Book Review: Mrs Gulliver

Mrs Gulliver
By Valerie Martin
Review by Alex A

This idyllic, clever re-telling of Romeo and Juliet-meets-The Tempest was just the right balance of romance, drama and gender dynamics.

Imagine if Juliet’s nurse was an elegant, astute madame of a brothel, situated on a tropical island in 1954. Lila Gulliver, our narrator, is a sharp-witted, emotionally intelligent businesswoman. The island is not exactly lawless, but the balance of power between the law, the church, and various crime family factions is tenuous.

Carita, a beautiful and blind 19-year-old, arrives on Lila’s doorstep and proves herself to be not only an asset to the business, but a force of nature to be reckoned with, whose fierce spirit Lila becomes fascinated by. When she falls in love with an aristocratic and arrogant young man, Lila’s sense of responsibility and complicity is tested.

Examining ideas around women’s agency, the ways women must adapt to survive in a patriarchal society, and above all, the ties that bind women to one another in solidarity, this was a charming, almost-period-piece novel, written with skill and read with pleasure. A perfect holiday/ weekend read!