Talking Location With Joanna O’Donoghue – WORLD
Hens head for IBIZA
13th March 2023
Mother Hens by Sophie McCartney, hens head for IBIZA (Cheshire and Las Vegas).
IBIZA: The White Island – party capital of the world and hedonistic musical must for anyone looking to worship at the temple of electric dance music – has always been at the very top or our bucket list of things to do before we got too old” – says Cara.
You know the drill. Trauma, drama, plenty of booze, the odd glock cock and plenty of lascivious encounters including Hispanic hotties and notable Spanish tap’ass. Revenge is also part of the equation. I think that gives you some idea of what you are in for if you decide to pick up this novel. Oh, and by the way, one of the chapter headings is ‘Bienb’hen’ido’. Get it? You get the drift…..
Cara Stringer, née Carmichael, aged 37, is married to Dom, a professional football manager (although elsewhere he is referred to as the assistant head coach, and yes, it is Man United) and consequently they live in a huge house in Cheshire. She still fancies him but he has a secret that blows up her world. Move on two years and she is hell bent on accompanying her friend Jac and more friends on her hen do to Ibiza.
They fly into Ibiza and soon arrive at Unicorn Utopia (yup), their sacred spiritual sanctuary in the middle of nowhere. What, no alcohol, someone is surely having a laugh? Er, this isn’t what they bargained for and they do not intend to spend their short time on the island tramping about in nature and contemplating their navels, so they decamp to a very upmarket establishment, where Cara is confronted by the last people on earth she would expect to meet. Her sister and mother. Given they all have a rather delicate history of late, this may not turn out well.
From here on in, the novel romps its way to the end, as it loops and bucks and gurns (referring to the ecstasy gurn), with a short hop over to Las Vegas. This is a book that pumps along at full velocity (much like the party beat on the island) and it sometimes feels relentless, with its often acute observations and lewd descriptions (get this one: Jac, now the colour of an angry penis about to go off….) Yes, it is funny and over the top. It’s too much at times, but, as a reader, you certainly feel you get your money’s worth.
Tina for the TripFiction Team
Join Team TripFiction on Social Media:
Twitter (@TripFiction), Facebook (@TripFiction.Literarywanderlust), YouTube (TripFiction #Literarywanderlust), Instagram (@TripFiction) and Pinterest (@TripFiction)