The Waiting Game by Bernice Rubens

The Waiting Game Reviews

• 
  Tania

  Just so deliciously waspish. Like Muriel Spark, but on a whole new level.
  
  Hollyhocks is an old peoples home run by the avaricious, snobbish and greedy Matron and filled with residents who are now waiting for death. The characters are mostly pretty nasty in this one, they are a malicious and bitter bunch, with some dark secrets.
  
  For Jeremy Cross longevity of life is a competition, and he is very competitive; he has a list of the people he has so far survived and his main pleasure comes from adding to that list. Lady Celia is up to no good and thoroughly enjoying it, and Mrs Treymane is embittered and deeply ashamed of her husband and very much wishes he had died in the early stages of her marriage, and Mrs Green has a secret. There are plenty of other characters as there is a high turnover in Hollyhocks.
  
  I did find it very funny, but don't be fooled by that pastel cover, the humour is pretty dark and it did get rather more serious towards the end.
• 
  Allie Riley

  Death comes to us all, so they say. At the Hollyhocks residential home they are acutely aware of this owing to their ages. They are, in fact, in the business of the waiting game. But you might as well have fun whilst you wait, right? And, of course, you can leave your past behind and be someone else entirely, can't you? Blackmail, sex and intrigue abound in this brilliantly sharp tragicomedy which I absolutely loved. Mrs Green's secret may have become obvious about 2/3 of the way through, but that didn't stop me enjoying the final revelation or, indeed, the comeuppance she so richly deserved. Wonderful stuff. Highly recommended.
• 
  Iva

  Rubens gives us a sort of Wodehouse wit but with Barbara Pym's close observation. The theme of older people living out their life in a retirement home brings Muriel Spark's Memento Mori to mind. But it is that Rubens characters behave so awfully--every one of them--that keep the pages turning. I don't know why this Booker prize winning author isn't more well known in the U. S. She is simply an engaging writer.
• 
  Story

  3.5 stars of amusingly dark humour from an author who reminded me of Muriel Spark and Alice Thomas Ellis.
• 
  trishtrash

  This is my favourite of Rubens' novels; it's witty, sly and seems a little slow to get moving (while things are actually happening just under the surface) - like the best residential home residents! The characters are, for the most part, quite horrible when taken at face value - but Rubens excels in finding the redeemable and ever likeable in each of her characters... and if we don't like them, we can often at least sympathise with them.
  
  What struck me as most unusual about this book is how rare it is to see our elderly stripped of romantic notions in literature... their pettiness, secrecy and occasional nobility are a startling facet of the story, even before the seemingly trivial string of events start to coalesce into an observable plot.
• 
  Lucynell

  Book 52
  
  
  The Waiting Game
  Bernice Rubens
  1997
  
  5/5
  
  
  This is my second Bernice Rubens book. Took me a month to finish both books, a total of 450 pages, because I didn't want it to end and because almost every single page was so satisfying, so fun. Bernice Rubens does dark humour, almost macabre, completely non-pc. It's because that's how ridiculous the human condition is, or can be. She herself said this, more or less. Still, it's not for the sake of making you gasp. It's because she's curious about the myriad ways we communicate with each other and with ourselves. She cares, she has a big heart, she wants to know, and she's not afraid. At all. She's the best of Anne Tyler and Fay Weldon, elegant, precise, sharp. Bernice Rubens is literature's greatest witch.
• 
  Nancy Gilreath

  3 1/2 - quirky, fun read about the goings-on in the seemingly dull, respectable Hollyhocks home for the aged. A good reminder that residents of such places bring with them all of their baggage, including all of their proclivities. Their personalities aren’t lost in the move. As the characters battle loneliness and face the inevitable waiting game, love, crimes and their pasts rule the day. Rubens won the Booker Prize for another book, and I look forward to reading it.
• 
  Lynn

  The blurb said this was a combination of an Ealing comedy and grand guignol, so how could I resist? A good description, as it turns out.
  
  This is a dark comedy that gets darker and turns serious, but it's all done with a light touch that's masterful. No wonder Rubens won the Booker (for another book).
  
  The characters are mostly residents of a home for seniors, and the Waiting Game is what they're playing. They are mostly lively and interesting characters that have long and complicated histories that intersect in some surprising ways. They form alliances, they fall out, they fall in love. It's charming and real, and highly recommended.
  
  Why isn't Rubens known here??
• 
  thebookchap

  Hilariously violent tale set in an old people's home. Great place to start reading Bernice Rubens
• 
  Alisa

  Jock MacPherson rose from his seat and walked over to where Mrs. Green was sitting. He looked as though he might strike her. Mr. Rufus half rose in case a defense of some kind was called for and Mrs. Thackeray watched the proceedings with an excited anticipation that Mrs. Green would finally get her comeuppance. She moved her chair slightly so that she could get a better view.
  
  Another darkly humorous gem from Bernice Rubens. The Waiting Game follows the daily lives and dramas of a group of elderly people in a retirement home. Rubens' characters are, as always, full of life and humorously over-the-top, from Mr. Cross, who keeps a list of deaths and vows to outlive everyone, to the greedy Matron, who hates her elderly charges but expects a place in their wills. There are several "waiting games" in the book (the macabre wait for the Grim Reaper being one of them), which makes the story even more entertaining and multi-layered.
  
  Highly recommended read!
• 
  Kristine

  I have read, and really enjoyed, a number of other books by Rubens, but confess to being somewhat disappointed with this one as I didn't think it was of the same standard. Not that it was bad, the plot line of suicide, blackmail, and intrigue keep me reading and engaged. The setting in a retirement home was an avenue for dark humour and social commentary, some of which just felt a bit flat and lacking inspiration. I liked the book but expected so much more from the author and the premise of the story. Perhaps my expectations were too high.
• 
  Netta

  כיאה לשמו, הספר מתנהל בעצלתיים. התנמנמתי בהמתנה שמשהו בעלילה יתפוס אותי, ובאיזשהוא שלב הנחתי את הספר בצד, במחשבה שמתישהו אחזור אליו. מאז חלפה חצי שנה ועשרות ספרים אחרים, מעניינים יותר, כך שנראה שמיציתי.
• 
  Marsha

  Brilliant and scathing. Rubens leaves no prisoners behind. Her wit is beyond a razor's edge. Memorable characters throughout.
• 
  Ido Hadanny

  קניתי ליעל של מורבו - בתקווה שיחזור אלי מהר, וכך היה.
  נחמד ולא יותר. יש קטעים מצחיקים, אבל ההרגשה הכללית היא של מחזה, כזה שמשווק כ'אנסמבל נפלא של דמויות'. הרגיש לי קריקטורי קצת, וגם הסוף המזכך היה לי קצת מודבק.
  שורה יפה שהתחברתי אליה:
  
  השיחה עברה לטיול שאם-הבית הבטיחה להם, פיקניק על נהר התמזה. תחילה היא הציעה את מצודת לונדון, או סיור בהמפטון, אבל אלה נפסלו בהצבעה בשל היותם מעייפים מדי. פיקניק הוא הנאה שבישיבה, ודורש פחות אנרגיה.
• 
  Michelle

  Listened to the audio version in the car....always entertaining to hear the talented narrators.
  An easy to listen to, slightly amusing, dark humoured account of the ‘waiting game’ played by residents of an aged care facility in Kent, U.K.
  Although, I doubt there’d be another home with quite this assortment of people with squalid secrets..... but if I live long enough, I may just find out.
• 
  Sharron

  Think all elderly people are nice? Read this and you will quickly rethink matters. The unlikeable crew playing the waiting game in this nursing home will persuade any sane reader that aging in their own home is the answer. That said, the writing here is good and the cast of characters is well developed.
• 
  Zen

  The Waiting Game is an unusual but overall enjoyable read. Kudos to Ms Rubens for setting a novel in a home for the aged. The Hollyhocks considers itself to be "posh," The Matron (we never learn her name) has specific entrance criteria, but things don't always turn out the way she expects.
  
  Each of the residents (or each "Hollyhock" as they are known), has a unique personality and worldview. Rubens does a great job describing the day to day of life in the home, the gossip, the feuds and the secrets. Some of the secrets of the residents are a little unsavoury, but that just serves to remind the reader that not all elderly people are benign and sweet. Rubens shows a very dark almost macabre, sense of humour, so be prepared.
• 
  Chris Oleson

  Since I'm turning 62 in a couple of days, this witty, dark novel about a senior-citizen home for the posh has much more resonance than it did decades ago when I read it.
  
  Somebody should write an essay that compares this novel with Spark's Memento Mori.
• 
  Teresa

  Comic, enjoyable and full of fun just like the cover says an Ealing-type caper.
• 
  Bonnie

  Delightful!
• 
  Winny Wood

  Its good fun dark comedy. I love the idea of all those old people just waiting to go but it didn't quite hit the spot for me . I'm not quite sure why I just didn't love it.
• 
  Nelson Wattie

  This is the first book I've read by this author, and I really must read another. I suspect that her earlier books, which gave her a reputation for wit, are better than this. It's too heavy-handed to be truly witty (even though I giggled at times) and some of the action is distasteful rather than funny. The writing style is too stolid for my taste.
• 
  Bianca

  The residents of Hollyhocks are all playing the waiting game - to die. This is the story of the residents of a retirement village who all have quirks and hobbies. Mr Cross is trying to outlive everyone, Lady Celia is the head of the house as she is titled but has a nefarious hobby, Mrs Thackeray has a past worth hiding that she is doomed to repeat and Matron appears caring but secretly hopes the residents will leave her some money in their will.
  
  This was an enjoyable book with a surprising storyline. Rubens has written a very unpredictable book but it feels nice - there is not much substance to it.
• 
  Lynrose

  Not very good. I bought it having read a review which made it sound funnier than it is. It's set in a retirement home and its residents are growing old disgracefully. It's sad, sinister and shows how the worst attitudes and behaviour persist into old age. It's not uplifting, it's not particularly funny, it is quite shocking in parts and doesn't pull its punches. Not that well-written.
• 
  Virginia

  I found this book really engaging but I'm still not really sure why. I thought that the resolution was quite obvious long before it began to be revealed; however, I guess I was quite keen to find out what became of each of the characters at the end.
• 
  Angela

  This was... ok.
  
  An easy read, but not overly fun or interesting.
• 
  Ronke

  i laughed out loud!!