My review from a few months ago (I had a review copy)
I'm a great fan of Sue Townsend's best known work, the Adrian Mole series, and have only read a couple of her other non-Mole books. I was drawn to this one by the little fantasy of the title - who doesn't dream of just walking away from everything, or of having a long rest?
While she's in bed, Eva has plenty of time to reflect on her life, and this is interesting - Eva has far more to her than the apparently put upon wife and mother we meet in the opening pages, as a bright woman who missed out on a lot of educational opportunities.
Some of the other characters are well portrayed and multidimensional, but others never develop beyond their caricatures, like Eva's husband Brian and their twins, Brian and Brianne (who would name both twins after their dad?) While at first I felt sorry for them when the dreadful Poppy latched on to them, I started to really dislike these two as much as their selfish dad. Alexander and the two much older women, Eva's mum and Brian senior's mum, were the most realistic characters other than Eva herself.
The plot is weak - Townsend's exploration of the impact of Eva's decision on those around her is interesting but over 400 pages the story loses momentum and seems as if the author is unsure what to do with it.
This is far from being a perfect novel, but my 4 star rating is based on my enjoyment of all the good bits, despite my many criticisms.