Not Married, Not Bothered

The new woman's novel. A celebration of growing-up.Riley Gordon would not go as far as her best friend, Magda, who has decided that she would have the full wedding ceremony and celebrations – but that the person to whom she was getting married was – herself. It was Magda's statement for single women. It was Riley's call to arms, her challenge to celebrate singleness, to re-establish that much maligned, splendid word spinster.The life of Riley is an excellent one. She has no issues, no life crises, she is celebrating her life. Her mother is not so sure – her marriage to Riley's father may have been a mistake, but as a merry widow she is allowed lovers. Her sister happily married but with two children is certain it is good. Her extensive relations including those in the more successful branch of the family feel free to give their opinions, frequently and unasked. Her various friends, straight and gay, are delighted always to have such available and lively companionship. And her lovers, all ex at the present, wonder when they might be able to weight the balance from freedom towards themselves. Carol Clewlow, author of A Woman's Guide to Adultery, has written a wonderfully refreshing, witty novel, her conversational tone perfectly suited to the book. The views on marriage, on lifestyles, on age, on our attitudes are lively, unusual and stimulating. Riley is a character all of us would like to have in our lives.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Fiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.