Meet Mo, a woman who lives the same routine day after day, year after year, and swears she could drive to work blind folded…

Following the success of her memoir Dear Fatty, Dawn French’s debut novel A Tiny Bit Marvellous was bound to be a bestseller. Dawn French is a likeable, popular celebrity who draws the interest of a wide audience; from hard core fans to those who are mildly curious. All readers will probably expect something light hearted and funny, easy to read, depreciating and thoughtful, as would be expected from the star of The Vicar of Dibley and French and Saunders. Readers will not be disappointed, this is the perfect novel for occassional readers of best sellers and other lightweight fiction. It is also packaged beautifully in hard back with no dust jacket, making it the perfect gift.

The novel is prodominately driven by character, as French builds a parody of a typical middle class English family and their lives. It is all very 2.4 children, echoing My Family, pantomine and other comedy influences. Each chapter is narrated by an individual family member as an extract from their diary. The aptly named Battle family are a family at war, a family of misunderstood, isolated individuals all trying to live the charade of lower middle class life. There is Mo, the mumsy, menopausal, middle aged mother. Mo is a child psychotherapist, and therefore, belives she is the best person to understand her own children, Dora and Peter. Dora is the back-combed bleach blonde, tangoed skin daughter who strives to fit in amongst her peers. The younger son Peter is in a perpetual existential eighteenth century crisis, an Oscar Wilde obsessive, an eloquent, eccentric outcast. Then there’s the dad- the normal, quiet one, who keeps out of the way. They also have a dog called Poo.

As a novel that focuses on character the overarching story line is very basic. Mo and Dora are both struggling with their age, Dora is just turning eighteen and wants to be perceived as a grown up, Mo has reached a mid-life crisis and feels like no one appreciates her. She is momentarily seduced by her intern Neil, whom it turns out is a pervert and is actually interested in her daughter. Meanwhile Oscar/Peter has developed a crush on the same man. In the end it is up to dad, the silent one in the novel, to sort out Neil, ending the complicated love triangle and restoring the status quo. Dora is saved and Mo realises her mistake and that her family come first.

The novel ends with Mo driving to work blind folded as she has always imagined, however she is closely followed by her husband, Den, who is there to keep her safe.

Unfortunately the novel relies too heavily on class stereotypes to be utterly convincing. Although the characters are funny in part and we have all meet some one like Dozy Dora, they are also overly familiar, which begins to lose originality after a while. Whilst there are echoes of great social novelists such as Nick Hornby,  Hanif Kureishi and Ben Elton, the novel does not have the realistic comedy which gives these writers precedence in the genre.

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