The Woman Who Went To Bed For A Year by Sue Townsend

Award-winning author Sue Townsend has given the diaries of Adrian Mole a well-earned rest, and has released her latest literary offering, which focuses on a woman who refuses to leave her bed for a year.

Eva Beaver is a mother, wife and homemaker. She runs around after her astronomer husband, Brian, and their two teenage twins, Brianne and Brian Junior, until one day, she simply has enough.

The day the twins leave for university, Eva climbs into her bed and stays there. Her family thinks she's having a breakdown, but yet Eva is fine - she just wants life to stop.

Her bed-bound status opens several cans of worms, including the discovery of her husband's infidelity.

However, there is a glimmer of hope for Eva in the shape of Alexander, a white van man who becomes her carer. And when things come to a head, Eva is shocked by who she has become.

Sadly, fans of Townsend's novels may not find this work appealing. The characters are difficult to like and the storyline is, at times, farcical.

A bit of a disappointment.

5/10 (Review by Emma Everingham)