The Flatshare

“Phone rings as Dr. Patel is prescribing meds for Holly […] Hang up when it rings, obviously.

Holly: Why didn’t you answer? Isn’t that rude? What if it was your girlfriend with the short hair? […]

Dr. Patel: You may have noticed that Leon is not a big talker, Holly.

Leans in, conspiratorial.

Dr. Patel: One of the registrars has a theory. He says that Leon has a limited number of words to use each shift, and when it gets to this time of day, he’s entirely run out.”

This passage, from the first chapter that Leon narrates, introduces his character and his habit of being sparing with words, even with people he cares about, like his patient, Holly. The text also illustrates the narrative style that will be characteristic of Leon’s chapters throughout the novel: His sentences are short and tend to skip words like pronouns, and dialogue is denoted by colons rather than quotation marks and attribution tags. This serves to differentiate his personality from Tiffy’s and highlights that Leon tends to be closed-off and more difficult to get to know.

“I need 350 extra a month if I’m going to keep paying Sal without Kay’s help.”

Leon’s reasoning for placing the ad in the paper for the flat share is first introduced as a need to pay a man named “Sal.” While it is clear that he owes someone money, Richie and his circumstances have yet to be introduced. This sort of slow exposition builds tension and curiosity, similar to the way the bag of scarves under the bed surprises Tiffy and leads her toward conspiratorial thinking. This passage also demonstrates that Kay is not supportive of whatever he’s trying to do and that Leon doesn’t want to need her assistance.

“Leon’s mug is still by the sink, half full of milky coffee. He always drinks it that way, from the same chipped white mug with a cartoon rabbit on the side. Every night that mug will either be on his side of the sink, half drunk, which I guess means he was pushed for time, or washed up on the draining board, which I assume means he managed to get up with the alarm.”

This quote reveals the level of observation that Tiffy has when it comes to the things Leon leaves around the house. After living in the flat for a month or two, she can read clues that indicate how Leon might be doing that day. This quote highlights the way that the flatmates are Building Trust and Intimacy Through Unconventional Means.

“I shake my head. I mean, I know me and Justin argued, but we always made up and things only got more romantic after a fight, so it didn’t really count. It wasn’t like when other couples argued—it was all just part of the beautiful, crazy roller coaster that was our relationship.”

Tiffy has a skewed perspective on her relationship with Justin at the beginning of the novel. She denies that it was toxic or unhealthy and only remembers the good times. Soon, though, she begins remembering more of the bad times and realizing that the relationship was abusive.

“‘It’ll all sink in eventually, Tiff,’ Mo says. ‘When it does, you just get on the phone to me, OK?’”

Tiffy’s friend, Mo, is a therapist who is patient and understanding of the process that Tiffy needs to follow in order to fully recover from Justin’s abuse. He is gentle and compassionate with her but regularly reminds her that what she experienced was not healthy or normal.

“‘You look after my brother for me, all right?’ I pause, surprised at the request. For starters, it seems like Richie’s the one who needs looking after, and for seconds, I’m really not best placed for looking after any of the Twomey family, given that I’ve never met a single one of them.”

After Tiffy speaks to Richie on the phone for the first time, they become fast friends, and she wants to know more about his situation. She is surprised, though, that Richie asks her to look out for Leon because she knows he has a girlfriend, and Tiffy hasn’t even met him. Even at this early point, Richie can tell that Tiffy is the right person for Leon.

“The day after my visit to the hospice, I come home to the longest and most incoherent note I’ve ever had from Leon, lain on the kitchen counter beside and uneaten place of spaghetti […] What does it mean? I lay a Post-it beside his note, sticking it carefully to the countertop.

‘Hey Leon, Are you all right? I’ll make rocky road, just in case. Tiffy xx’”

This is another instance where Tiffy can assume Leon’s state of mind through his Post-its. He usually leaves fairly short notes, and since this one is long and rambling and he hadn’t eaten his spaghetti, she worries that something is going on with him. She simply tells him she’ll make him a treat she knows he likes—again demonstrating her observation skills and thoughtfulness—and doesn’t pry. This is also an instance of dramatic irony, as the reader knows that he was nervous about meeting her at the hospice and that he has broken up with Kay.

“That’s good. Unusual, but good. Mam always has a man, and he always seems to be living with her, whoever he is. Almost always someone who Richie despises and I would rather not have to see. Mam has unequivocally bad taste. She’s always been a woman led astray by a bad man, a hundred times over.”

When Leon calls his mother, he is pleasantly surprised to learn that she is not currently living with a man. This is the first exposition of Leon’s mother’s history with men and the toll that took on their family. In this way, Leon’s understanding of what Tiffy went through with Justin is more evident.

“I lift the bouquet and check underneath it for a proper note, but no. A note would be far too straightforward—a giant, expensive gesture is much more Justin’s style.”

As Tiffy is recovering from her abusive relationship, she is no longer impressed by expensive gifts and gestures, which the flowers represent. She is annoyed that Justin didn’t write a note, a skill that Leon happens to be very good at.

“And, speaking of rent. Have an alert on my phone saying we’ve hit six months since you moved in. Technically end of your lease I think? You want to stay?”

By the time Tiffy has lived in the flat for six months, she and Leon have become quite close. He offers her the option to stay, and she accepts even though he no longer needs the money now that he is selling Mr. Prior’s scarves. They are both genuinely happy with their living situation, however unusual it seems to everyone else.

“The sudden rememberings are striking at entirely random times now, just bobbing up out of nowhere and sending me absolutely reeling.”

This quote provides insight into what it feels like for Tiffy to deal with traumatic memories from her relationship, highlighting The Long Process of Recovery From Emotional Abuse. It seems as if she had forgotten or repressed the painful ones, and now, when they come up, she finds them confusing, especially because she is much happier overall.

“He’d tell you where to be and how to get there, and then he’d walk you there because you wouldn’t be able to find your way on your own. He’d make every argument your fault, and he wouldn’t give up until you were sorry. He’d ditch you and then pick you up again at a moment’s notice. He told you you were overweight and weird and nobody else would want you, even though you are clearly a goddess of a woman and he ought to have felt lucky to have you.”

Gerty reminds Tiffy about how awful Justin was. Because Tiffy is unwilling to speak badly of Justin during the first half of the book, readers must rely on Mo and Gerty to provide a clearer picture of what he was like and how he behaved. Here, Gerty is forcefully outlining everything Justin did so that Tiffy won’t forget it or try to believe that it didn’t happen.

“I can’t believe how not-OK my relationship with Justin was, but even more than that, I can’t believe I hadn’t noticed. I think that will take a while to sink in in itself.”

Tiffy articulates a common realization while recovering from abuse. It took a lot of reflecting and talking to her therapist and friends to realize what had happened to her, and this quote illustrates that the recovery process is a hard and long journey.

“The following week Mr. Prior is unwell. Find myself surprisingly distressed. Mr. Prior is a very old man—it’s entirely to be expected. My job is to make him comfortable. Has been from the first day I met him. But I always thought I’d find him the love of his life before he had to go, and none of my five Johnny Whites has been any use at all. Three to go, but still. I was naive. Pretty sure Kay said so at the time.”

Leon is upset that Mr. Prior is getting sicker and that he still hasn’t found Johnny White. He feels silly for trying, which is how Kay would always make him feel. The sentence about Kay indicates that she had been emotionally hurtful to Leon, and he is still undoing some of the narratives that she put in his head about what his shortcomings are. While Kay is not portrayed as being as manipulative as Justin, this demonstrates that Leon’s situation is, in some ways, similar to Tiffy’s.

“She didn’t really say much. Even less than Mo does. I thought she’d tell me what was wrong with me. But instead I kind of figured out some stuff out all on my own…which I totally couldn’t have done without her sitting there. So weird.”

Eventually, Tiffy decides to see someone who isn’t Mo, or another therapist, named Lucie. She is surprised at how much she shares and how much she is able to figure out, even though the therapist doesn’t say much at all.

“She rolls eyes like it’s a minor irritation, but I’m still frowning. This doesn’t sound right. Have nasty suspicion I know men like this from my mother’s life. Men who tell you you’re crazy for getting suspicious of their behavior, who know where you live when you don’t expect them to.”

Tiffy has not let on to Leon through her Post-its how bad her ex was, but now that she is sitting with Leon on the train to Brighton, he realizes that Justin was a very bad boyfriend after he crosses a boundary by coming to their apartment for the first time, despite Tiffy not giving him her address. He recognizes the signs because his mom had been with men like that.

“‘It was hard to watch,’ Leon says, staring down at his tea. ‘She’s on the mend now. Lots of counseling. Good friends. Getting to the root of the problem.’”

Leon tells Tiffy that his mother is getting better, but her toxic relationships had been hard on him when he was young. This quote indicates that he still has some lingering bad memories about his childhood, but he has faith that she will get better, and they are starting to mend their relationship. Leon demonstrates patience and understanding with both his mother and Tiffy in this way.

“THINGS REALLY DID HAPPEN. (Mo asked me to remind you.) But you got through said bad things, and now you are stronger for it. (Gerty told me to pass on…though her version had more swearwords.) You are lovely, and I will never hurt you how he hurt you. (That part was me.) Leon xx”

This is a note that Leon leaves for Tiffy that shows how he, Gerty, and Mo are all looking out for her in their own ways. Mo wants to reassure Tiffy that she is not just misremembering things because Justin gaslit her into thinking she had a bad memory. Gerty tells her she is strong, and Leon offers tenderness and care. Each approach is distinct to each of their personalities.

“I suppose…there are some people I just feel comfortable with. Not many. But you were one before I even met you.”

Leon says this to Tiffy when they are on the train to Brighton. Because he is so introverted, he values people whom he feels comfortable around. Because they began their relationship before they even met and exposed their personalities to one another slowly over time, he is already very comfortable with her.

“I can tell he’s not sleeping well even when he’s here, so maybe it’s better for him to be out and about. He’s finally finished The Bell Jar, a sure sign he’s awake in the daytime, and seems to be surviving on caffeine mostly—at this point in the month we are not usually running this low on instant coffee.”

Tiffy has such concern for Leon’s well-being that she can tell he is not doing very well by the tiniest details around the house, down to noticing his progress in what he’s reading. These are things that she noticed when they were just friends, too, but now that they are falling for each other, Tiffy has a new motivation to be attuned to Leon’s emotions and needs.

“Don’t let your natural…reticence hold you back. Make it clear how you feel about her. After all, you’re something of a closed book, Leon.”

Mr. Prior urges Leon to tell Tiffy that he cares for her; he is concerned that Leon is too quiet and passive and will let this opportunity to pass him by, supporting the theme of The Rewards of Taking Risks in Life and Love. Because Mr. Prior regrets not being open about his feelings for Johnny White, he does not want Leon to make the same mistake.

“The smell of lilies is suffocating. Mo’s holding the bouquet beside me as we huddle there in the darkness, the blooms pressing close to my dress, staining the fabric with pollen.”

This quote illustrates the negative association Tiffy has with flowers. Even though the flowers in the quote were given to her by Katherin, she still associates them with Justin and his empty gestures, partly because she was holding them when he proposed to her but also because his big, expensive gestures didn’t mean anything.

“Tiffany Rose Moore of Flat 3, Madeira House, Stockwell

Would you like to be my wife?

Take some time to think about it. If you want to see me, I’m at the Bunny Hop Inn, Room 6.

I love you, x.”

Leon proposes to Tiffy via a note on the beach in Brighton where they found Johnny White together. His proposal was not a big, public scene like the fake one that Justin performed, but rather heart-felt and intimate and tailored to their own love story and original form of communication.