Frankie by Graham Norton

Lynnie

contemporary fiction, historical fiction

Frances Howe has lived many lives in her lifetime. Orphan, chef, wife, friend... and now she finds herself in need of round-the-clock care when a young Irishman, Damian, enters her life as a night carer. As Frankie tells Damian the story of her life, the two connect with one another and a spark of friendship is ignited.

The speed with which I read Frankie, says a lot about this story. Frankie's story starts in 1950s Ireland, and explores her time in 1960s London and New York, and 1980s New York up to 2024 London. It is the exploration of a life's ups and downs and the friendships and relationships that sustain us.

Frankie has a front row seat to what was happening during the time periods in the novel; repressed religious lifestyle, the growing art scene in New York, the LGBTQ+ community, the AIDS crisis, and society's comments on all of it. 

 

I loved Frankie and Damian, but I also loved the side characters - especially Nor, of course - and the glimpse into the late 20th century American art scene. I have only known Graham Norton as a talk show host and comedian, so I was surprised to see his byline on this, but his writing is wonderful. Norton paints a vivid image of Frankie's life and it's easy to imagine every step she takes. Norton also narrates the audiobook, and while I didn't listen to it often, when I did, Norton was great fun to listen to - his voice oozes the same charm that you see on his talk show and it always feels a bit like he has a secret that he hasn't shared with you yet. He's clearly having fun with all of this. Though, admittedly, Norton's character voices are not spectacular, the novel is written in a way that you never doubt who is speaking.

This was a wonderful escape from a dreary week and made me want to go visit a museum and have a lovely dinner out in town. I will be thinking about Frankie, Damian and Nor for days.