Ralph's Party: 4 Stars

Lisa Jewell has been one of my favorite authors for quite some time now and her novel, "Ralph's Party" lived up to expectations. A brief outline of the plot and my overall thoughts on the novel are below.

Plot/Characters

Throughout this novel, we follow along with the stories of several different characters.

Ralph: A once talented artist now struggling to find his passion. However, when his new roommate, Jem moves in, his thought process starts to change. However, he may be too late when Jem strikes up a relationship with his current roommate, Smith. Ralph realizes what he wants and goes for it in a big way when he throws his infamous party.

Smith: Roommates with Ralph and hot-shot business guy. Obsessed with his upstairs neighbor, Cheri, Smith has not taken a lover in 5 years. That all changes once the cheerful Jem arrives as their new flatmate. After one too many drinks Smith and Jem find themselves in bed together and thus start a romantic relationship. Smith's intentions, however, are less than honorable, and sees this as a new way to woo the lovely Cheri.

Jem: A free-spirit romantic who recently moved in with Ralph and Smith and believes her destiny is to marry one of them. Now dating Smith Jem starts spending more time with Ralph making her unsure of her decision to choose Smith. Several uncovered truths leave Jem in a difficult position.

Karl: An aspiring radio personality who just landed his dream job as a radio DJ. While in love with his girlfriend, Karl strikes up an affair with the upstairs neighbor, Cheri. Karl discovers in the same conversation with Cheri that one, he has gotten her pregnant, and two, she has aborted the baby. Overcome with feelings of guilt for his unfaithfulness and his anger towards Cheri for "killing his baby" Karl begins his downward spiral.

Siobhan: Long-time girlfriend of Karl who struggles with confidence and her weight. Although Karl has always been loving and kind, Siobhan can't help but feel like she's going to lose him to his new job and high status. Throughout the novel we see Siobhan grow into her confidence, find her purpose and realize the true source of what has been holding her back.

Cheri: An uppity woman who above all else wants to be desired and find wealth. Once she realizes Karl is the first man to not "desire" her, Cheri makes it her mission to trap him into an affair. The outcome is not as she hoped.

We follow these characters through love triangles, affairs, triumphs, self-discovery, and betrayal. While all these characters lead different lives we see them all come together in a big way. At the end of the novel, the characters are forced to come face to face with the consequences of their actions.

My thoughts

I love Jewell's writing style. She gets so descriptive when writing the through processes of her characters. At first, it's a little cringeworthy to be inside someone's head like that However, I believe it speaks to the talent of the author to be able to elicit those types of emotions from the reader. The fact that Jewell takes what is inside someone's head and scrawls it out on the page for all to see is what makes the novel so real.

Think about the times you've had a thought in your head that if spoken out loud people would think you're insane or a horrible person. That's Ralph's Party.

At some points, I felt the book to be a little dark and twisted. If you're looking for a book that ends with everyone living happily ever after, this is not it. However, if you're ready for a more serious read that takes into account the struggles, deception, and love of everyday life, give it a read!

As always, thank you for reading!

Leah Lawrence