Bibliofemme Reviews
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Pretending by Caroline Williams  
(Published by Penguin)
Caroline Williams' main protagonist is Cuan. Everyone loves Cuan - he is attractive, friendly and completely unselfconscious - and when he meets Martina she too falls in love with him. However, Cuan has had his share of problems and only his dependable older brother, Michael, knows their full extent.
The main storyline is about how all of the characters have to come to terms with Cuan's lifestyle. Martina learns to love him as a friend while Eleanor turns to another woman for comfort. Michael has always accepted his brother's difference, unlike their father, Brian, who likes to keep his own secrets but can't cope when he learns those of Cuan.
Pretending is Caroline Williams' debut novel and although she has covered more ground in this one novel then most writers achieve in ten, she has pulled it off. The cast of characters experience straight, gay and lesbian sex; the main character is a transgender candidate; teenage pregnancy, stillbirth, abortion, miscarriage, multiple births, weddings, muggings, terminal cancer and the sudden appearance of a half-sister also figure in the narrative.
While all of this does seem slightly exhausting the reader is compelled to keep turning the pages. While I wonder what on earth Williams has possibly left to write about I do look forward to her next effort. Recommended.
January 2006
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