Have the Men Had Enough?
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 First edition | |
| Author | Margaret Forster |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Chatto & Windus |
Publication date | 1989 |
| Publication place | England |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 256 |
| ISBN | 0-701134-00-3 |
Have The Men Had Enough? is a 1989 novel by English writer Margaret Forster about the dementia of octogenarian 'grandma', alternating between the perspectives of Jenny (daughter-in-law) and Hannah (granddaughter).
As described by Winifred Robinson on BBC Radio 4's You and Yours about Margaret Forster:[1]
'dementia was only just beginning to register as a subject for public debate. Her vivid account of the once tough and self-relying grandma gradually falling apart as dementia takes hold was instantly recognised as so true to life that it was quickly being used as a teaching tool in universities and at nursing colleges. It's closely based on the experience of Margaret Forster's own family. It was Marion Davies, the mother of Margaret Forster's husband, Hunter Davies who had dementia. Margaret Forster began the novel three weeks after her mother-in-law died.'
Characters
- Three children of Grandma:
- Stuart, is a policeman and has the attitude that his mother should be in a home and he will have nothing to do with her care.
- Paula is his wife and she has two young children, Alastair and Jamie
- Bridget is forty-three years old, unmarried and a nurse and Grandma's primary carer. Fiercely independent herself, she's determined that her mother will not go into a home.
- Charlie is a successful stockbroker and his money pays the rent of Grandma's flat and for the helpers who look after her.
- Jenny is his wife and they have two children Adrian and Hannah (17)
- Stuart, is a policeman and has the attitude that his mother should be in a home and he will have nothing to do with her care.
- Carers: Susan, Lola, Mildred, Cynthia and Mary