Not Working by Lisa Owens

Not Working by Lisa Owens
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Claire Flannery has quit her job in order to discover her true vocation - only to realize she has no idea how to go about finding it. Whilst everyone around her seems to have their lives entirely under control, Claire finds herself sinking under pressure and wondering where her own fell apart. 'It's fine,' her grandmother says. 'I remember what being your age was like - of course, I had four children under eight then, but modern life is different, you've got an awful lot on.'

I was not sure of what to make of the writing style of Not Working by Lisa Owens, written in vignette form it reads like a cross between diary entries or notes for a story, this did make parts of it seem unfinished at times but sticking with it does allow for it all to come together eventually.


I am not really a fan of this style of writing as I do find it a bit disjointed similar to Adrian Mole books although having said this I did enjoy the Adrian Mole diaries once I had adapted to this style. This is pretty much how I felt with Not Working, I did persevere but it was a struggle as I didn't read this in one sitting or over a few days so because of this the style was hard work to follow.


I liked the humour but felt I couldn't really relate to Claire who leaves her well paid job to 'find herself' and embarks on months of unemployment and strained relationships with her friends, her boyfriend and her parents. It all seems to go on forever and you feel the frustration of those around her which did in turn rub off on me reading the novel. It just seemed a bit pointless really and therefore I can only give this one 3 stars - sorry Lisa not for me.

I would like to thank the publisher for this in exchange for an honest review.