Good Eggs - Rebecca Hardiman

There are indeed a few “good eggs” in Rebecca Hardiman’s debut novel Good Eggs, but the truly good ones are not easily identifiable at first glance. Some of the “eggs” are better than others, some are not as good as they first seem to be, and others turn out to be a whole lot better than we thought they were. And, Dublin’s Gogarty family fills almost a whole carton of “eggs” all by itself.

Kevin Gogarty, father of twin teenaged daughters, a younger daughter, and a small son, has found himself relegated to the role of house-husband in recent months. His wife has necessarily taken on a more time-consuming job in order to support the family at least until Kevin manages to find a new job for himself. It doesn’t help, however, that all of Kevin’s experience is in a dying industry whose job-base is rapidly shrinking. In the meantime, Kevin is doing a passable job as house-husband while rather halfheartedly looking for a job and keeping tabs on his 82-year-old mother. 

Kevin’s world, though, is about to get interesting. Millie, his mother, seems greatly to be enjoying some of the freedoms that come with advanced age: speaking her mind, dressing comfortably at all times, eating whatever she wants to eat at all hours of the day and night, and — in her mind, at least — even a little bit of recreational shoplifting. It’s that last bit that gives Kevin the opportunity to finally insist that his mother accept a home-visiting caretaker into her life, a development that Millie sees as placing her giant step closer to the nursing home life she so dreads. In the meantime, Aideen, one of Kevin’s twins, has become so rebellious and unhappy with her life, that Kevin and his wife decide to send her away to boarding school. 

Rebecca Hardiman

Now, Kevin thinks, life will settle down into the calm routine he needs if he is to get on seriously with his job search. Let’s just say that Kevin could not have been more wrong about that if he had tried. 

Bottom Line: Good Eggs is a very funny novel with a heart. At times, the humor is almost slapstick in nature, but the reader is always aware that Millie Gogarty is really just an old woman trying to make the most of what time she has left. She is a memorable character, one with whom many readers will easily identify as they prepare (and hope) to age with a bang rather than with a whimper themselves. It is impossible not to cheer on Millie and Aideen as they enjoy together the adventure of their lifetimes. This one is fun.

Review Copy provided by Publisher - Novel to be published in March 2021