Review by Booklist Review
Meredith Maggs hasn't left her house in Glasgow for 1,214 days. She has her cat, Fred, to keep her company. She works from home and has groceries delivered, and her best friend, Sadie, visits with news of the outside world. Meredith even meets new people, Tom, a charity caregiver who is hired to check up on her, and Celeste, from her online support group. Though Meredith starts to let new people in, she still can't leave. The novel alternates between Meredith in 2018 and her childhood with her cruel mother and supportive older sister, Fiona. Present-day Meredith hasn't spoken to her sister in years, but one day Fee calls to say she is leaving her husband, and then Celeste invites her to her thirtieth birthday party. Suddenly Meredith has reasons to leave the house, but can she? Alexander's debut is warm, funny, and emotional. Serious themes of sexual assault are handled with care, counterbalanced by Meredith's winning narration, and readers will root for her as she makes slow progress from her lonely life.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Alexander's satisfying debut follows a woman who hasn't left her home for over three years. Meredith Maggs, nearing her 40th birthday, is content to live within the confines of her Glasgow flat, working as a freelance writer, solving jigsaw puzzles, and spending time with her best friend, Sadie, who helps with such errands as taking Meredith's cat to the vet. Meredith finds company in an online mental health support group, where she meets Celeste, a kindred soul who loves cats as much as Meredith does. Also keeping her company is Tom McDermott, a volunteer from the Holding Hands charity whose objective is to offer "friendship and support to anyone who needs it." She insists on not needing charity, but Tom turns out to be a caring companion with whom Meredith enjoys sharing biscuits and poetry. He gently prods into her past, seeking the reason she stopped going outside and stirring up memories of her difficult childhood. The measured pace keeps the plot moving even as most of the action takes place within Meredith's flat, and the endearing characters offer a sensitive portrayal of what it means to live with mental health issues. The result is a quiet slice-of-life story with heart to spare. (Nov.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
DEBUT Meredith Maggs hasn't left her Glasgow home in 1,214 days. She's not under quarantine; she's not bedridden. She has plenty to do: she works remotely, writes full-time, keeps herself and her house in tip-top shape, enjoys the companionship of her vocal cat, Fred, and especially likes working tricky jigsaw puzzles. Her best friend Sadie comes to visit with her two children, and Meredith relies on her grocery deliveryman to be punctual. Readers meet Meredith when a new visitor enters her life --Tom, from the Holding Hands befriending charity. Through Tom's visits, Alexander slowly reveals why Meredith has retreated from the outside world. Meredith makes a friend from an online support group, and these relationships help her to confront her stasis. When she's ready, she has a troubled family dynamic and trauma to handle. VERDICT In a world contending with the mental health fallout from COVID, Meredith is immediately relatable. Executed with care, humor, and grace, this novel pokes at the bubble of solitude to show each of us that suffering has a sense of community and with that, the prospect of optimism.--Julie Kane
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
An agoraphobic Glasgow woman works to heal her family-based trauma so she can reconnect with the world and the people she loves. As of Nov. 14, 2018, Meredith Maggs hasn't left her house in 1,214 days. She has created a fairly healthy routine to her days--freelance writing, exercise, baking, doing jigsaw puzzles, having sessions with Diane the counselor--but she rarely interacts with anyone in person other than her best friend, Sadie, and Sadie's kids. When Tom McDermott, from a "befriending charity" called Holding Hands, shows up on her doorstep one day, her initial instinct is to ghost him to avoid future meetings; to her surprise, he becomes a consistent visitor, a jigsaw partner, an appreciative audience for her baking, and, eventually, a friend. At the same time, via an online chat room, she meets Celeste, who discloses that she has recently been sexually assaulted. Meredith offers her support online, gradually taking the step to invite Celeste into her home. Meredith knows that in order to truly open herself to these new opportunities, she must reconcile with her sister, Fiona, who was her protector and best friend growing up. However, they fell out and have barely spoken for years. When Fiona reaches out with her own crisis, Meredith is finally able to begin healing from the trauma at the root of her agoraphobia. Alexander creates a winning heroine in Meredith and likable characters in her kind friends; this type of mental illness is not frequently highlighted or discussed, and while Meredith's experience predates the pandemic, there are, of course, echoes of sympathy for those who were isolated at home or who continue to be anxious about leaving their homes for this uncertain world. An optimistic, feel-good novel that might just soothe some post-Covid angst. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
