{"id":3142,"date":"2017-05-25T23:48:00","date_gmt":"2017-05-25T18:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fableandi.com\/?p=3142"},"modified":"2020-04-04T15:20:36","modified_gmt":"2020-04-04T09:50:36","slug":"first-love-by-gwendoline-riley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/first-love-by-gwendoline-riley\/","title":{"rendered":"First Love by Gwendoline Riley – Minimal, Melancholic and and Pensive"},"content":{"rendered":"
First Love<\/em> story about marriage, love and life choices narrated in a melancholic tone. Gwendolyn Riley found her way on the shortlist of Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction this year with this quiet, pensive novel.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n First Love<\/em> is Neve\u2019s story \u2013 the story of her relationship with her parents, her marriage, her writing life and her old loves. Neve is facing loneliness and financial anxiety as she stays in her toxic marriage with Edwyn, the tantrum-thrower and attention-seeker. Her father is harsh on her; her mother is never-satisfied and they divorced when Neve was a young girl. She wades through life dragging these imperfect people in her life, trying hard not to sink and disappear.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I really enjoyed reading this book. It was short, a quick read and very touching. The book reminded me of The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes, one of my favourite books. There is so much conveyed in few words. Riley \u2018shows\u2019 us Neve\u2019s life but she doesn\u2019t \u2018tell\u2019 her story at all. This is a wonderful experience for a reader. For example, when the younger Neve decides to put aside her veganism and share her dad\u2019s ice cream; the action implies forgiveness, an effort to bond with him and renew their relationship. But her dad is horrified that his portion of the ice cream will be smaller if he shares it instead of embracing the friendly gesture of his daughter. Neve\u2019s mom is chaotic and lives life on her own terms. The relationship between the mother and daughter is shown by the conversations between them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nIn Brief<\/h3>\n