Aged to Perfection by Niloufar Lamakan

The pursuit of passion in later life is celebrated in #agedtoperfectionnovel the very funny debut of @nlamakan. When Sophia Stone finds herself single at sixty, a friend dares her to seek her soulmate by going on one date a week for a year. Sophia, who has had her fill of faithless men, chooses to ignore the soulmate bit. Instead, she resolves to have lots of meaningless but thrilling sex. Cue hilarious adventures on the senior dating scene, where Sophia encounters characters such as Premature Paul, the Opera Buff and the Orgasm Expert.  

Humorous novels about older women tend to focus on their relationships with former partners or adult children. In contrast to this, there is a refreshing sense of liberation in Aged to Perfection. Sophia’s sex life is nobody’s business but her own. Also, being a successful interior designer, she can afford to travel abroad on her quest for sensual pleasure, and her day job provides a stream of comical anecdotes about her quirky clients.

The story is narrated in diary format. Most of the entries are witty and casual but others are more thoughtful. When Sophia is not engaged in bawdy carousing, she shows how deeply she cares for her close circle of friends, her lively octogenarian parents and her troublesome sister. When she writes ‘I kept my feelings inside with a giant stopper of nonchalance’ it perfectly describes Sophia’s personality.

I was given a copy of this book in return for an honest review. I can honestly say it made me laugh out loud.