The trouble with The Trouble with Henry and Zoe was that I didn’t like the characters of Henry and Zoe enough to care about their troubles. I was disappointed by this novel, as I’ve generally enjoyed the other Andy Jones books I’ve read.
The story follows two hipsters (guess their names?) who, through various coincidences, eventually get together. However, each of them has a secret that will possibly put a spanner in the works, if the other was to find out. Although it’s a contemporary romance, it’s as much about loss, anger and confusion than finding love. All the Andy Jones trademarks are there: dry humour, complex relationships, credible characters, family tension, realistic dialogue. It just didn’t work for me, mainly because I wasn’t keen on Henry and Zoe themselves but also quite a lot of the narrative was describing past relationships rather than what was happening in the present. Moreover, I found the descriptions of Henry’s jobs (he is both a dentist and a hairdresser) a little too unpleasantly detailed.
If you want a realistic novel about the complexities of modern relationships, with a good helping of humour, this book is worth a read, but it doesn’t compare favourably to Andy Jones’ others.
First published in 2016 by Simon and Schuster.
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