Secrets and Lies in a Smal Community in 1976

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Set during the famous hot summer of 1976 ( with flashbacks to a crucial event in 1967) this is a story of several mysteries at the heart of a small community of friends and neighbours. On the day Margaret Creasey disappears from her home in The Avenue in July 1976 the community dissolves into whispers, recriminations, fear of discovery and suspicion.

After a chance meeting with the local vicar two small girls, Grace and Tilly, who live within the community, set out to discover what has happened to Mrs Creasey and to keep their community safe. The vicar has, they believe, told them that if they find God he will keep everyone safe. And so their summer holiday quest begins and they set out to separate the sheep from the goats, another consequence of talking to the vicar, without ever really understanding what he has been talking about.

During the cleverly plotted and jaunty narrative, told through the eyes of Grace, we discover that Mrs, Creasey is the keeper of all her neighbours' secrets and that one of the local residents, Walter Bishop is despised and believed to be a paedophile after the mysterious disappearance of a child in 1967. Shortly after the abduction there is a mysterious fire at Walter's home and, in the intervening years, his life is made miserable by constant accusations and threats, despite there being no evidence against him.

There are hilarious moments in this story eg the finding of Jesus in a neighbourhood drainpipe and some terribly sad, poignant moments too. The author has skilfully woven a tale of secrets and lies where every character has something to hide, even the children. It is wonderfully nostalgic too with references to all sorts of things from the 1970s and she is obviously a keen observer of the minutiae of everyday life. It is full of unspoken but clear messages about how communities treat 'oddballs' in their midst, how neighbours deal with one another, how marriages work (or not), how adults treat children and how children treat one another. Overall, it shows how corrosive a secret can be and that we can live alongside people without truly understanding who they are.

The ending of the story comes along very quickly, along with the rain that broke the famous drought of 1976. Margaret Creasey returns to her home but not before she has sent her neighbours a cryptic message, via the Police. All we get to hear of that is that the neighbours gather to witness her return on a bus, fearful of what is about to happen; they all have reasons to fear her return, except Walter Bishop who stands on the sidelines gloating. A clever ending, I thought, though some may find it disappointing or frustrating.

The narration was wonderful.

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9 people found this helpful

Exquisitely written

I bought this because of the title. Wasn't expecting what I found. Wonderful descriptive language that sometimes just grabs you. The story draws you in and turns you one way then another.

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8 people found this helpful

A quirky kind of book

It took me a while to work out what the story was about, then some while longer to work out the meaning behind the story. If the reader still has any doubts by the very end of the book, the author comes on in person to explain it to us. It isn't just about the 1976 heatwave or a missing person, it's deeper than that.

As a book that actually means something that we can learn from, I've given it full marks and thoroughly recommend it to all potential listeners.

(I won't explain what it is about, discovering that for yourself is the main pleasure I think.)

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1 person found this helpful

Incredibly moving story, performed beautifully

What made the experience of listening to The Trouble with Goats and Sheep the most enjoyable?

The wonderful writing, the spot-on narration, the joy of discovering a new author and the excitement of what comes next!

What did you like best about this story?

The setting - I love audiobooks set in remote parts of the UK. It all feels so wonderfully British.

Have you listened to any of Paula Wilcox’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I haven't but I certainly will now

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The ending. I'll say more. Also really liked that there was an introduction from the author - great to hear straight from the horse's mouth

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1 person found this helpful

Best Read So Far This Year

This book was worth reading just to be transported back to a very vivid 1976. Brilliant characters, people and voices I knew from my past.
Meticulous attention to details of the time.
A wonderful, heart-warming tale, skillfully brought to life by Paula Wilcox. This story will make you laugh out loud, sympathise, and marvel at the extraordinary found in the ordinary of neighbours and the dynamics of the relationships in 'The Avenue'.
Highly recommended.

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1 person found this helpful

Struggled to finish this one....

The concept of the story drew me to this book, but it was far too drawn out - over descriptive of location, surroundings, how the weather felt etc. just wanted the story to be told, did get very bored with it - I normally miss the characters when I have finished a book but was glad to see the back of this lot. Sorry Joanna (author).

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A tale of friendship, secrets and a long, hot Summ

If you could sum up The Trouble with Goats and Sheep in three words, what would they be?

Uplifting, caring, thoughtful

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the way that Joanna Cannon sticks up for those people who are a little bit different.

What does Paula Wilcox bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

This was a lovely book to listen to - Paula Wilcox brings the characters alive without over exaggeration; I loved her narration.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It was a slow moving, gentle story so although you could listen all at once, nothing is lost in taking time to savour it properly.

Any additional comments?

This is a lovely novel about seeing all sides to a story and not jumping to conclusions. It really resonates with me and I absolutely enjoyed every second of it.

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Interesting social comment

This book paints a very realistic picture of a small society where everyone lives on top of each other, thinking they know everything about their neighbours whilst missing the key information. We feel the same claustrophobia and inability to escape the inevitable as the main characters as the hot summer draws to its conclusion. Possibly could have been a little shorter which would have lead to tighter plotting.

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Thoroughly enjoyable

Although not an altogether comfortable story. Voices of 10 year olds are not always easy to get right but this author pulls it off brilliantly. Lots of convincing detail (did we really pour tinned milk on to tinned fruit and eat it? Yes we did!) This is a great story , vividly told .
You won't be disappointed .

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Enlightening & mysterious

Not mysterious in the conventional sense, but intriguing, the characters pulling you in. And if you have your own memories of that summer of '76 even more of a reason to read and enjoy, almost walking along The Avenue and Rowan Drive with the characters.

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