First Love
First Love by Gwendoline Riley
Reviewed by Jess
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I struggled to write this review initially because in all honestly I absolutely HATED the protagonist character of this book! She knows her problems, triggers and issues and yet she continually aggravates them herself over and over again. Her husband is INSUFFERABLE and I failed to understand why she was with him. And then suddenly I realised that's what made this such an insightful and interesting book. It's a huge character study (is it semi autobiographical perhaps?) into the life of Neve. Often downtrodden through circumstances beyond her control, her childhood and her parents' behaviour affect her adulthood, in ways she immediately recognises but still does nothing to fight. A great insight into love, intimacy, anger, family and an isolated soul. The more I think about it, the more I love it.