# The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year

By Sue Townsend

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/the-woman-who-went-to-bed-for-a-year-e4eea128/

When her children leave home, Eva climbs into bed and stops taking care of everyone. Her husband Brian wants his familiar life back, including someone to make dinner. Eva’s refusal draws her relatives into the bedroom and brings the marriage’s neglected problems into view.

## What makes it funny?

Brian asks about dinner, Eva says she isn’t hungry, and he has to explain that he meant his dinner. When he calls her mother for help, a perm takes priority; the hairdresser even explains the legal complications of abandoning the treatment halfway through.

### The comedy at work

Eva stops doing things, and everyone else reveals what they assumed she would keep doing forever. Brian’s dependence becomes particularly obvious when he has nobody left to tell him what to do. The arguments turn ordinary household routines into a prolonged family crisis.

### Try this if…

Domestic satire about unappreciated work is the main attraction. Readers in book groups remember it as funny and thought provoking, and the simple image of a woman staying in bed for a year sticks with them.

### Good to know

Infidelity, sexual references, swearing and cruel comments about bodies are part of the family portrait. BookerWorm’s reviewer enjoyed the laughs but found Eva increasingly selfish later. Alex Clark notes bleak stretches alongside the comedy.

## What to expect

- Genre: Contemporary & literary
- On the shelf: Family comedy
- Kind of humor: Banter · Satire · Situational comedy
- Format: Novel
- Published: 2012

## A few distinguishing details

- A mother’s refusal to leave bed disrupts the household
- A domestic crisis competing with a perm appointment

## Sources & further reading

- Publisher: [Publisher](https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/179367/the-woman-who-went-to-bed-for-a-year-by-townsend-sue/9780141399645)
- Reading sample: [Penguin opening extract](https://charbzaban.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Lovereading-_The_Woman_Who_Went_to_Bed_for_a_Year_by_Sue_Townsend.pdf)
- Review: [Guardian review](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/feb/24/woman-went-bed-sue-townsend-review)
- Review: [Book review](https://www.bookerworm.com/reviews/72-the-woman-who-went-to-bed-for-a-year.html)
- Reader discussion: [Reader discussion](https://facebook.com/groups/TwoGirlsMustReads/permalink/2370133377119140)