The Pursuit of Ordinary

This is Nigel Jay Cooper's sophomore novel and he does not disappoint. Last year, I got the chance to read an early copy of The Pursuit of Ordinary. I was thrilled for the opportunity, of course, and quickly jumped to it. This is a captivating Contemporary Fiction novel. It's powerful, plausible, and sound. I think one of Nigel's biggest qualities as an author is his ability to write about the common fellow and see beyond the surface. His characters are real people, just like any of us. His talent is presenting these people as whole individuals. Neither good or bad. He leaves the judgment to us. In The Pursuit of Ordinary, he explores the themes of grief, mental health, and love. How far are we willing to go to avoid the pain? What risks will we take?

The storyline is compelling and exciting. His narrative beautifully flows and it unfolds chapter by chapter with the right amount of twists and turns. We meet two people struggling with their circumstances. Their lives collide in an unusual way and we become witnesses to their story. I quickly dived into the story and became invested in their universe. There are pain and grief between the pages, but also tenderness and understanding. As someone who works in the mental health field, I thoroughly appreciated how Nigel presented the subject with dignity and respect. It's refreshing to find a story where a person can struggle with mental health but still be worthy of self-agency and love. We need more books like this!


A million thanks to NetGalley, John Hunt Publishing Ltd, and Roundfire Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Where to start about this lovely book? First of all, I've been a fan of Nigel Cooper after reading his debut novel, Beat the Rain which I absolutely loved! Dare I say this one is even better? The plot is so incredibly unique and yet all parts of it work to create a beautiful and heartfelt story that weaves in social commentary without becoming preachy. When Natalie's husband, Joe dies in her arms after a horrific car accident, his spirit enters Dan, a homeless man standing nearby. But how can Dan convince Natalie that he's not a fraud and her dead husband can live on through his memories? Why on earth would she believe him? Shockingly, she appears to as Joe speaks to her with his own accent and relates the lovely and sentimental details of their first date. But there's a discrepancy between appearance and reality. What secrets are they both keeping and why? With marvelously flawed characters and poignant, lovely writing, Cooper speaks to the themes of passion, guilt, redemption, depression, mental illness, and homelessness. And for fans of Beat the Rain, he brings in a cross-over character, Louise which is a treat for those of us who loved that novel. The book will make you laugh and make you cry as the storyline is slowly revealed in voices of Joe, Dan, and Natalie. It will also keep you guessing until the very end; quite simply put, it is superb!

Review Book reviewers are a conservative, brow wrinkling lot and very rarely spew forth superlatives such as brilliant or exceptional when referring to a work by a relatively new author.

Nigel Jay Cooper deserves better.

Initially I thought this read would be a bit of a chuckle, you know, guy gets hit by a car, his consciousness flies into a derelict guy who happens by; a bit comedic really. Not so.

What evolves is a cerebral, closely woven tragedy of use and misuse, of premeditated deception, the conflicting needs of the two (or is it three) main protagonists and the eventual resignation to a co-existence with faults and flaws in tact.

For me it was a page turner, an exhausting yet rewarding glimpse into the dark realms of the self.

Thanks to NetGalley and Roundfire Books for the privilege of reviewing this work. (less)

I am not sure what drew me to this book as it is not my usual genre. But I've been right to trust my instincts before so I did so again and, once again, I was rewarded with a really good read. It's a little out of the ordinary, as were the previous couple of books I have read by the same publisher, but hey, different is often good, as it was again in this case.
So, we start with the harrowing scene of a fatal car accident, culminating in Natalie cradling Joe, her dying husband. It is witnessed by Dan who we later find out is homeless. Something really affects him about what he witnessed and he starts to believe that his body has been invaded by Joe's spirit. Driven by strange feelings, Dan is determined to find Natalie, to reunite her with Joe, and eventually turns up on her doorstep. He tells her things about Joe, Natalie and their relationship which she confirms and so lets him into her home. But are things really as they appear? Is Dan really possessed by Joe; did his spirit pass into him at his time of death? How could he know what he does if not? Or is there something more sinister afoot? After all, who would invite a homeless stranger into their house willingly if everything wasn't OK?
It was quite obvious to me from pretty early on what was going on with some of the characters but there was so much still unknown that that really didn't matter. And there was always the chance I was wrong. The author then went on to drip feed me more information and evidence throughout the book as the scenes played out which gave my guess more credence and also sense along the way. This was on the whole timed to perfection as it gave me enough clarification to satisfy, whilst at the same time keeping enough back to maintain my interest throughout.
A lot of the action is played out twice. First from the pov of one character, then later on by another. Whilst this could have been repetitive, there was enough different to make it necessary rather than just padding, although maybe some of the second viewings could have been pruned a little bit to slim down the unnecessary parts. Only a bit, mind.
The characterisation was, for me, excellent. It is hard to write wounded characters well so they appear credible. One of my favourite authors is Matthew Quick and he is brilliant at this, which is why I love his books so much. The author here also nails this very well. And he also does so with great sensitivity given some of the subject matter. I'd really love to give examples of this here but I fear it would contain spoilers so you'll just have to trust me on that. I will just say that the way that the characters develop through the book, as more of their real selves are exposed, was really something quite special.
It was also quite an emotional read, probably because I believed in the characters and was willing to invest in them. But as much as it was, at times, on the sad side, there was always hope bubbling under and there were several really uplifting and indeed moving scenes which made the book as a whole very balanced.
I've not read this author's first book Beat the Rain, but on the back of reading this, I will definitely be adding that to my TBR. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

One word for this book...simply brilliant and a must read!

What an intriguing story-line. Dan is a homeless man who witnesses a fatal car accident, he watches as Natalie cradles the head of her dying husband and then disappears !
Dan then pops up claiming to be possessed by her dead husbands spirit - what will Natalie do? how will she discover the truth behind the claims?
An un-put-a-down-able read that keeps you at the edge of your seat and involved with the twists and turns at every page.
Thank you Netgalley

The story gets going right away with twists from the beginning and they continue until the end. Though the events are not presented chronologically, Cooper masterfully structures the book that adds to the story. There are so many elements, such as family, love and mental health. What is mental illness verses simply finding unconventional ways to cope? What is love versus control?

Cooper slowly exposes each of these three characters, and we gradually discover the unsettling present and past of each of them.

I recommend The Pursuit of Ordinary to those who want to read anything but the ordinary.

The complete review will be posted on www.underratedreads.com on the release date of Apr. 27