This book came highly recommended by a cousin with similar reading tastes to me. Perhaps I was expecting too much. First published in 1992, it was amusing and thought-provoking with a touch of clairvoyance about it, but it wasn't the laugh out loud read I was led to expect.
I loved the character Philomena Toussaint - I have know women like her - and almost shed a tear when I found out about the food stored on top of the cabinet.