Book review: A robot in the garden | Blog tour

A robot in the garden
Author: Deborah Install
Published: April 2015

This book surprised me. I was expecting a story about a man and his wife, experiencing problems in their marriage and not seeing eye to eye about the prospect of starting a family. I was expecting a story about a toy robot, facilitator for a tale of finding yourself and, realising the important things in life. As I said, I was surprised.

This book was sent to me by Ben from @BenWillisUK , who arranged this blog tour on behalf of @DeborahInstall , the author.  The book was sent to me in exchange for a honest review.

Goodreads synopsis

Warm-hearted fable of a stay-at-home husband who learns an important lesson in life when an unusual creature enters his life.

With all the charm and humour of  'The Rosie Project' and 'About a boy' mingled with the heart-swelling warmth of ' The Paddington Bear movie' 

A story of the greatest friendship ever assembled.

Ben Chambers wakes up to find something rusty and lost underneath the willow tree in his garden. Refusing to throw it on the skip as his wife Amy advises, he takes it home.

Yes, there were elements of the above but it was also so much more. This is a beautiful, humorously written book about relationships, friendship, loss, discovering who you are, what's important to you (and having a really fun road trip along the way) and how to travel, by air, with an outdated robot - Never put them in the hold, don't even try!

All this is wrapped up in an extremely adorable and very accessible package. The characters are dynamic and believable and, whilst they are not always likable, Deborah Install does a fantastic job at ensuring that their actions and words are explained. This book is far from being one of those disappointing finds where the 'good' characters are flimsy and the 'bad' ones are so just for the sake of it. 

I loved this book, it took me a while to adjust to the genre - I say this for want of a better word, read the book and you will see what I mean - but I loved it. The characters were so easy to fall in love with and the empathy I felt for Ben and Tang as they traveled their various journeys had me laughing and crying along with them. There were also times when I was on the edge of my seat hoping and praying that they would be safe. Honestly, it is so difficult to become swept up in the story, you wont be able to put this book down!

'I have to admit that the idea of travelling  across the dessert in a Dodge Charger with a retro robot and a radioactive sausage dog is not something I imagined myself doing' ... This line had me in stitches.

Rating: 4/5