Last night my husband, Max, looked at me over his half-eaten Pad Thai and in calm, measured tones, said, ‘I’ve had enough.’
I was preoccupied thinking about our two children, who’d left on a school camp that afternoon, so didn’t pay much attention as he pushed his plate away, stood up and disappeared out the kitchen door.
Lucy Springer’s life is in chaos. Her husband has left her, her house is in pieces, the result of a never-ending renovation, and her acting career has descended into an abyss of auditions for dog poo commercials. After a few days in a Grange Hermitage-induced fugue, Lucy decides she needs to get on with her life. First she needs to get the builders under control. Three months behind schedule is more than enough. Then she needs to sort out her image so she’ll land those new roles. Lastly, a trip to Bail to sort out her husband and his nineteen year old girlfriend is on the agenda. But will any of these things work, or will Lucy’s life continue to spiral out of control?
Lucy Springer Gets Even is a funny, fast paced read about life, love, and settling the score. Lucy is a self-deprecating first person narrator who recognises her imperfections (well, some of them, anyway) and finds strength in the curveballs life seems intent on throwing at her. Her husband’s departure with the babysitter is the wakeup call that she needs to take charge of her own life, and she sets about doing that – with mixed results, initially.
At times sad, at others wise, this is mostly a humorous feel good book about one woman’s triumph over adversity.
Lucy Springer Gets Even, by Lisa Heidke
Allen & Unwin, 2009