You, Me and Your Girlfriend by Scott Bisett
Amusing, Intriguing, Heartbreaking
Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Romance/Drama
The Greek Philosopher Pythagoras was most definitely incorrect when he declared that three is the magic number. In some cases, it really isn’t. It may be a belief for some people that good things happen in threes and the number three may have worked in the case of ‘The Three Little Pigs’, ‘The Three Bears’ and ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff’…….but for human’s? Not so much. The number three is an ‘odd number’ for a reason. Put three people together, and there is pretty much inevitably one that feels left out….we’ve all been there, haven’t we?! So, what makes us think that when we have become one half of a cosy pair, the way we are meant to be, that introducing another, is the way to go? Especially when there is an uneven number of the sexes. The only situation it seems to have worked, is in musical circles, groups and backing singers, with the exceptions of The Police, Genesis, Green Day, Hanson (there’s a chance that they might have re-formed, and they were genetically obliged to make it work), and Nirvana (possibly the last one is a weak example for obvious reasons that I think we are all aware) and maybe R.E.M...but you get my point. So then, what an earth are Matt, Paige, and Kate thinking? 
I follow lots of independent authors online, Scott Bissett being one of them. However, the majority of my followers are female, so I have by and large ended up reading novels from female authors. I recently saw a photograph of one such female Author holding up a copy of this book, and the title intrigued me. Plus, I need more male authors in my repertoire too so I thought it might be a good book to try. The front cover design is simple but striking, and whilst it is obvious that the there are three main characters, the title suggests that there are several ways in which this could play out, and therefore draws you in to wanting to find out more. I read some of the synopsis, and the second thing to pique my interest is that the book is set in Glasgow, my birth place, even though I was only there for eighteen months, not even long enough to get an accent, which is probably why I had trouble hearing the protagonists voices in my head. So I had to try and channel Lorraine Kelly for the girls anyway, which didn’t always work. I know very little about Glasgow, so it was also interesting Googling all the places mentioned. 
If I had read this book without knowing who the Author was, I would have said that it had been written by a woman. Scott manages to infiltrate and interpret the female psyche well when writing dialogue for Kate, Paige, their mothers, and Heather not only in the more straight and serious scenes, but also when injecting humour. It put me in mind of Helen Fielding’s writing of Bridget Jones. The dialogue is so expressive, and conveys the emotion felt, completely. It is powerful when it is appropriate and downplayed when needed, but the characters come across very effectively, making you care and want the best for them, a goal that Scott specifies at the end, that he was trying to achieve. I love book characters and my biggest joy when reading a book is being able to play these people in my head. I had a great time doing that, even if my inner Glaswegian isn’t quite up to muster. The writing for the older characters was easier to hear for me. 
Now, down to the nitty gritty…..what did I think of the characters? I cannot lie. I felt a slight inadequacy when it came to Paige, just as Kate did, and her nauseatingly perfect relationship with Matt. Are relationships like that?? That grated on me slightly. Oh to have a man who thinks that highly of you, I’m not sure one exists. So flawless was their connection, that I was a little bit devastated and quite angry that frankly she had the gall to treat it so casually. It was the way it was set up I think and you were left to witness the fall out that you were helpless to stop. I had admired Paige’s strength when it came to dealing with her mum. I’m really not sure I would have the will power to let such behaviour go unchallenged in the heat of the moment. Kate’s relationship with her family is heart-warming but also something that I strongly envied, and wondered if my family would have been that like that had we stayed in Glasgow. Her parents were the kind of mum and dad that I think everyone would like to grow up with, and the dynamic between her and Fi was touching. That unconditional love and support. My favourite characters though were ‘Hev’ and Jason. I adored their banter, the mix of Heather’s dryness with Jason’s utter camp demeanour was fabulous. 
When the big twist occurred, it was so near the end of the book, I had a slight panic that, that was where the Author would leave the characters. I’m glad that this was very much not the end of the story, for any of them. When you realise that you have in fact been reading Matt’s book (with the names changed to protect the innocent obviously), it was like a lightbulb moment, such a wonderful use of Matt’s long term ambition, very clever, if that is indeed what the Author intended. That is what I took from it anyway…... and the ending scene, so rewarding for both reader and characters involved. 
A compelling story, with a cast of diverse, charismatic characters, and clever, intuitive writing that gave me all the feels. I might just love it…..to the moon and back. 
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