
The Best of Everything by Kit de Waal review – the power of kindness
Reflecting on his childhood in the autobiographical novel In the Castle of My Skin, George Lamming wrote that it was 'my mother who really fathered me'. Damningly, the Barbadian novelist asserted that his father 'had only fathered the idea of me'. That notion of children being left mainly, if not solely, the liability of mothers still widely resonates in Caribbean households. In Kit de Waal's tender novel, The Best of Everything, the protagonist Paulette, a single mother, embraces the role not just of mothering and largely fathering her son, but also selflessly acting as a proxy mother to a child who risks being abandoned.
De Waal, who edited the 2019 anthology Common People, has long championed working-class lives, 'written in celebration and not apology'. In The Best of Everything Paulette is a migrant to Britain from St Kitts, an auxiliary nurse whose disdain for bedpans does not dampen the pleasure she takes from the thought that 'it's nice going home at night knowing you've helped people'.
At the start of the novel in 1972, Paulette, aged 29, is fervently in love with Denton, a Jamaican building contractor whose ambition is evident in his leather-seated, cherry-red Toyota. Busy, allegedly, with work abroad, his irregular visits heighten his appeal. Denton sleeps with an arm wrapped around her shoulders 'like a fur stole'. Paulette scrutinises him, looking for possible faults, but all she finds are 'things that make her love him more'.
Early on, though, Paulette's excited plans for their future are shattered when Denton is killed in a car crash. De Waal uses spare, unfussy prose to capture Paulette's grief, which receives scant recognition even from her friends. 'Them with their side-eye … The rough questions with the smooth sympathy … lacing their interrogation with wine.'
The Best of Everything is a quiet, mournful book whose title speaks to everything that Paulette has lost: the chance to own a home, to start a family and give her child every scrap of love, to surrender to the man who was forever in her heart, to be 'coaxed, kissed and caught'. Fate mocks her and the miniature bottles of Appleton rum that she begins to secretly knock back only partially anaesthetise her pain.
The fatal car crash is the animating incident powering the novel with a series of unexpected consequences. In the first instance, Paulette takes comfort from Denton's best friend, Garfield. Pretty soon Garfield upgrades from sympathetic companion to lover, one who gives Paulette what she has yearned for: a baby.
The understated tone of the novel, perfectly judged through the elegant modesty of the writing, reflects the emotional veil that Paulette especially wears in public, with one notable exception. Walking through a park, with Garfield pushing their baby, Bird, in his pram, Paulette sees the elderly man whose dangerous driving led to Denton's death. To the horror of Garfield and passersby, she leaps on the man and wrestles him to the ground.
The assault unsettles Paulette more than the target of her wrath; it's contrary to her sense of decorum and of self. In demonstrating Paulette's complexity, De Waal meets the difficult challenge of creating a kind-hearted protagonist who is caught in a conundrum of withholding emotion and surrendering to an internal migration while still being keenly attentive to others.
Paulette's capacity for generosity is further tested later by another extraordinary encounter with the same old man from the park. Frank Bowen is a lost soul who 'poured more disappointment into one look than Paulette thought was possible'. Frank mourns his daughter, a passenger in his car during the crash, who suffered a brain injury and died three years later.
Sign up to Inside Saturday
The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend.
after newsletter promotion
In a theatrical plot twist, handled adeptly by the author, Frank corners Paulette and pleads with her to adopt his orphaned grandson Nellie. A disheveled Frank seems barely able to take care of himself, never mind a young boy. Nellie's pitiful look 'nearly splits her in two', and within a short time she's regularly inviting the boy into her home.
Till this moment, Paulette's focus had been exclusively on Bird, but by the end of this beautifully rendered tale extolling unfashionably the virtues of kindness, Paulette acknowledges 'an extra chamber in [her] heart' where Nellie resides. The admission is emblematic of a quietly unforgettable character, a compassionate, nurturing mother who also fathers the two boys. It's her maternal Caribbean nature, 'and there's nothing she can do about it'.
The Best of Everything by Kit de Waal is published by Tinder (£20). To support the Guardian and the Observer buy a copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time Out
13 hours ago
- Time Out
Pulp at London's O2 Arena: start time, tickets, potential setlist and what you need to know
Up until a few years ago, it seemed like legendary Britpop band Pulp had retired for good. But in 2023 the 'Common People' singers made an epic comeback with their international 'This Is What We Do For An Encore' tour. Jarvis Cocker and co clearly can't get enough of the touring life, and are about to embark on another nationwide stint of concerts, playing six shows across four major UK arenas this June. Pulp will swagger onto the stage in London this weekend as part of the 'You Deserve More' tour. Even more exciting – they've just released a brand new album More, and are likely to be playing lots of tunes from it (as well as all the classics). Heading to the show? Here's everything you need to know. When are Pulp playing at London's O2 Arena? Pulp are playing in London on Friday, June 13 and Saturday, June 14. What are the timings? Doors to the venue will open at 6.30pm for both weekend shows. The show is set to start at 8pm and wrap up at around 10.30pm. There will be an interval halfway through the concert which will feature 'extended performances', Jarvis Cocker said in an Instagram post. What's the setlist? There is no official setlist, so all will be revealed on the night. However, Pulp's last live show in Glasgow went like this: Spike Island Grown Ups Slow Jam Sorted for E's & Wizz Disco 2000 F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E. Help the Aged Tina Farmers Market This Is Hardcore Sunrise Something Changed The Fear O.U. (Gone, Gone) Seconds Acrylic Afternoons Do You Remember the First Time? Mis-Shapes Got to Have Love Babies Common People A Sunset Who is supporting? Pulp won't have a support act at the O2 this weekend. Can you still get tickets for Pulp at London's O2? Yes! Tickets are still available for both nights online via AXS and Ticketmaster. They range from £59-£156.


The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
Sly and the Family Stone singer dies aged 82
Sly Stone, the singer-songwriter and frontman of Sly and the Family Stone, has died at the age of 82 after battling COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] and other health issues. Stone passed away peacefully surrounded by his three children, close friend, and extended family, according to a statement from his family. Sly and the Family Stone rose to fame with their 1969 hit "Dance to the Music." Stone, born Sylvester Stewart in Denton, Texas, was raised in a religious family and formed a gospel group called the Stewart Four with his siblings. Stone's family mentioned that he recently finished writing the screenplay for his life story, which they plan to share with the world.


Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Glastonbury Festival's Patchwork secret act unveiled by expert tipster
SecretGlasto has confirmed the mysterious Pyramid Stage act, 'Patchwork', to be Pulp in a new social media video. If true, this performance would mark thirty years since their first Glastonbury headline set, and their seminal album 'Different Class'. Glastonbury Festival's mysterious Pyramid Stage act, 'Patchwork,' is Pulp, according to the expert social media account SecretGlasto, which has built up a reputation for confirming secret Worthy Farm acts for the past ten years. The dedicated X account for Secret Glasto had been building up to a reveal at 10 AM on Monday, June 9. This resulted in a video compilation set to the soundtrack of the Britpop hero's 1995 hit, 'Common People'. Posting the 35-second clip to X and Instagram, the video included the quote from keyboardist Candida Doyle, who spoke to BBC Radio 2 about her patchwork hobby, followed by lead singer Jarvis Cocker saying it's the "best music festival I've ever been to, easy, Glastonbury." Further into the clip, former BBC Radio 1 host Scott Mills asks Jarvis, "Would you step up?" before replying, "If it was a life-or-death situation." — Secretglasto (@secretglasto) June 9, 2025 Pulp first headlined Glastonbury in 1995 after stepping in to cover The Stone Roses and went on to headline again in 1998. This year marks thirty years since their breakthrough performance, as well as their album 'Different Class', which helped cement them as BritPop legends. Speaking to the BBC about the numerous TBC acts still to be revealed at Glastonbury, Ad, who helps to run the SecretGlasto social media accounts, explained: "Of the four main slots, I think we've got three of them, maybe four, nailed down. "I think it's definitely people who have got relationships with the festival who will be doing the big slots. An emotional return for one or two, I think. Some unfinished business." This led many fans to think Lewis Capaldi, who had to end his 2023 set early after suffering an emotional breakdown, or even Lana Del Rey, who had to delay the start of her set in 2024, could be likely candidates to fill the empty slots. Ad from SecretGlasto continued: "We've got loads of contacts at different stages and record labels and whatever else. And people trust us to be sensible with the information. And the bands themselves don't want empty secret sets do they? So we have had occasions where they have come to us." Interestingly, the six people behind the popular social media account with 87.5K followers on X don't work in the music industry at all. Another account manager, JB, told the BBC: "Now that we've been around for 10 years and have a decent bit of clout, we will contact some of the artists via their inboxes, and quite often, they're happy to confirm. "Sometimes they don't. Sometimes they block us. But generally we're able to piece all that together fairly quickly."