Blog Tour ~ Making Space by Sarah Tierney

 Jaffareadstoo is delighted to be hosting a stop on the Making Space Blog Tour

What's it all about...

Miriam is twenty-nine: temping, living with a flatmate who is no longer a friend, and still trying to find her place in life. She falls in love with Erik after he employs her to clear out his paper-packed home. They are worlds apart: he is forty-five, a successful photographer and artist and an obsessive hoarder still haunted by the end of his marriage. Miriam has an unsuccessful love life and has just got rid of most of her belongings. Somehow, they must find a way to reach each other.

What did I think about it...

Miriam seems to be a lost soul, struggling to live her life to her full potential. She lives with a flat mate she doesn't like very much and who seems to treat Miriam with complete disregard. Miriam's unsatisfactory work life leaves her feeling even more bereft, that is, until she comes into contact with Erik, a man who is as lost as she is, and who is struggling with his own problems which, at times, seem insurmountable.

This was a really astute look into the way we behave as human beings. How circumstances can affect the way we act, and of the coping mechanisms we choose to protect us from further hurt and pain. There is an acute realism to the narrative which is both bittersweet and tender and which gives such a sensitive look at life and love and which reiterates that we can only control our lives to a certain point, after which fate takes over.

I loved both Miriam and Erik from the start and felt both their isolation and their uniqueness, which comes across in the shrewd attention to detail and in the gentle way the author allows their combined stories to unfold.

I particularly enjoyed the Manchester ❤ references, a proud city I know and love, and of course, Morecambe fish and chips, who can resist that!

Making Space is undoubtedly a very confident and beautifully written first novel by a talented writer who I look forward to reading more from in the future.

Best Read with...Morecambe Bay fish and chips, straight out of the wrapper and tangy with salt and vinegar..

About the author

Sarah Tierney is a graduate of the MA in Novel Writing at Manchester University, and her short story, ‘Five Miles Out’, was made into a short film by the acclaimed director Andrew Haigh. Sarah has worked as a journalist, editor and copywriter. She lives in Derbyshire with her husband and daughter.

Follow on Twitter @sarahjtierney #MakingSpace

Published by @SandstonePress April 2017

My thanks to Keara at Sandstone Press for the invitation to be part of the blog tour

 and for my review copy of Making Space

Available on Kindle  promotion  at £1.00 until this weekend.

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