On the HahaFiction shelf
The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year
When her children leave home, Eva climbs into bed and stops taking care of everyone. Her husband Brian wants his familiar life back, including someone to make dinner. Eva’s refusal draws her relatives into the bedroom and brings the marriage’s neglected problems into view.
From the publisher’s blurb
“The day her children leave home, Eva climbs into bed and stays there.”Read the full description at Penguin Books
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What makes it funny?
Brian asks about dinner, Eva says she isn’t hungry, and he has to explain that he meant his dinner. When he calls her mother for help, a perm takes priority; the hairdresser even explains the legal complications of abandoning the treatment halfway through.
The comedy at work
Eva stops doing things, and everyone else reveals what they assumed she would keep doing forever. Brian’s dependence becomes particularly obvious when he has nobody left to tell him what to do. The arguments turn ordinary household routines into a prolonged family crisis.
Try this if…
Domestic satire about unappreciated work is the main attraction. Readers in book groups remember it as funny and thought provoking, and the simple image of a woman staying in bed for a year sticks with them.
Good to know
Infidelity, sexual references, swearing and cruel comments about bodies are part of the family portrait. BookerWorm’s reviewer enjoyed the laughs but found Eva increasingly selfish later. Alex Clark notes bleak stretches alongside the comedy.
A few distinguishing details
- A mother’s refusal to leave bed disrupts the household
- A domestic crisis competing with a perm appointment
More funny family comedy
Sources & further reading
- Publisher
Publisher
- Penguin opening extract
Reading sample
- Guardian review
Review
- Book review
Review
- Reader discussion
Reader discussion
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