His Other Lover is the debut novel by journalist Lucy Dawson, and
tells the story of a relationship riddled with lies, deceit, and
manipulation. It’s narrated in the first person by the main character,
Mia, who discovers at the start of the book that her partner, Pete, has
been having an affair with an actress named Liz.
From that moment, Mia is like a woman obsessed. Concealing her
knowledge from Pete, she carries on the relationship like normal, while
secretly plotting her revenge. She’s a woman on a mission, and is
determined to fight to save her relationship, and will go to any
lengths to do so.
I thought this book was fantastic, and definitely of the ‘can’t
put it down’ variety. Dawson is a brilliant writer, she expertly
manipulates the reader’s emotions so that our assumptions are
constantly challenged and our sympathies never remain the same from one
page to the next. As soon as you think you know what’s going on,
something else happens and all your assumptions are cast in doubt once
more.
None of the characters were really likeable; at the end I felt
sorry for one person, and probably not who you would expect. Despite
this, I could really relate to the characters and imagine myself in
their position, especially Mia. Although her behaviour becomes more and
more extreme - to the point that at times I began to question her
sanity - it was amazing how much I could put myself in her shoes, and
wonder what I would have done had I been in her situation.
The novel was very cleverly written, there are so many twists and
turns and it didn’t lose pace for a moment. I was constantly engrossed
and on the edge of my seat. The best thing was how it really raises
some interesting ethical questions and I could imagine a book group
sitting round for an hour discussing this.
It also had a cracker of an ending which cleverly left everything
open for the reader to make their own judgement. Who’s telling the
truth? Has Mia descended into madness, or is she just doing what she
has to do to protect her relationship? I suspect everyone will have
their own opinion, and it's this moral ambiguity that makes the novel
so satisfying.
It’s not cute, it’s not heartwarming, but it will make you think
and keep you up all night turning the pages. Highly recommended.
Ok. This sounds FABULOUS! I love when characters walk that line between insanity and desperation. When it comes to men, it is so easy to dip a toe over the wrong side of that line.
Posted by: Lucie Simone | November 19, 2008 11:46 PM
It *is* fabuluous! You should definitely read it, Lucie!
There's definitely that element of a fine line. In actual fact, I should have written in the review that Mia discovers that Pete MIGHT be having an affair - so there's even that element of doubt throughout the whole book. It's a great read. :)
Reviewed by Amy Sheehan
Post a comment
Required fields marked by *