The Republic of Love by Carol Shields

It is brave of a serious authoress to tackle the subject of love, skirting the edges of gooey romance and writing a realistic story that yet has the suspense of a good romance novel.

We've got two characters who don't know one another - Fay who is a specialist in mermaids, and Tom, an all night dj. Carol Shields always has characters with eccentric interests and lifestyles, good fun to follow. They are both enduring amazing social pressure from their friends and family to get married to someone, anyone, and they are both lonely. They also both live in Winnipeg but don't even meet until halfway through the novel. The effect of all of this is that we read poignant passages of their depression and loneliness during which we sit on the edge of our seats saying, rah rah! Get out there! She's waiting for you! He lives just across the street, if only you knew! So really, a very similar experience to what one feels during a Jane Austen novel, when the hero and heroine are busy ignoring one another.

There's a certain amount of philosophizing about the nature of love, which is less interesting than the suspense of 'when will they get it together?'. And an entirely realistic crisis when everything finally seems to be going well. All in all, a fun book to read, a contemporary look at an old issue and a story that makes a lot of sense.

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