriage to build a business. How this impacts on her and her son is told with such empathy and understanding that I grew to love Gilda and her son despite their faults and mistakes. All the characters in the novel are beautifully drawn and their intertwined fates are handled exquisitely.

Bitter is an excellent tale of mother/child relationships and explores how the way we are treated in our adolescence affects how we act as adults. The setting of the 60's in London is vividly portrayed and Gilda as the bitter Jewish mother is a believable main character.
My thanks to the author, the publisher and Net Galley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

An unusual title for a strange story. The gist of the plot is Gilda trying hard – too hard? – to engage with her estranged son now he has married.
Whilst well written, I found it very difficult to empathise with any of the characters and some of Gilda’s behaviour is quite bizarre.

Despite the quality of the writing, I came very close to giving up on this one about two thirds of the way in as it just seemed so bleak and I was really struggling to warm to the character if Gilda....I am so glad I persevered! It really is a wonderful novel and I was so moved by the ending. A great choice for book groups.

Bitter is an intriguing title for an equally intriguing book. Is the book about Gilda's resentment at having been ousted from her sons life? Is it a play on words, the German for please being bitte? Or is it a way to describe the sharp and unsweetened version of Gilda's life that she has kept hidden even from herself? For me it is all these things, and so much more.

Jakobi is a skilled author who has created a wonderfully complex character in Gilda. Initially she presents as very self absorbed (her apparent failure to recognise that Margo is gay), even delusional as she talks about a shopping trip with Alice, her daughter-in-law. Her desperation to re-insert herself into her son's life is painful to read as she starts to stalk Alice and meddles in her life. However, as the book reveals more about her past and the actions of those around her, the wariness I felt towards her is replaced by a new understanding and sympathy towards her. She is very much a product of her upbringing, but also reflects how the expectations of women of her age have compounded her situation.

Alice who is not only the perfect foil to Gilda, but also Gilda's means of redemption, is similarly complex, although as the reader we can only guess what has happened to her at work. On the one hand I would have liked to learn more about her, but on the other hand, this is Gilda's story.

This is an incredibly emotional read that really resonated with me and I look forward to reading future books by Ms Jakobi.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.