Madeline
The Cactus is similar to dozens of books I have read before. It is the typical story of a person who is very stuck in their ways, and then something happens in their life that forces them to change for the better. A person who had a single way of thinking opens up and accepts a new way of thinking, thanks to, usually, a someone but can be a pet or a job or an unwanted change in their life.
Premise Of The Cactus
Susan is a rigid women enjoys her life exactly the way it is. She does not like anyone, including her brother, to interfere with her life. She has no interest in finding a romantic partner or a good friend to share her life with. But then she finds a man who wants a relationship similar to what she wants. They share two days a week together, no more no less, with zero expectations as to elevating the relationship further. Until she gets pregnant. Now she is forced to allow a baby into her life. This turn of events forces other people and situations into her life that she never would have otherwise let in. And letting new people and situations into her life has turned her soft for the better. The moral of the story: Change is good!
“Changing For The Better” Stories
These types of “changing for the better” stories are not new. Since it is Christmas time, we can start with Scrooge in A Christmas Carol and all it’s five thousand adaptations. A Man Called Ove is another book that starts with a grumpy old man and, over time, changes for the better. A Gentleman in Moscow and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine are two more books with the theme of a grumpy person turns into a soft person. The GrumpLit bug is a real thing!
Final Thoughts
The Cactus was neither an offensive book nor a book I could not wait to pick up and read more of. It had the feel of many other Chick Lit books I have read and I am fine with that. It is not a unique book and does not warrant being the only book you read this winter. That being said, if you pound through many books like I do, it is worth considering if for no other reason but for an easy read.
