Readers acquainted with Elizabeth Jolley's novels know that they are not merely good reads; they are complex, challenging and sometimes disturbing. This latest novel centres around the two lives of a professor of literature, trapped yet comfortable in domesticity. His other life, however, is one of imagined bliss with female colleague Dr Florence and the literary world of the past. The novel is accordingly interspersed with literary quotes, which give the reader access to this other world in which the professor is so immersed. Professor Carpenter never really comes to terms with the demand of family life, the behaviour of his triplet daughters, nor the banality of his wife and sister-in-law. Yet Hazel, his wife, the most uncomplicated of characters, proves to be `an accommodating spouse' indeed, particularly when Dr Florence puts forward a very unusual proposal. Jolley deals here with the complex nature of human relationships, challenging the reader's attitudes and values as she does those of her characters. This is a novel about love and passion, about the different needs of the individual and, perhaps above all, about the need for some balance in our lives. An Accommodating Spouse will confirm Jolley's position as one of Australia's leading writers.

Anne Austin is a bookseller at Lindfield Bookshop, Lindfield (NSW). 

C. 1999 Thorpe-Bowker and contributors

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