Maybe It's About Time

Two people trapped in their different worlds. One by wealth and one by poverty. Twenty years working for The Firm has given Marcus Barlow everything he wants but has taken his soul in return. Finding a way to leave has become an obsession.

Claire Halford’s life hits rock bottom when she is caught stealing food from Tesco Express. Left alone by her husband with two small children and an STI, her suicide music is starting to play louder in her head.

A chance meeting brings them together. As a mystery virus from China starts to run riot across the country, their world’s collide and they find they have more in common than they knew.

Set in the early months of 2020, Maybe It’s About Time is a story about the difficulty of changing lives for the better. Starting as a funny and satirical view of the egocentric world of professional services, it gives way to a heart-warming story of an unlikely friendship that rejuvenates Marcus and Claire, giving them both hope for a better future.

Book source ~ TWR Tour

Maybe It's About Time

Neil Boss

5 September 2022

Fiction | Satire

522 Pages

My Rating ~ 4 bites

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Marcus Barlow and Claire Halford live two very different lives in the UK, but their orbits are about to collide in the days leading up to the outbreak of Covid-19 and beyond.

When I first saw what a chonky book this is I thought it would take me forever to get through. However, it’s a fairly easy read and the pages turn faster than anticipated. It goes back and forth between Claire and Marcus with some Gavin thrown in. I can relate more to Claire than Marcus and even Gavin. I’ve never had much money, so had to make do with what I could afford. And that includes food. This book contains more references to swanky food and fancy cooking than I could enjoy. Mostly because I loathe cooking so that’s a totally personal opinion. 

I really like how Marcus describes his workplace and the interactions with his coworkers. I’ve never worked in a large company so it’s fascinating to read about. I even like how he’s become disenchanted with his job and how he flounders on what to do about it. It’s hard to push off into the great unknown and sometimes we need a big kick in the ass to do it.

Claire’s struggle is very real to me personally and thus all the more heart wrenching. Every page turn had me rooting for her all the harder. I cheered her on when she waffled about meeting a new mother for coffee and then working for her. But then Covid-19 rolled into town and I was transported back to what it was like here in the US. Scary, bleak, and ridiculous at times. And I mentioned scary, right? What a kick in the ass this reminder is. Maybe too soon, maybe not. It’s still a story I have strong feelings about. Even if it seems to be slow going in places, it’s well worth the read.

I retired from a career in the corporate world in November 2019 with three objectives. To travel around the world and fly fish in the most exotic locations, to play my electric guitar better than I do and to write a novel that I could be genuinely proud of. The pandemic and lockdown in March 2020 put my first two objectives on hold leaving me no option but to start writing. Two and half years later, 'Maybe It's About Time', my first novel, was published.

As a piece of work, I am incredibly proud of it. It makes me laugh and cry in equal measure. I am even more proud that readers seem to be enjoying it just as much and it is getting great reviews.

Travel and fly fishing has now started again, my guitar playing is improving and a sequel to 'Maybe It's About Time' is planned to start in 2023!

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