Consider Yourself Kissed

Stanley (A Great Hope) serves up a charming and intelligent story of a 20-something Australian copywriter and aspiring novelist who builds a new life in London. Soon after arriving in England in 2013, Coralie meets political journalist Adam in a park and falls in love. He’s amicably divorced from his ex-wife, Marina, with whom he shares custody of their four-year-old daughter, Zora. Coralie is intimidated by Marina’s “intellectual credentials,” and after she moves in with Adam and helps raise Zora, she senses that Marina views her as a “low-level functionary who nevertheless oversaw an important part of her (Marina’s) life.” Coralie’s creative ambition keeps getting deferred; drafts of the novel she’s working on live first under a sofa cushion and then in an IKEA bag under the bed. Adam, on the other hand, churns out books, including a biography of Boris Johnson. As the narrative progresses to the present day, Stanley portrays domestic and political developments with wry humor and sharp prose, depicting how the Brexit vote and a family loss each put a strain on the couple and how Coralie finally grapples with her desire to write. Readers will root for Stanley’s endearing heroine. (May)