The Cactus: the New York bestselling debut soon to be a Netflix film starring Reese Witherspoon

Sarah Haywood

Jan 2018 · Hachette UK

About this ebook

SOON TO BE A NETFLIX ORIGINAL STARRING REESE WITHERSPOON
A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICK
'I found myself laughing out loud at Susan's prickly character' Reese Witherspoon
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | SHORTLISTED FOR THE BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD | A RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK

People aren't sure what to make of Susan Green. Family and colleagues find her prickly and hard to understand - but Susan makes perfect sense to herself. Age 45, she thinks her life is perfect. She has a London flat which is ideal for one; a steady job that suits her passion for logic; and a personal arrangement providing cultural and other, more intimate, benefits.

Yet suddenly faced with the loss of her mother and, implausibly, with the possibility of becoming a mother herself, Susan's greatest fear is being realised: she is losing control. And things can only get worse ... at least in Susan's eyes.

This sparkling debut is a breath of fresh air with real heart and a powerful emotional punch. In Susan we find a character as exasperating and delightful as The Rosie Project's Don Tillman. An uncompromising feminist and a fierce fighter, it's a joy to watch her bloom.

An ideal read for fans of Eleanor Oliphant, Bridget Jones and Maggie's Plan.
'Quirky, poignant and extremely readable' Sunday Mirror
'Brilliantly comic' The Lady
'Wonderfully funny and astute' Red
'Funny, compelling, well-written...for fans of Marian Keyes who demand a bit of grit in their comic writing' Emerald Street

Ratings and reviews

I'm not entirely sure if I enjoyed this book or not. It is certainly very well written. It certainly has strong characters. It has a believable(ish) plot that moves fairly smoothly. However, I did find that I couldn't actually read for more than an hour without having to put it down and go and do something else. I'm not entirely sure why this was but it was perhaps more to do with Susan's character than anything else - abrasive doesn't begin to even cover it. Sadly, I did recognise myself in a lot of Susan - particularly when at work and her desire to generally avoid human to human interaction. Maybe this just made it all cut a bit close to home but I'm genuinely not sure. It also didn't help that I found the romantic facet of the story to be a rather strange. Yes, you can guess where it will all end up more or less from their first meeting but getting there wasn't exactly fun. Despite Susan's protestations of self-reliance it all feels a little bit desperate and hostile rather than insouciant with hefty dollops of "methinks the lady doth protest too much". I did like how Susan's character softens throughout the story though and how this was shown as being due to friendships that crept up on her rather than merely hormonal. I did like the friction between Susan and Edward; fraternal relationships can be so difficult. The battle surrounding her deceased mother's estate was well constructed and all too realistic - right down to the needless litigation. Although, the conclusion of that felt like a little bit of a cop out somehow. On the whole I was left a little bit confounded by this book and although I finished it nearly a week ago now I'm still undecided as to how enjoyable I found the reading experience.

Brill character study. If you enjoyed, Eleanor Oliphant this will be right up your street. Didn't want it to end!

Enjoyed reading. It is never too late to rediscover oneself and life at middle age.

About the author

Sarah Haywood was born in Birmingham. After studying Law, she worked in London and Birkenhead as a solicitor, in Toxteth as an advice worker, and in Manchester as an investigator of complaints about lawyers. She lives in Liverpool with her husband and two sons. Her debut novel, The Cactus, was a Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick, a Richard and Judy Book Club Pick, and was shortlisted for the Author's Club Best First Novel Award.