If Only I’d Listened by Claire Boley

• Paperback: 319 pages
• Publisher: Olympia Publishers (27 July 2017)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1848977751
• ISBN-13: 978-1848977754

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND PREGNANT? How ready are you for that? How would you deal with becoming a parent before you’ve left school? One thing’s for sure, you can’t unmake babies. A fact that’s borne in on Peter Knight and Samantha Smithson, sixth formers at the South East Comprehensive in Deptford, living at a time when many parents are still of the old school and pregnancy outside marriage carries a stigma. Having to face their parents, their school friends, teachers and gossip is only the beginning. Pete’s plans for university are scotched as he must seek work and accommodation suitable for a young family. And all the time he still wants to have fun, with friends’ quite happy to tempt him to do it. As for Samantha, abortion is no easy option. Yet as her health and her faith in Peter goes up and down, she may have to think the unthinkable.

 

Review

If Only I’d Listened is a wonderful and thoughtful story set in the 1960’s about how Pete and Sam deal with Sam’s pregnancy, and what it means for them and their future.  The phrase ‘If Only I’d Listened’ is one I think we can all identify with when we look back at out teenage years.  In your teens you think you are invincible, with the world at your feet and a lifetime to enjoy it.  Teenage pregnancy is still classed as a bit of a stigma in today’s so called modern more accepting society, but in the late 1960’s it was very much a taboo subject, and one where you were expected to honour your obligations so the speak.

Pete is an intelligent young man doing his A levels and expected to go to university and get a good job.  He is from a respectable middle class family, and not expected to have got himself into this position.  The whole book is from Pete’s perspective, his thoughts and feelings to his predicament and how he deals with the situation.  We do hear Sam’s voice, how she is feeling, but through Pete’s eyes, how he sees her;  I found this to be a fresh and interesting perspective on the situation, which is normally from the girl’s perspective.

As a character Pete did annoy me at times, I wanted to give him a slap about his attitude especially to his parents.  However, I did admire his intention to stand by Sam and the baby.  Without much hesitation he accepted his fate; his having to give up university to get a job to earn money for the baby and a flat.  He had maturity in his attitude towards getting the best exam results so he could get a job, this was his soul focus as he knew without a job he couldn’t look after Sam and the baby.  He did have times of petulance and frustration which he took out mainly on his parents and on Sam.  His parents were obviously disappointed in him, they had high hopes for his future, but they stood by him and tried to help inter own way.  They couldn’t help as much as they would have liked due to finances and this is what frustrated Pete, he was stuck in the middle of his parents and Sam.  When reading I had to keep in mind that this was the 1960s where attitudes were different.

As a character Sam is different to Pete.  She comes from a lower class background, lives in a tower block with parents who drink a lot and an abusive father.  It seems Pete didn’t know much about her before getting her pregnant.  She is obviously frightened about what is going to happen to her especially as her parents are not supportive.  The title If Only I’d Listened  refers to Pete’s friends telling him not to get involved with a girl like her.  Claire Boley writes her characters with great understanding of human emotion that make this such a beautiful book to read.

I really enjoyed this book, the social and economical history shows a patriarchal society, where the father makes the decisions and has to take the responsibility for his family.  There were certainly different attitudes to sex and education; men needed sex and a girls education wasn’t as important as boys.   There are also some funny moments in the book, Pete’s first time getting drunk and staying out all night; we’ve all been there.  A wonderful read that has a roller coaster of emotions, and characters who will touch you.

After reading If Only I’d Listened, I found out that there is going to be a sequel to this story, following Pete and Sam’s journey.

 

Thank you for reading my review of If Only I’d Listened.  All views are my own, so if you have read this book let me know what you think.  All comments, views and shares are greatly appreciated.