Crossed Wires...Review

About the book:
This is the story of Mina, a girl at a Sheffield call centre whose next customer in the queue is Peter, a Cambridge geography don who has crashed his car into a tree stump when swerving to avoid a cat. Despite their obvious differences, they've got a lot in common -- both single, both parents, both looking for love. Could it be that they've just found it? 

Crossed Wires is an old-fashioned fairy tale. It is about the small joys and tribulations of parenthood; about one-ness and two-ness; about symmetry and coincidence; about the things that separate us and the things that bring us together. 

A real story, about real people. People with families you could understand. People you could possibly know, and certainly, people you would like.

Mina, a young single mother, works each day at a call center for an auto insurance company. Peter, a widowed, single father with twin daughters, teaches at Cambridge University. Their worlds are miles apart, literally and figuratively, but when Peter calls one day with an accident claim, something clicks. The phone wires cross in such a way that two people who, by rights, should have never met, are unwittingly drawn towards each other.

At first, they simply speak to each other on the phone weekly. Their lives move forward and the supporting characters: Peter's twin daughters Cassie and Kim, his graduate student Trish and two best friends Martin and Jeremy, as well as Mina's daughter Sal are delightful additions to the story. There are small, every day joys and larger, every day frustrations. Then, as their friendship develops, Peter is the one to whom Mina turns when she faces a parent's greatest fear.

Quintessentially English. An enjoyable, moving read. Quite simply, what should be simply an ordinary story is, instead, a charming story about the ups and downs of every day life and the joy you can find in family and friends.

Rosy Thornton sent me her novel directly, and for that, I am very grateful! I look forward to reading her other books. You can learn more about Rosy Thornton here. You can purchase your own copy here.

Read 5/09

* * * *
4/5 Stars