Paulette, the protagonist of Kit de Waal’s latest novel, isn’t perfect: she can be judgmental and stubborn; she often speaks sharply; and she probably drinks too much Appleton rum. But De Waal’s candid narration makes it difficult not to love her.
The Best of Everything is the Birmingham-born author’s sixth book and her first novel for adults since 2018’s The Trick to Time. She made her name with her 2016 debut, My Name Is Leon, which established her as a writer full of heart.
We meet Paulette, who came to Britain from St Kitts as a child, when she is 29. It’s the 1970s and she is an auxiliary nurse. For work she wears “shoes so sensible they could pass A-level maths”. At home she’s desperately in love with Denton, whose “smell is pure man – sweat, soap and sex”. That’s until the worst happens: he is killed in a car crash. Worse still, after his death Paulette learns he has a wife and children he hadn’t told her about.
All of this happens disconcertingly rapidly, at the beginning. Then, within a page, Paulette is living with Denton’s best friend, with whom she has a son called Bird. This is the backdrop to the core relationships Paulette forms in this tale: with Frank, the man who killed Denton in the crash, and Frank’s grandson, Nellie, who is about Bird’s age and doesn’t have a mother of his own.
De Waal’s tone is warm and wise. She has a knack for the small charming moment, such as when Frank and Nellie arrive late for Christmas dinner at Paulette’s. When she opens the door, Frank is wearing oven gloves and holding out a cake tin, which he quickly withdraws. “Rather too hot at the moment,” he says. “We had to wait for it to be cooked. We timed it but may have been somewhat over-optimistic.” It’s equal parts sitcom material and – when you know that this tie-wearing old man is single-handedly bringing up his grandchild – also devastating.
De Waal is funny too, especially when she inhabits Paulette’s consciousness and her character’s Caribbean inflections become more pronounced. When her friends try to console her after Denton’s death, we get: “Them with their side-eye. Them with their cleverness … how two and two always makes four but Paulette can’t count.” You can just see her rolling her eyes.
Paulette’s tenderness towards Frank and Nellie feels unrealistic at first, while her outbursts elsewhere seem unjustified. But, as she eases herself out of her protective shell, we come to learn that this is a book about forgiveness. And by seeing De Waal’s protagonist change some of her ways, we realise that we shouldn’t have been so quick to judge her either.
• The Best of Everything by Kit de Waal is published by Tinder Press (£20). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply
