Review: BECOMING LIZ TAYLOR by Elizabeth Delo

 

Becoming Liz Taylor by Elizabeth Delo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

'An accomplished and memorable debut full of heart and heartbreak - an absolute corker for reading groups!' Ruth Hogan, bestselling author of The Keeper of Lost Things Val, a widow living in Weston-super-Mare, spends lonely evenings dressing up as the movie star Elizabeth Taylor. It seems to be a way of coping with the loss and sadness she has experienced in her life. One day, when Val sees a pram left unattended on the seafront, on a whim she kicks off the brake and walks away with it... Set in the present and the 1970s, BECOMING LIZ TAYLOR is a vivid and touching depiction of love, loss and bereavement - thought-provoking, moving fiction for fans of Rachel Joyce, Emma Healey and Ruth Hogan.****Shortlisted for the debut novel prize at the 'Festival du Premier Roman' in Chambéry.***

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I picked this book up on a bit of a whim really. I was in Waterstones and saw that a new romance display had just been created on one of the tables, and this was one of the covers that really stood out to me. I've been trying to read a bit more contemporary fiction and romance recently, and as soon as I read the back of the cover, I was hooked!

I started the book a couple hours after buying it, and by the end of the day, I'd read half. The next day, I finished it. I simply couldn't read it quick enough.

There's something so compelling and enticing about Elizabeth Delo's writing. I think this is the first time I've read a novel that's got a narrator in their 70s, and it was very refreshing and I really appreciated the POV (normally, I read YA or narrators in their 20s or 30s).

Val is such a complex character. She's so flawed, but we can see why she's like this, and it's heartbreaking watching some of her decisions. So many times I was screaming at her! She felt so real, and I think that's what made this story so stunning and a compulsive read. Because, yes, Val is the villain. She kidnaps a baby. Only she thinks she's doing the right thing. She doesn't see it as kidnap. And while I wanted the baby to be reunited with his mother, I also desperately didn't want Val to be caught and punished.

In this stunning debut, Delo offers us a mixture of complex characters, heart, and insight into families.

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