{"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

In Brief<\/h3>\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>\n

\"First
First Love by Gwendoline Riley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Edwyn, Neve\u2019s husband, is another interesting character. While he wears the title of being the breadwinner in the family like a badge of honour, he taunts Neve, plays on her vulnerabilities and often becomes the abusive partner. Riley describes the joys of the marriage when the couple whisper sweet-nothings in each other\u2019s ears as well as the explosive fights between them. Edwyn, often tugs Neve by trying to build up forced sympathy in her because of his mental illness but whether this is a reality or an excuse to make her stay is up to the reader to decide.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\nLoveable heroine drowning in a melancholic life. First Love is tragic & pensive <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

The perception of women in the eyes of men is excellently portrayed. Neve is humiliated by her dad for a tiny spot of blood that accidentally fell on the toilet seat because she was on her monthly periods. Edwyn repeatedly accuses her of the time she vomited in the house and on herself when she was drunk. This is a typical \u2018men-reaction\u2019 and a good many of them out there still think women have hairless bodies, don\u2019t fart or burp. Somehow such unromantic bodily functions are never associated with femininity. With these two incidents in Neve\u2019s life, Riley paints a realistic picture of men\u2019s expectations of women and the reality.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

First Love<\/em> does not give any advice, not does it make Neve justify her choices. As a reader, I wondered if she would leave her marriage. But the book also made me think of the countless women who stay in a marriage even though they can find a way out. Neve does not complain, she just tells her story. And like the story of every woman in the real world, Neve has her share of happiness and sorrows. She is strong in her own way and she lives with the toxic family circle that she is part of. This makes her a loveable heroine drowning in a melancholic life. Riley takes us on a devastating journey through Neve\u2019s life and may I add she has done this task incredibly well?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I wish the title was something different. What you expect from the book and what you get are very different. I expected something on the lines of butterflies-in-your-stomach-ultimately-not-ending-well, the characteristic first loves we see in books. But the book is much darker and more sorrowful in tone. There is a significant portion dedicated to our heroine\u2019s relationship with her father and mother which according to me does not suit the title at all.<\/p>\n

\"First
First Love by Gwendoline Riley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Final Verdict<\/h3>\n

First Love<\/em> is a very strong contender in the shortlist of Baileys Prize 2017. It conveys much with so little words and creates an atmosphere that sucks the reader into the world that the protagonist inhabits. If you are a reader who does not judge, who is willing to accept the characters however flawed and imperfect they might be, here is your next great read.<\/p>\n

Check out other books in the Bailey’s Women’s Prize shortlist:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. Stay with me by Ayobami Adebayo – Deception, Marriage and Childlessness<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

2. The Power by Naomi Alderman – When Girls Rule the World<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

3. Do not Say We Have Nothing by Madeliene Thien – Ambitious, Musical and Historical<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

4. The Dark Circle by Linda Grant – An Emotionally Fulfilling Read<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

5. The Sport of Kings by C. E. Morgan – What is Wrong and Right with the Novel<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Title : First Love
\nAuthor : Gwendoline Riley
\nPublisher : Granta Books
\nPublished : 2017
\nLanguage : English
\nPages : 169
\nRating : 4\/5<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Disclaimer : Much thanks to Granta Books for a copy of the book. All opinions are my own<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A story about marriage, love and life choices …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3145,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6307,16],"tags":[6937,462,6369,540,87,767],"thb-sponsors":[],"yoast_head":"\nFirst Love by Gwendoline Riley - Minimal, Melancholic and and Pensive | The Book Satchel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A story about marriage, love and life choices narrated in a melancholic tone.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/first-love-by-gwendoline-riley\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First Love by Gwendoline Riley - Minimal, Melancholic and and Pensive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A story about marriage, love and life choices narrated in a melancholic tone.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/first-love-by-gwendoline-riley\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Book Satchel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"www.facebook.com\/thebooksatchel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"www.facebook.com\/thebooksatchel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-05-25T18:18:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-04-04T09:50:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/first-love1.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Resh Susan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@www.twitter.com\/thebooksatchel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@thebooksatchel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Resh Susan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/first-love-by-gwendoline-riley\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/first-love-by-gwendoline-riley\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Resh Susan\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c066f414ca95bff496a832cc43b1e634\"},\"headline\":\"First Love by Gwendoline Riley – Minimal, Melancholic and and Pensive\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-05-25T18:18:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-04-04T09:50:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/first-love-by-gwendoline-riley\/\"},\"wordCount\":925,\"commentCount\":16,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c066f414ca95bff496a832cc43b1e634\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/first-love-by-gwendoline-riley\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/first-love1.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"book prizes\",\"book review\",\"books by women\",\"gwendoline riley\",\"literary fiction\",\"women's prize for fiction\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Books\",\"Reviews\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/first-love-by-gwendoline-riley\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/first-love-by-gwendoline-riley\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/first-love-by-gwendoline-riley\/\",\"name\":\"First Love by Gwendoline Riley - 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