With The Handmaid’s Tale behind me, I felt it was time to shift to something lighter. Jojo Moyes seemed like the right choice. I would classify her as a formulaic writer—though I say that with affection. I enjoy her romance novels, but after reading a few, you start to recognize a familiar pattern in how she sets up her stories. This can be both a strength and a limitation for a writer.
On the positive side, discovering a method that works can be empowering. It creates a dependable template that can be called upon again and again. However, the downside is that a writer may become overly reliant on that formula. This can make it harder for readers to engage with the more unique or unconventional aspects of the plot.
Jojo Moyes is perhaps best known for Me Before You, which was adapted into a film in 2016. She began her career as a journalist for The Independent, and transitioned to full-time fiction writing in 2002 with her debut novel Sheltering Rain. Since then, she has published even more novels, the most recent being We All Live Here.
For this reading round, I chose one of her standalone novels, Night Music. While I don’t intend to obsessively focus on one author or book series during this challenge, returning to particular writers or themes may be something I explore after it’s complete.
Night Music centers on Isabel Delancey, a successful classical violinist and devoted mother of two. Her world is upended by the sudden death of her husband, leaving her widowed, emotionally shattered, and financially burdened. Forced to abandon their urban life, Isabel and her children move into a crumbling manor in the English countryside—an inheritance that offers both refuge and unforeseen challenges.
Isabel Donovan already starts off as an interesting character. Her husband, Laurant, has passed away, and she’s left to navigate life as a single mother and widow. One of the things I’ve always admired about JoJo Moyes’s characters is that her female leads aren’t the delicate, wilting flowers so often seen in romance novels. At the same time, they avoid falling into the “I’m a man in a woman’s body” trope that can be common in contemporary fiction. Moyes’s heroines are strong from the outset—but in a quiet, restrained way. Their growth over the course of the story doesn’t come from a romantic partner swooping in to fix them, but rather through the relationships they build with others and the trials they endure.
In Isabel’s case, she’s been struggling with the aftermath of Laurant’s sudden death, which occurred nearly a year before the story begins. Though time has passed, the emotional and financial fallout still weighs heavily on her. Her two children are also affected: Kitty, a teenage girl, has stepped into the role of caregiver and tries to hold the family together; and Thierry, her younger son, is coping with the upheaval in his own way. Isabel, meanwhile, is buried under the mounting debts her husband left behind, forced to make difficult sacrifices and confront choices she had previously avoided.
As the story begins, it’s clear that Isabel hasn’t always been the most attentive parent. Her career as a violinist often came first, leaving much of the domestic and parenting responsibilities to Laurant. This dynamic makes Kitty’s role in the story especially important—she’s had to become the responsible one in places where Isabel falters. And yet, Kitty is still a child, and the story doesn’t forget that; we see her react to her changing life with very human confusion, frustration, and vulnerability.
Despite her grief, Isabel tries to make the best of a bad situation—for both her children’s sake and her own. The house they inherit is far from ideal: poorly maintained and the source of its own drama. A few people in the village had hoped to claim the property after the previous owner's death, creating tension and resentment. Isabel’s new beginning is anything but smooth.
As someone who has faced difficult life changes and lived in less-than-ideal situations, I find Isabel’s journey deeply relatable. When things are going well, it’s easy to become complacent—so when life does take a turn, it often feels jarring and undeserved.
Personally, I experienced something similar when I started college. I had lived with my mother for most of my life—a situation that, while familiar, wasn’t ideal and held me back in many ways. At one point, we lost everything and had to scramble to stay afloat. Thankfully, a family friend took us in, and eventually we were offered shelter by an elderly couple who rented out a room in their home. That house became our sanctuary for years. It saw us through celebrations, hard times, the pandemic, a medical crisis, and eventually, my graduation from college.
When I was accepted into a State University, my mother and I initially planned to continue living together. But we soon realized that wouldn’t work, and we agreed it was time for me to live independently. I found a room in a shared house used by other students at my school. Again, it’s not ideal, but it’s a space I’ve learned to make the best of—and I’m doing just fine.
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