Pat Roser: Poppy's Progress

Reviewed by SUSANA CARRYER

This is a story of love, friendship and family; a true romance, without falling into outworn storylines or simplistic solutions to life's complexity.

Poppy is a competent primary school teacher nearing 50, refusing to be bullied out of the classroom into administration in the name of ambition. She lives alone with her cat, adapting to the single life after breaking up with the one lover she has had since the tragic end to a 13-year relationship, 10 years earlier.

A visitor foisted on her by her father brings new possibilities into a life that was looking depressingly predictable.

An easy read, with an expected plot development, this book may nonetheless prove challenging for those readers not used to regarding lesbians as ordinary people, with all the familiar issues around family, life and love.

For me, recognising events that have been part of my own life and development was one of the most engaging aspects of the book. The growing liberalisation and tolerance around gay and lesbian issues is made personal and accessible.

In the 15-year span of the novel, Poppy grows from being afraid of losing her job if she signs a petition in favour of the Homosexual Law Reform Bill, to being open to her principal about her sexuality.

The complex web of responses and attitudes when tragedy strikes is particularly revealing. The undertaker's discomfort when dealing with a grieving lesbian partner is humorously and ironically described.

Exquisite characterisation lifts this novel out of mediocrity, and compensates for the often clumsy dialogue and lack of surprise in the plot. Conversations with the cat initially appear to be an irritating ploy to allow introspection. Before long, however, Mrs Mudgely is an integral character.

Family relationships are particularly poignant, dealing with issues such as the assumption that the childless maiden aunt has no wisdom to offer her brother on the dilemmas of bringing adolescents safely to maturity.

Parental failure to treat an unmarried daughter as a fully functional adult is also explored with insight, leaving only the stepmother as a cardboard cut-out.

Above all, Poppy's Progress is a thoroughly enjoyable reassurance that even the most shy and prickly individuals can find love, laughter and happiness in life.

Spinifex $29.95

* Susana Carryer is an Auckland reviewer.