Almost Perfect (Dianne Blacklock, Macmillan, $30 tpb, ISBN 1405036184, September) ***

This is a novel about happy endings. More specifically, it is a novel about reader gratification and maximum pleasure for the woman (and make no mistake, this is a novel for women) who chooses to read it. As this seems to be the intention, it seems churlish to not feel gratified-and I did have the 'A-ha!' moment at the end which is pretty satisfying. The female characters find, and are sometimes surprised by, the right and proper end to the search for happiness. Lots of long conversations with plenty of clever and snappy dialogue, enough personal reflection and angst and a good dose of sex keep the whole thing rolling along nicely. All good and fair. But I was unbalanced by the rather serious nature of the problems that impede and delay these central female characters in their quest for happiness, and the almost jigzaw puzzle-like solutions that are provided maybe a little soft and/or pat. Perhaps I like my novels a bit harder-edged, and a little more complex. But the formula of this novel might be exactly what many readers are looking for. Certainly Almost Perfect uses an old fashioned chorus (in the guise of reading groups) to suggest that this is the case. Highly recommended for those who like a love story with an ending that is happy, simple and complete.

Annelise Balsamo is the assistant editor of Labour & Industry

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2004, Thorpe-Bowker