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Double Happiness (Rochelle Siemienowicz, MidnightSun)

In Double Happiness, journalist and film critic Rochelle Siemienowicz explores the intricacies, challenges and taboos surrounding polyamory and ethical non-monogamy (ENM). Set in Melbourne between 2014 and the Covid lockdown era, Siemienowicz’s debut novel follows three perspectives: Anna, married with a son; her husband, Brendan; and potential new lover, Jeremy. In staying true to her instincts, Anna challenges both Western societal norms and her own upbringing. Rather than offering a guide on polyamory, Siemienowicz subtly invites readers to let go of judgments and preconceptions by diving into the intimacies of the relationships. Throughout the book, Anna’s willingness to make her polycule (the term for a network of relationships with three or more people) work requires her to engage in brutally honest conversations and endless negotiations with her loved ones. She constantly challenges ideas about love, sex and jealousy and pushes those in the relationship towards more sincere and loyal connections than what we may see in many conventional marriages. Siemienowicz draws on her personal experience of ENM (also explored in her 2015 memoir, Fallen, which examines sex, religion and marrying too young) and her writing delves into the depths of human desires and layered emotions with an original plot that calls for deeper discussions. Double Happiness would make an excellent choice for book clubs; it is a refreshing novel that will appeal to those interested in modern philosophy, sociology, love and relationships. A must-read for fans of Alain de Botton’s The Course of Love and Dolly Alderton’s Everything I Know About Love.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Nadia Heisler is a CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) writer originally from Brazil with a background in journalism. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

 

Category: Friday Unlocked reviews Reviews