Livia Franchini

I have a serious case of cover love with this book. Isn't it gorgeous? And significant to the storyline too.

This is the story of Ruth, a 30 year old woman. As the book begins her partner of 10 years, Neil, has left her. It's clear that she relied on him hugely and she's cast adrift without him. All that is left is a shopping list for the upcoming week and this list forms the chapter titles for the entire book, e.g. six eggs, sandwich bread, diet coke and so on. There is a link between the food and what happens in the chapter too, but it's often more of an obscure link rather than a direct one.

Ruth is quite clearly a woman who has no confidence, she barely eats, she doesn't really know who she is. Neil was a crutch on which she leaned for support. However, some of the chapters from Neil's point of view, letters in fact, make it clear that he was not a particularly good person. Then there's her 'friend' and work colleague, Alanna, who I wasn't at all sure about.

The sections simply from Ruth's point of view were my favourites and I must admit I found some of her behaviour quite amusing once or twice. I did struggle a little with the more unusual styles of writing such as her rather strange dreams, the phone/internet conversations between Alanna and her friends, and text messages, although I think that was more to do with trying to follow the layout of them as much as anything else.

Shelf Life is an unusual book and I suspect one that may divide readers. I've seen it described as experimental in style and yes, I think this is very accurate. This reader found it to be a rather sad story of a woman with no self-worth, probably depressed and lonely, and the whole thing has a sort of mournful air to it. Not the easiest of reads and yet I did have a soft spot for Ruth and I really felt she was a victim of life itself. I thought her story was very honest. I'm glad I read Shelf Life, it has a very interesting feel to the way it's set up and I think there are aspects that will stay with me.… (más)

After ten years together, Ruth finds herself suddenly alone. Neil has left and all that her life consists of now is her work as a nurse in an old people’s home and shopping groceries at the small Tesco close to her flat. How did she get here? First, the escape of her ill-willed mother, then her friend Alanna whom she met in nursery school and with whom she still works together, the different patients and their respective needs, and Neil whom she despite all the time together seems to have hardly known.

Shelf Life – a. the period during which a good remains effective and free from deterioration. B. the period for which an idea or piece of information is considered an advantage over the competitor.

Still after having finished reading the novel, I wonder about the link between the title and the plot. Yes, the groceries Ruth buys somehow play a prominent role since they provide the titles for the different chapters. But beyond this? So what else could the title refer to? The time the main character is considered young – might be, but Ruth is beyond this discussion and her age is of no importance. Even as a young girl she wasn’t actually judged pretty or attractive. An innovative idea or piece of information is also something I didn’t find.

Thus, just as the titles leaves me a bit perplex, the whole story only slightly touched me. There is some red thread, basically between Alanna and Ruth, which is a bit strange since her relationship and breakup with Neil somehow nevertheless make up the centre of the plot around which everything revolves.

I liked Livia Fanchini’s style of writing and I am sure she can tell an interesting story, but somehow “Shelf Life” confused me much more than it made sense. Her characters are definitely interesting in their very peculiar manners, but somehow it all seemed not fully developed to me.… (más)