OK, it’s another comic novel about the trials and tribulations
of twenty-something romance in London. But it is a worthy example
of this rather tired genre that did so well in the1990s. For one
thing, it’s not obvious who our heroine Melanie will end up with,
and we are left guessing right until the end. Of course, there’s
no doubt that Melanie will eventually find a Mr Right — while
she’s often feisty, she certainly isn’t a loner. Her best friend
Fran is even wilder, so the two of them have lots of fun together,
but they also take care of each other.

That’s why Fran is so nasty to Mel’s boyfriend Alex — she thinks
is a complete waste of time and Mel should dump him immediately.
The tension between Fran and Alex provides some grist to keep
the plot interesting, and her insults to him are funny. Even though
Alex is constantly getting drunk and making a nuisance of himself,
he is not the main villain in this novel. That role is left to
Amanda, whom Mel and Fran have known since they were all in school
together. Amanda is vain, insensitive and unpleasant, and it’s
not clear to Mel and Fran why they keep in touch with her. When
Amanda announces she is marrying Fraser, an old friend of Mel’s,
she really rubs her romantic success in their faces.

One especially British feature of this novel is its treatment
of Amanda’s wealth. While American culture so often treats the
rich with frank and unabashed admiration, British culture generally
views the rich with suspicion. TV soaps in the USA feature people
with plenty of money, while British soaps are about the working
classes. Amanda, whose father got rich quick and unexpectedly,
parades her wealth over her old friends and now regards them with
patronizing disdain, happy to be moving in different social circles
from them. Compared to Mel and Fran, Amanda’s new friends are
shallow and clueless.

There’s also a clear distinction between wealth and class in British
culture. Fraser and his younger brother Angus are from Scottish
aristocracy, but they are also the salt of the earth. Nobody who
knows Fraser can understand why he has agreed to marry Amanda,
and just about everyone hopes that he will come to his senses
before the wedding. It’s clear that Amanda only really wants Fraser
because of his family’s status, and she treats him like a dog.

Another cultural difference that shines out in this novel concerns
alcohol: there’s an alarming amount of drinking in this story,
and that’s true to life for modern Britain where the pub remains
the center of social life for most people. People don’t think
they have had a good time during a night out if they don’t get
blind drunk. Colgan brings this out nicely.

There are quite a few references here that will mystify non-Brits:
Bagpuss, Gail from
Coronation Street,
and place names of parts of London are obvious examples. But American
readers should be able to get the gist even if they don’t understand
all the details. It’s about living life in your twenties and trying
to find someone to share it with.

So a cheerful thumbs up for this nicely written novel. It certainly
earns its place on the shelf next to Bridget Jones,
High Fidelity,
and all the others of the same ilk.

© 2001 Christian Perring. First Serial Rights.

Christian Perring,
Ph.D., is Chair of the Philosophy Department at Dowling College,
Long Island. He is editor of Metapsychology Online Review.
His main research is on philosophical issues in psychiatry.
He is especially interested in exploring how philosophers can
play a greater role in public life. He is available to give talks
on many philosophical or controversial issues in mental health.

Categories: Fiction