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A review by okiecozyreader
Joe Nuthin's Guide to Life by Helen Fisher
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
I have realized I love quiet little British novels about unique found families and this is one of them. In this story, Joe’s mother has created a couple of little books to help him understand life and navigate it more effectively, like:
“Instead of fearing a thing, try to understand it.
Because understanding can change everything about the way that you feel.” Fear (entry from the yellow book), prologue
She helps secure him a job and when she is gone, he is left trying to follow her ideas to understand the world around him, mostly at work. He comes into contact with a bully, whom he becomes concerned about. He sees people differently in some ways and his work friends try to be there for him.
This book reminded me of DID I EVER TELL YOU, which I read recently, in which a mother, dying of cancer, left packages and letters for her children to read every year and for specific moments. I really loved the notes this mother left for her neurodivergent son.
“…-that Hazel feels sad, so even if you-or we-don't feel it in the same way, it is enough just to understand that she feels sad, and then ask yourself, 'How can we help?" We can keep her company. That's how we're going to help today." Ch 5
“Joe-Nathan? More like Joe-Nuthin. A man with nothing to offer." Ch 7
“Joe didn't often look ahead. If he was comfortable in what he was doing in the moment, and knew what came next, then life felt like a series of stepping stones: good steady ones, not the kind that were slippery or too small or too far apart. Joe was at ease with the comfort of known world: understanding the now, understanding the next.” Ch 17
“Joe had always felt that coming home was a lovely moment, a gentle, calming feeling unlike any other. He had linked that feeling with coming home. … He didn't feel the same now and he concluded that it must have been coming home to his mum that had brought that feeling; this in turn made him wonder if coming home would ever feel that special again. Joe realized that a life is lived differently when there is someone there to witness it.” Ch 23
“The place a person belongs might be in their future; they might not have found it yet. … Sometimes the place we belong is just about the people in our lives, not the actual place. Sometimes, the place we belong is just the place where the people who love us hang out." Ch 78
“Instead of fearing a thing, try to understand it.
Because understanding can change everything about the way that you feel.” Fear (entry from the yellow book), prologue
She helps secure him a job and when she is gone, he is left trying to follow her ideas to understand the world around him, mostly at work. He comes into contact with a bully, whom he becomes concerned about. He sees people differently in some ways and his work friends try to be there for him.
This book reminded me of DID I EVER TELL YOU, which I read recently, in which a mother, dying of cancer, left packages and letters for her children to read every year and for specific moments. I really loved the notes this mother left for her neurodivergent son.
“…-that Hazel feels sad, so even if you-or we-don't feel it in the same way, it is enough just to understand that she feels sad, and then ask yourself, 'How can we help?" We can keep her company. That's how we're going to help today." Ch 5
“Joe-Nathan? More like Joe-Nuthin. A man with nothing to offer." Ch 7
“Joe didn't often look ahead. If he was comfortable in what he was doing in the moment, and knew what came next, then life felt like a series of stepping stones: good steady ones, not the kind that were slippery or too small or too far apart. Joe was at ease with the comfort of known world: understanding the now, understanding the next.” Ch 17
“Joe had always felt that coming home was a lovely moment, a gentle, calming feeling unlike any other. He had linked that feeling with coming home. … He didn't feel the same now and he concluded that it must have been coming home to his mum that had brought that feeling; this in turn made him wonder if coming home would ever feel that special again. Joe realized that a life is lived differently when there is someone there to witness it.” Ch 23
“The place a person belongs might be in their future; they might not have found it yet. … Sometimes the place we belong is just about the people in our lives, not the actual place. Sometimes, the place we belong is just the place where the people who love us hang out." Ch 78
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Death of parent