Crossed Wires by Rosy Thornton (2008)
    Romance, 352 pages
    Headline Review an imprint of
    Headline Publishing Group, Hachette UK

    Review copy courtesy of the author

This is the story of Peter, a Cambridge geography don who crashes his car into a tree stump when swerving to avoid a cat, and Mina, the girl at the Sheffield call centre who deals with his insurance claim. It tracks their parallel lives, as well those of their families – because both Peter and Mina are single parents.

An old-fashioned fairy tale of love across the class divide, it is also a book about the small joys and tribulations of parenthood; about one-ness and two-ness; about symmetry and coincidence; about the things which separate us and the things which bring us together.

I know you’ve heard that saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” This is a book that epitomizes this statement. I also would like to assure you that the actual book is NOT as pink as the picture above.

I am not sure I should clarify the above synopsis which I took from the author’s web site. However, if you have never been to England, have never been exposed to its culture through reading or in person – perhaps I should.

All societies are made up of social structures. In Britain, it isn’t as much money (such as it is in the States) as it is one’s accent, vocabulary, manners, etc. Thus when a Cambridge University professor comes to meet a woman whom he assumes is not only of another ethnicity, but of “social” class, the fact that a relationship begins to grow between them is something to note.

This also comes to play in the novel when Peter’s daughters become friends with a family of travelers who are sometimes called gypsies. Of course this is lost on Peter who is extremely naive when it comes to the darker aspects of prejudice. Not that he is immune to them as is evidenced by an awkward phone conversation with Mina when it comes out he thought she was Indian because of her name.

“And Meena, is that an abbreviation of a longer name?”

”Whilhemina, I suppose, strictly, according to my birth certificate. But I’ve never been anything but Mina.”

This provoked not only a prolonged pause but actually what sounded suspiciously like muffled groan of anguish. OK, so it was a pretty stupid name – there had been plenty of piss-taking at school – but this did seem a rather extreme reaction.

Finally Peter spoke, and his voice sounded odd, almost as though he was laughing again. “I had imagined it as Meena with a double ‘e’, not Mina iwth an ‘i’.”

”Oh, right. Like the Indian name, do you mean”?”

In another incident, Peter comes face to face with preconceptions when there is an incident that results in the harassment of the travelers to the point of them deciding to move on and away from the growing hostility. Peter understands that it is due to prejudice, but is shocked at its appearance in his village. For a smart man, there are many things he still needs to learn.

It is this aspect of his personality, and Mina’s own struggles with not seeing things clearly in her own life, that brings the reader closer to each character. Neither of them are perfect, have ongoing problems, and see in each other someone who understands – regardless of their social or financial status.

Thus even though this book is geared toward a British audience, any reader will be able to identify with Thornton’s story and characters.

I would say the best statement that can be made about this book is that it is indeed about “coincidence” and “the things that separate us and the things that bring us together”. This is evident not only in the growing relationship between Peter and Mina, but between siblings, parents and their children, between friends.

This is what surprised me the most about this book. In a good way. From what you read on the jacket, you would think the story was only about Peter and Mina, but much of the book is about what happens around their growing friendship. And if any of you are single parents of nine or ten year olds (twins in Peter’s case), this is very realistic.

Another thing that was a pleasant difference is that I had to really think about those things that would be a detraction for a reader. Other than warning American readers that there will be terms and vernacular they are unfamiliar with, I can only come up with the shifting points of view within the story. However, each time it switches to Mina or Peter, there is a clear break in the narrative.

All in all, I have to say, that this book has left me with a very favorable impression of the writer and I’m hoping I can find her other books locally or order them. In addition, I hadn’t thought much of the romance genre as a whole. But if there are more like this story, and this writer, I will be changing my tune willingly and completely!

I am giving this 4 stars out of 5. I can’t say it is one that will have you on the edge of your seat, or will keep you up at night reading, but it will be something you will have trouble putting down and eager to pick it back up.

Rosy Thornton’s first novel, More Than Love Letters, was published in 2006, followed by Hearts and Minds in 2007. According to the author, she writes contemporary fiction of a type which you might either call romantic comedy with a hint of satire, or else social satire with a hint of romance.