Product Description

Grace Lisa Vandenburg counts. The letters in her name (19). The steps she takes every morning to the local café (920). The number of poppy seeds on her orange cake, which dictates the number of bites she’ll take to eat it. Grace counts everything, because that way there are no unpleasant surprises.

Seamus Joseph O’Reilly (also a 19) thinks she might be better off without the counting. If she could hold down a job, say. Or open her cupboards without conducting an inventory, or leave her flat without measuring the walls.

Grace’s problem is that Seamus doesn’t count. Her other problem is . . . he does.

As Grace struggles to balance a new relationship with old habits, to find a way to change while staying true to herself, she realises that nothing is more chaotic than love.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #35395 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-12
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Guardian
'Brimming with sarcastic humour'

Review
'Bringing a quirky humour and a sympathetic view of diversity to her story, the author sustains the momentum to the end of this engaging romantic comedy' (The Times )

'An unusual and intriguing novel, written with a very light touch' (Daily Mail )

'Brimming with sarcastic humour' (Guardian )

'Toni Jordan's debut is mature, witty and entertaining' (Irish Times )

'It's laugh-out-loud funny and painfully sad in turns . . . It is a quick read and extremely hard to put down, as you get addicted to Grace's addictive personality' (Amanda Ross, Richard & Judy Summer Read )

'You'll be hearing more from this talented author' (Choice )

'A sweet, charming, witty, romantic book' (BBC Radio 2, The Weekender )

Choice
'You'll be hearing more from this talented author'

Customer Reviews

3.5 stars rather than 4
This is actually quite an odd book and I fluctuated between how I felt about it. Overall, it's not quite 4 stars for me as I feel it went on too long. As there isn't much product description the plot revolves around Grace Lisa Vandenberg who has an obsessive compulsive disorder - for counting. Naturally this consumes her life, from the simplest things like the number of bananas in her shopping trolley through to things like keeping the speedometer level when driving. She doesn't work, she can't drive and isn't in a relationship with anyone, nor does she have any friends.

As the book progresses we know when and where the counting started and we are actually informed early on in the novel, but it didn't make sense to me initially. The first chapter is quite difficult to read. If you can get past that then you are in for a decent read. It isn't brilliant but it is certainly different. She has an admiration for Nikola Tesla, the inventor of electricity and this is where the novel fell down for me. We spend far too much time reading about him and his life, how he made his discoveries etc, whereas I'd rather have been reading about Grace.

Her family have done their best to support her but the only one who really gets her is her niece Larry. She's actually called Hilary, the rest of the family call her Hilly but for some reason Grace calls her Larry. Early in the novel (the first chapter) in walks Seamus Joseph O'Reilly who could play a big part in her life if it wasn't for the counting. This was more interesting than Nikola Tesla but still more information was revealed about electricity and its uses, it just wasn't interesting but it might be for someone. A novel I'm pleased I've read, one that's certainly different from the norm but one I won't be shouting from the roof tops about.

Sweet and quirky romance
Grace has a type of OCD which means that she is obsessed with counting and measuring her world. Numbers and routines dictate her life. For example, the number of poppyseeds on her cake determine how many bites she must take to eat it - between 20 and 30 is optimal. She shops in multiples of 10 and when she discovers one day in the supermarket that she has only 9 bananas, she swipes one from the shopper behind her. Which is how she meets Seamus.

I thought the subject matter of this book might make it a sombre read, but it's not at all. Grace is a witty narrator and the books tears along - I easily read it in a day. The story is about her relationship with Seamus and how they come to terms with her condition. In many ways it's a celebration of the way that we are all unique. It's a sweet, quirky, warm little book, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It's hard to believe that this is Toni Jordan's first novel. I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.

great book.....brilliant message
Couldn't put this book down. I laughed and I cried. This book is like a beautifully wrapped gift....inside is a clever and moving message about tolerance and understanding wrapped up in a history lesson and heart warming love story. Jordon delivers much, don't miss the opportunity!