Product Description

A swanky new gym has opened in leafy south-west London. Four women bond over push ups and Pilates and become firm friends. Percy likes sorting out other people's problems, but her own life is a shambles, with a terrible secret addiction. Can she kick it and win back the love of her husband? Patrice, wealthy but damaged, wants another baby, but husband Jonty isn't interested in sex. Is it her imagination, or is he getting too close to the husband of one of her new friends? Carmen is living dangerously, determined to get pregnant by her cold, treacherous boyfriend. She doesn't see what is under her nose until it's nearly too late. Suzanne adores her sexy second husband, but is she neglecting him for her job? And has she realised what is happening to her teenage daughter? New best friends. Their friendship is about to be tested to the limit.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #102013 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

Daily Mirror
'Smart, funny and poignant gym-lit starring four highly believable women'

Closer
'Friendship is tested to the limit in this impressive, emotional debut'

Penny Vincenzi
'Fun, funny and fast - a really lovely novel'

Customer Reviews

A lovely, enjoyable read
I have never felt the urge to write a review before, so this is a first for me! I absolutely loved this book, it was warm and funny and I carried it everywhere with me until I had finished it. I cannot wait for the next book from this author. Thanks for an enjoyable read !

fabulous book


Firstly this is a book about friendship. Set against a fresh, fast backdrop of modern life - the gym, the home, the family - Emma Burstall's style is light and accessible. The characters are immediately appealing - she doesn't patronise or judge and because of this I began to really care about these people. Complex and challenging themes are dealt with - morality, addiction, ambition, disappointment, the work life balance, longing and sexuality. Ultimately it's a book about forgiveness in its many forms. For Mark, Suzanne and Justin their relationships reach breaking point before they can forgive, whilst for Simon, Patrice and Percy acceptance is the key. There are some beautiful and tender character portrayals, both recognisable and familiar - bald, middle aged Mark will always be more attractive than the fit cheeky Danni. But despite its serious themes, Gym and Slimline is a lot of fun. By the end it seemed hard to believe I wouldn't be meeting up with these friends later at the gym myself. I'm just hoping I'll bump into them in a future novel.

Make mine a double!
This book is about four women who make the decision to join the new local gym and become involved in each others lives not just in the classes but also outside as well. They all have their secrets and passions which they choose not to share with the entire group, but keep to them and portray an image of coping well with whatever life throws at them.

There is no timescale to this book, you have no sense of how long a period of time these events are taking but they are happening and it is very much real for Percy, Suzanne, Patrice and Carmen. The author cleverly uses a class timetable to split the book up and we are launched straight into the warm up (very important!) introducing us to all the main characters and a little bit about each of them. As the story develops and the girls find new classes to inflict upon themselves we slowly find out more about them and their lives. This is what I think makes a good book, to tell us everything in the first few pages means you can lose interest in the plot and lose faith in the characters if you know everything there is to know about them.

Percy is trying to hold everything together, whilst her marriage is seemingly crumbling around her and her addiction is just getting out of control. Suzanne is trying to balance the fact that she is a successful career woman with four children that need her time and love but also a younger husband that just might be fed up of being walked over. Patrice is stuck in a sexless controlling marriage and cannot see a way out without causing upset, and just why is her husband behaving in such a strange way. Carmen is determined not to be the only one who doesn't have children and plots to change the situation.

The relationships these characters have are all intertwined and weave nicely throughout the book. At times (like life) it is only just a couple of them, or all of them trying to make sense of what is happening but without actually sharing all the detail with each other.

The author has used some very modern references within this book to relate it to the here and now, anyone who goes to the gym will recognise the class names, the equipment used even the descriptions of the changing rooms are spot on in my opinion. The issues the four women deal with were perhaps common seventy years ago but they were not dealt with in such an upfront way. Percy's addiction is an old one but with a modern twist on it and Suzanne's situation is perhaps becoming more and more common. Patrice is dealing with a problem which in the past would have been not talked about and swept under the carpet. Carmen's dreams were shattered and she is still trying to rebuild them.

A great book for escaping into and you will be drawn into their story very quickly and very easy. Worth a read.