This book grows and grows. It starts a little slowly but is quirkily funny throughout. It is a life-affirming and subtle read. Three stars seems harsh when it is closer to meriting four stars than three, but I try to be very sparing with four. Thanks to Penguin for a no obligation advance copy.

One Day I Shall Astonish the World is a book that took me a while to get into. We chart the main character Susan’s life in the 1990s through to the present day, as an older woman. We experience alongside her an array of key milestones such as meeting her husband Roy, forming key friendships, and having her first child.

It’s a fairly slow burner of a novel, with humorous parts present – I always think Nina Stibbe’s writing is funny, whatever the subject – but for the first third or so I wasn’t sure whether to continue reading as the story wasn’t grabbing me. However, the more I got to know Susan, the more I wanted to read about her despite not necessarily connecting with her. She is not surrounded by particularly nice people - or perhaps I should say, not the right people for her. Her ‘best friend’ Norma in particular is a tricky character and her husband Roy, though lovely to start with, changes significantly after they have their first child. Though I liked Susan, I didn’t care for most of the other characters.

I found the book a bit poignant and sad at times, as I’m sure is intended. I really like Nina’s writing in general so I continued with this novel and overall I am glad I did, but I much preferred other books I’ve read by this author.

One Day I Shall Astonish the World charts 30 years in the life of Susan, PA to the Vice Chancellor of Rutland University. On a life-changing day in 1990, Susan meets not only her future husband, Roy, but perhaps more significant to the story, her future on-off friend, Norma.

Norma is the daughter of the owners of The Pin Cushion, a dressmaking shop at which Susan has a Saturday job. Although both young women are intelligent and ambitious, it’s made clear by Norma’s mother that Susan is not to regard Norma as a personal friend, and the scene is set for Susan’s life as perennial underachiever while Norma soars.

If you’ve read any Nina Stibbe books before, you’ll know that she excels at uncovering the humour in small, every day events, and Susan makes a sharp-eyed commentator on all she sees as her life ambitions are gradually thwarted, from dropping out of university when she discovers she is pregnant to learning to take a back seat while Norma hogs the spotlight at every opportunity.

There are darkly funny moments throughout the novel, such as the dogging-related death of one character and Susan’s ponderings on whether her mother’s life-changing train accident could have been inadvertently caused by the writer Ian McEwen.

The narrative takes us right up to the coronavirus pandemic, and there is a change of pace in the last few chapters as we’re suddenly taken out of a novel that feels strictly fictional and into events that most of us will be able to empathise with as Susan and her family are faced with a health crisis.

One Day I Shall Astonish the World is a fairly gentle yet absorbing read, detailed throughout with mischievous observations of the less attractive aspects of human nature.

Nine Stibbe is that rare thing: a writer who is almost 100 per cent funny. Not for her the occasional one-liner that comes crashing in, signalling a joke that was in desperate need of a home and was mercilessly going to be shoehorned into the work in progress no matter what. No. So complete is her comic voice that you read ODISATW with the wind at your back, gusted forward, never left marooned in the doldrums. It is not a stretch to compare her to Wodehouse.

Stibbe’s eye for tiny unexpected detail which is the quintessence of a character or the period in unparalleled. I don’t know why references to Dulux Apple White paint or the Ronco Buttoneer made me laugh out loud, but they did. Maybe you just had to have lived through the adverts?

ODISATW, although very, very funny, is actually an unusual portrait of a female friendship between Susan and Norma. The novel is a first-person narrative from Susan who may or may not be completely reliable, or even likeable. As the novel moves along you begin to wonder what you should be thinking about this woman and the choices she has made, and whether her assessments of those around her are accurate or fair. There is more to these two characters than comic depiction but the reader is required to pause and think about what lies beneath the comedy. This is unusual and should be applauded.

Perhaps the only weak part of the novel is where ODISATW is headed - the early months of 2020 – of which we are aware from the very first page. Up to this point the novel has been immaculately paced, the plot handled perfectly even when it jumps forward a few years but as the pandemic starts to take hold the humour feels as if it is bumping uncomfortably against something that is still too raw. There is simply not enough distance between the pandemic and the present day to be able to say confidently what is safe to throw into relief with genuine, warm humour and what can only ever be savaged with satire. A strange end to an otherwise excellent novel.

One Day I Shall Astonish the World has Nina Stibbe's trademark writing style all over it: female main character living in the Midlands, full of sharp and witty observations about her ordinary life. The preface of the book starts in November 2019, setting the scene of Susan trying to write the newsletter for her university job, with strained relationship with her husband Roy and her daughter's counsellor wanting to talk to her. The book goes back to 1990, when Susan meets Roy for the first time when she arrives at work to find the door locked and she goes to the cafe instead. When work reopens, she also meets Norma, the haberdashery's owner's daughter, for the first time. The story works it way up to the preface and past it into 2020, charting Susan's relationships with Norma and Roy over the years.

If you like books with big plots and action, this will not be one for you! It spans 30 years and Susan leads a very quiet life. What this mainly focuses on is observations on life and the relationships between the characters, particularly Susan and Norma. They go from very close friends to hardly talking on a personal level, there's some undercurrents of frenemies at times. Norma is almost like a mirror to what Susan's life could have been if marriage and children hadn't haltered her education and career. At times I felt so sorry for Susan, aching for recognition but at times she is very frustrating, especially when she doesn't stand up for herself with Norma.

The pacing was a bit off towards the end, it didn't match the rest of the book, it seemed rushed. I found my interesting waning at times, if the book was slightly shorter I think it would have packed a bigger punch. Overall I did enjoy it, the humour is so uniquely Nina Stibbe and it made me laugh several times. But not as much as some of her other books

This was my first Nina Stibbe and while I found it hilarious in parts, it was a little bit of a damp squib. I loved the writing - there’s more than a hint of Katherine Heiny to it - smart and heart-warming - but the story drifted at times and ended abruptly. The covid chapters towards the end felt tacked on and read more like short diary entries, at odds with the rest of the book. Notwithstanding that, there is emotional depth to the story and I was invested in the characters.

The book charts the life of Susan, an unremarkable woman leading an unremarkable life. Susan meets Norma and Roy in the early 1990s, the former becoming her best friend, the latter becoming her much-maligned husband.

Susan and Norma’s friendship ebbs and flows over the years, affected by Susan becoming a mother and parking her university degree and career ambitions, and Norma appearing to outmanoeuvre Susan infuriatingly at every opportunity.

I loved Susan but found her a frustrating character too. Norma was so completely motivated by self-interest, I really wanted Susan to tell Norma to shove off!

A pleasant read that made me laugh out loud a few times but ultimately left me feeling a little bit disappointed. I’ll definitely read more Nina Stibbe though. 3/5 ⭐️

Many thanks to the publisher @penguinbooks @vikingbooks for an advance digital copy of the book via @netgalley. One Day I Shall Astonish the World will be published on 21 April 2022.

The writing in this book is utterly brilliant but the characters felt so unrealistic and so hard to relate to. Susan and Norma's "friendship" was so jarring, I understand that at times the friendship was imbalanced and there were power dynamics at play but it didn't feel fleshed out enough and just really brought me out of the story.

I would also say that I was not aware that the book would span 30 years and end in modern times / pandemic setting. Whilst it was handled well it would have been good to have some warning of this.

One Day I Shall Astonish the World by Nina Stibbe

In 1990s Leicestershire Susan is a first year university student and works part time in a sewing shop, The Pin Cushion, where she becomes friends with the owners' daughter Norma, When Susan discovers she is pregnant she drops out of university, marries Roy and works full time in the sewing shop. Over 30 years of friendship with Norma, we follow Susan through parenthood, marriage and her career at the University of Rutland.

I've loved everything Nina Stibbe has written and this book is no exception. This is a fascinating portrait of the characters and their friendships/relationships over time, set against a backdrop of a changing world - I loved the reminders of life pre-technology and then the complete opposite by the time we reached the current day and the discussion of the university's post open day social media presence... fantastic! Lots of humour and clever observations, yet real emotional depth and poignancy too. Very highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I’m new to Stibbe’s writing but this book is beautifully written with razor sharp observations, often brutal in their stealth of deployment. Stibbe has an astonishing way of simultaneously making you swoon at her words and cringe at their meaning. Brilliant.

One Day I Shall Astonish the World is an extremely amusing novel providing plenty of laughs as it leads through reader through marriage and friendships. This was my first read by Nina Stibbe and I will be making an effort to look out for her stories in future. In this novel Susan and Norma have been best friends for years, meeting in the 1990s at The Pin Cushion, a haberdashery shop in Leicestershire. Now, Susan has been married to Roy Warren for 28 years, and Norma-Jean Pavlou married Hugo Pack-Allen out of the blue, way back. The author's sharp wit and observations make this story for me and she has perfected the balance of humour and heartbreak. Brilliantly crafted and very highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Penguin General UK, Viking via NetGalley, and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

This novel is centred around the friendship between Susan and Norma and spans some 30 years from the 90s right to present day; covid times! I preferred the first half of the book, some parts of it were amusing but as it went on I just thought why are these two even friends?! Susan didn’t seem to care much for her husband Roy, but then at the very end he became almost central to the plot. I really didn’t enjoy the end set in the pandemic!! I rounded my rating up to three stars because it is well written but overall this wasn’t a novel for me and it was rather a struggle to finish.

This was the first book I read by Nina Stibbe and won't surely be the last as I found this book entertaning and full of food for thought.
There's a lot of humour, interesting social remarks, and an excellent style of writing.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

What a joy of a book. I absolutely loved it. This story of Susan Warren, her life and family and friendship with Norma, who she meets at her Saturday job is that rare thing - a ‘normal’ life made extraordinary by the talent of the writer. Funny, moving and insightful I really couldn’t put this down and it provided the perfect antidote to a week of illness and horrible news in the UK. A triumph!

I really wanted to like this book but I just couldn’t get into. It. The writing is brilliant as is always the case with Nina Stibbe but I couldn’t connect with any of the characters. Obviously just not a book for me.

It took me a little while to get into this book as at the beginning it felt as if the author had to make sure the reader knew it was a humorous book and stuffed in lots of witty comments whenever possible. However it did seem to calm down after a while and I enjoyed the gradual unfolding of the story told with warmth and some laugh out loud moments and descriptions. However, for me, the end let it down again as the whole COVID episode seemed tacked on and the story could have reached a satisfying conclusion without it.
thank you to netgalley and penguin books for an advance copy of this book

3.5 Stars

Eccentric middle-England characters abound in <i>One Day I Shall Astonish the World</i> - a witty (and caustic) tale of love, friendship, and family spanning multiple generations. Occasionally, it felt a little too cloying and parochial for my tastes. I wondered about its broader, universal appeal – many of the colloquialisms and nuances might be lost on a non-UK audience. That said, it was entertaining, clever, and droll in equal measure, although not quite reaching the dizzy heights of <i>Sorrow and Bliss</i> or <i>Fleabag</i>.

My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for granting this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Nina creates Susan and Norma's friendship with comedy, admiration, and enjoyment. She takes the reader on a laugh out loud tale of modern female companionship and their reflections on life.

There is very little I can say about these characters without giving too much of the plot away; trust me when I say they are hard to forget, and you will be talking and thinking about them even after the book is placed back on the shelf.

Nina Stibbe is a new author for me, but I will be looking for more of her work. Her writing style flows well, and this story is executed brilliantly.

This is a fantastic read that stole a night's sleep from me. I could not put this down and carried on reading until the early morning hours, making this a 24-hour read for me. This may be the most straightforward five-star rating I have given! An absolute gem of a book that I can not recommend enough.

In short, all I can say about this is - READ THIS BOOK!!

Having read and enjoyed all of Nina’s previous novels both fiction and non-fiction I was delighted to receive this ARC from NetGalley, Penguin Books and the author for a fair and honest review…spoiler alert it’s a belter

The story is narrated by Susan and split into three sections and timelines-
Friendship, Marriage and Work spanning from 1990-2020- each section has threads of them all. The plot is how Susan friendships with her best friend Norma Pack-Allen( fabulous name) changes over the years as love, life and work happens.

This is very much a character lead novel, all the characters in this novel are solid gold even minor characters shine . My favourites were Grace, Norma and Susan’s Mum. The are so well written, true to life and funny. I was proper laughing at Roy with the cat who was destroying the garden, literally could picture it as my Dad has said them thing in his on going battle with the neighbourhood cats. Though Susan Stibbe shows these characters in all their fantastically flawed ways. The interaction between characters is realistic. The writer is acutely observant on everyday life in all it’s comedy both light and dark this is captured perfectly in the characters and their interactions. Anyone who has decades of friendship will relate beautifully.

Whilst the plot is just really one woman’s observations of life, that is what is brilliant about the novel it perfectly captures every aspects of British family life in a way that we all can relate. It is simply one woman’s story but told in a way that is not only funny but also has a deeper undertone that makes it compulsive reading. It is quirky, funny, bittersweet, heartwarming and just a little bit of light relief.

The later section deals with the lead up to covid 19 and the start of lockdown this done so well I won’t go into the bits n bobs of it all but Stibbe captures that moment in time perfectly.

This book will appeal to anyone who has read any of the authors previous novels you won’t be let down this book will fill you with joy and giggles it’s brilliantly charming and uplifting with out it being sickly sweet. Nina is a writer with vibes of Alan Bennett and Sue Townshend… a comic voice with a sense of great sensitivity and authenticity

In One Day I Shall Astonish the World we follow Susan and her best friend Norma over several decades and get to see how their lives and relationship develop over this time period. I wanted to love this book as this type of book is right up my street. Although I thought this was a fine read, I do not think that the story or the book was anything special and I felt pretty neutral as I finished it. I never felt super invested in the characters and the story, and towards the end I was mostly reading it just to get to the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin UK for sending me an advanced copy

Nina Stibbe's darkly humorous novel of friendship, and marriage through the decades is set in Leicestershire, and is densely written, capturing the everyday details and ordinariness of life from the 1990s right upto to Covid in the present. It begins with a prologue in which Susan, a PA to the Vice-Chancellor of Rutland University is putting together a newsletter, not easy given the paucity of news. Her husband, Roy, is intent on living forever, the only veg he will eat are baked beans and iceberg lettuce, and he is putting his fingers in his ears when Susan speaks, all of which speaks volumes of the state of her 28 year marriage, and her daughter, Honey, who has come back to live at home, wants her mother to meet with her counsellor. Susan reflects on how she got here, particularly focusing on the highs, lows and pain of her life defining friendship with Norma-Jean Pallou.

Coincidentally, she met Roy at the Two Swans Cafe, he works at the golf club, and Norma on the same day in the 1990s, Norma posing as the manager of The Pin Cushion, a haberdashery store that Susan, a Literature undergraduate, is working at for the summer. Norma has a science background, and is now seeking entry to a more literary university course, and Susan helps her prepare for this. We follow Susan becoming unexpectedly pregnant 7 months into her relationship with Roy, leading to her becoming married and dropping out of university, despite Norma's warnings. Unsurprisingly her relationship with Roy changes dramatically after giving birth, and we observe the various life events through the years, such as the out of blue surprising marriage of Norma to Hugo Pack-Allen, becoming parents, and raising children. Then there is a return to the present to see if Susan manages to make herself become more seen as a person than she has been so far.

Stibbe's novel will no doubt be loved by many, there will be readers who will love the opportunity to immerse themselves in 1990s nostalgia and the culture of the period. The character of Susan, her relationships and her life will resonate for some, and I can dispassionately see that much of the narrative is humorous. However, I failed to connect with any of the characters, and the humour does not work for me, it simply didn't appeal, which made this entertaining read that much more of a laboured experience. Do not let this review put you off reading this, please read other far more positive reviews before deciding whether to read this. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.