Three women. Three secrets. Three tangled lives…
Sid wears her independence like armour. So when she strikes up a rare connection with unlucky-in-love Finn, they are both determined to prove that men and women can just be friends. Can’t they?
Marin has the perfect home, attentive husband Nate, two beloved children – and a secret addiction to designer clothes. She knows she has it all, so why can’t she stop comparing herself to other women?
Widowed Bea believes that we all have one love story – and she’s had hers. Now her life centres around her son and support group of fierce single mums – the women she shares everything with. Well, apart from the one secret she can’t tell anyone…
#1 Sunday Times bestselling author Cathy Kelly brings you a refreshingly honest story about female friendship and marriage – and all the great loves of our life. And it’s a great read that has left me digging into her backlist.
In 2017, Cathy Kelly went public about the devastating assault that had impacted her life for years and the feelings of shame, humiliation and secrecy she experienced. These are common themes in many of her books, including this one, but there is also the exploration of healing and empowerment driven by the #metoo movement and her own public admission of the assault. But while the book does address some heavy themes, particularly for one character, Kelly delivers a story for all women.
In the messy reality of marriage, family and romance, sometimes it’s the women in our lives who hold us together. And that is certainly true in this book. True to Kelly’s style, Other Women zings alone, with polished, sassy prose, moving between three incredibly compelling characters, their tangled lives and the secrets they carry.
Kelly beautifully draws attention to the fact that we rarely know what happens in the lives of others, bringing a lot of substance to this novel. Plotted to perfection, with some unexpected twists and turns, the three different storylines intersect, weaving in themes of love, loss, motherhood, marriage and friendship.
There is a whole cast of great, well drawn characters in this book, but the story really belongs to Sid, Marin and Bea. I loved Sid’s storyline in particular, and by the end of the novel I felt like I was farewelling three friends.
Other Women is a wonderful read: emotional, hopeful and insightful. It’s a book about and for women… I loved it. Oh and that ending… perfect.
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