She is a nomad, tending to mirror her childhood moves cross-country and go where the wind takes her, in her VOLKSWAGEN TYPE 2 T1 which her dad gave her. Well, Sydney has a dead father(nothing overly tragic, good relationship) and an ill mother(they're ok, I think). Gertie's previous owners replaced the old 6V electronics with a typical 12V system, which means anything electronic for a T1 would be incompatible.īut wait a sec, isn't this a romance novel? When are we gonna hear about Sydney herself?!

You get to hear about the useless drum brakes, the poor 45 horsepower aircooled engine(probably not original) that's barely hanging on after 120,000km of service.

Driving there in her 'VW T1' van, which doubtlessly makes it a 1950s Westfalia camper. Beatrice said she'll be heading back to her country home(or something) in the UK, and so we cut there, and to Sydney, our other protagonist. Even having her annoyed at the press doesn't help much.Ĭhapter two is where the rear-engine shit really hits the fan, though. I'd rank it low among opening chapters, because while it gives us a fleeting glance at Beatrice's relationship with her son, mostly it paints us a portrait of a rude, haughty and entitled woman. The first chapter introduces us to Beatrice, the intimidating actress entering her fifties and who just broke a leg while shooting some film. Secretly, though, this book is to the Volkswagen Type 2 van what The Love Bug is to the Beetle. The blurb is innocuous enough, making you think it'll just be a celebrity romance with a spot of vanlife for variety. If you are also a self-described slow dyke, enjoy whatever this is. Hi there, I'm aslowdyke and you're not, and frankly there's nothing that warns you about the automotive appreciation that goes on in Broken Beyond Repair.

Emily banting broken beyond repair