LENGTH
11 hrs and 7 mins
READ BY
Gabrielle Glaister
Performance
Overall
Excellent, Unforgettable, Best of the nest
Very good, thoroughly enjoyed,
Good, Solid, Enjoyed many aspects
STAR RATINGS GUIDE
Hilarious tribute to unmumsy mums.
THE BIRDICT
This is the year. This is the year Ellen will do it. She will meet the great expectations of Insta-Pinterest-Facebook and perfect Lucy Atkinson's Perfect Mummy. She will have it all. Or she would. If only the kids/dog/husband/wine would stop getting in the way.
In her diary spanning one academic year, Ellen is the side-splittingly sardonic (slightly exaggerated) embodiment of every mum who has felt she is not enough. She is every mum who's struggled balancing life and work and everything else. Who is less than perfect. And I love it.
Oh, and Why Mummy is a series, so when you inevitably can't get enough of Ellen's antics, there are three more gloriously inappropriate instalments.
There's a real sense of Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders in Sims' style. That Ab Fab glamour mixed with wit that's drier than a Martini and twice as alcoholic. Love it.
Side note: I have a friend who IS basically Ellen. And I have a feeling many others do too.
SQUAWKING THE TALK
Narrator Gabrielle Glaister is a perfect Ellen. She manages to come across as both slightly flaky and remarkably intelligent, impractical yet resourceful. Her deadpan is second to none.
An interesting note about Glaister is that, aside from the Why Mummy franchise, she is a popular choice as the voice of psychological thrillers and mysteries. She's narrated many of Lisa Jewell's books, for example. Oh, and fittingly, she is the voice of Allen Carr's The Easy Way for Women to Stop Drinking. Make of that what you will.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER: SIMILAR AUDIOBOOKS
Out of gallery
No spoilers for this one. Maybe next time!
