Well At Least the Cover Makes Sense

TITLE: The Bus on Thursday
AUTHOR: Shirley Barrett
PUBLISHER: MCD x FSG Originals
PUBLISHING DATE: September 18, 2018

FROM GOODREADS: It wasn’t just the bad breakup that turned Eleanor Mellett’s life upside down. It was the cancer. And all the demons that came with it.

One day she felt a bit of a bump when she was scratching her armpit at work. The next thing she knew, her breast was being dissected and removed by an inappropriately attractive doctor, and she was suddenly deluged with cupcakes, judgy support groups, and her mum knitting sweaters.

Luckily, Eleanor discovers Talbingo, a remote little town looking for a primary-school teacher. Their Miss Barker up and vanished in the night, despite being the most caring teacher ever, according to everyone. Unfortunately, Talbingo is a bit creepy. It’s not just the communion-wine-guzzling friar prone to mad rants about how cancer is caused by demons. Or the unstable, overly sensitive kids, always going on about Miss Barker and her amazing sticker system. It’s living alone in a remote cabin, with no cell or Internet service, wondering why there are so many locks on the front door and who is knocking on it late at night.

Riotously funny, deeply unsettling, and surprisingly poignant, Shirley Barrett’s The Bus on Thursday is a wickedly weird, wild ride for fans of Helen Fielding, Maria Semple, and Stephen King.

MY THOUGHTS:  I will be honest and admit that this is a hard book for me to review.  On one hand, I loved it.  The main character, Eleanor, is snarky and sarcastic and since the book is told from first-person blog form, the reader gets plenty of her attitude.  On the other hand though, it kind of has am ambiguous tone to it.  Is all the crazy stuff really happening or is Eleanor slowly falling off her rocker?

Shortly after being dumped by her boyfriend of four years, Eleanor learns she has breast cancer.  After over a year of treatment, she is ready to move on and lands the job of a lifetime as a teacher in the small community of Talbingo.  However, things quickly become very weird and before long, Eleanor is having late night sexual encounters with one of her student's brothers and the local friar is trying to exorcise her of the demon which caused her cancer. 

As I mentioned, I really liked Eleanor but let's be honest, there's a whole lot of crazy going on in this book.  I can see where some might become easily irritated with Eleanor and her foul mouth and moods, but I didn't and I was really cheering her on.  There is a small mystery as to what happened to the original teacher Eleanor replaced and I would like to say I now know what happened, but I don't.

I'd say this book is pretty light on horror but deep down, it may have deeper horror roots than originally thought.  So am I confusing you?  Welcome to the bus.  However, even with all this, I really enjoyed the book and had a hard time putting it down.

I do feel if people like their books tied up in neat little packages (even if those packages contain a severed head or are dripping blood), then "The Bus on Thursday" might not be the best book to pick up this Halloween season.  But if you are even remotely interested, hop in, strap on your seatbelt and prepare for a bumpy ride.

MY RATING: 4 PAWS