What readers think of The Spare Room, plus links to write your own review.

Set in Melbourne, Australia, this short novel explores the relationship of two friends, Helen and Nikola. Nikola spends three weeks as Helen's guest while undergoing treatments for her terminal cancer. The plot moves along quickly and the reading is easy. The characters are not very well developed, however, so that the reader actually doesn't care too much about the outcome. What should have been a very moving tale is ultimately a let-down.

Each of our journey's in life are different, and I liked how Helen walked this segment of her journey. She was so compassionate with her friend, Nicola. She liked straightforward tasks of love and order that she could perform with ease (page 42). I loved how she shed tears while her granddaughter was performing at the school program (page 80). She was my kind of gal. I would recommend this book to my friends.

An engaging,eloquent tale which explores the demands of friendship. The unsuspecting and at times, unwilling Helen agrees to care for her friend Nicola who is coping with the ravages of end-stage cancer. Nicola seems to have been a difficult person, self -centered and unrealistic even when in the best of health. Helen who is patient and forbearing learns a good deal about herself as well as about her friend during this ordeal.

The author has a knack for presenting the grim realities of the sickroom. I would definitely read further work of this author.

Few books that I have read cause me as much ambivalence   as this one did. On the positive side, it is very well written without excessive verbosity or hysteria. The characters are very believable, but not always likable. The message…I am not sure that there is “one”. This is the kind of book that will probably resonate uniquely for each reader. All of that probably makes this book at least a four star, if not five.

On the other hand, the circumstances and situations described are often heart rendering and painfully sad. Ms. Garner has created two very genuine women; people I wish I might have known before this experience. I suspect that Ms. Garner, herself, lived through a similar even. If she did not, she is a genius in her imagination and creation of the emotions that are presented.