A reality show called The Virgin upheavals the Harcourt
family in Imperfect Bliss. Family
relations are already pretty strained when third child Diana announces that she
will star as The Virgin and filming is to start immediately. The varied reactions illustrate how the
family dynamic has always been. The
father has little to say and retreats to his academic world while the mother is
beyond thrilled for she has grand marriage plans for all four of her daughters. The eldest, Victoria, is fairly disinterested
like her father while Charlotte, the youngest, is concerned with grabbing some
of the attention for herself. Bliss, who
is the novel’s protagonist, is absolutely appalled at the notion of finding a
mate through a reality show. Of course,
she has relationship issues of her own having been forced to take her young daughter
and move back in with her parents after catching her husband in an affair.
Although the parallels to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
are clear, Imperfect Bliss is enjoyable in its own right. Susan Fales-Hill could’ve done a bit more
with it though. It was clear from the
beginning that race (the Harcourt girls are half-British and half-Jamaican) would
be a major factor, but then there were only passing references until the end. Much of what’s important in this blend of
comedy and drama doesn’t happen until the last half which left little room for
it to push beyond the superficial.
4/5
Review copy from Amazon Vine.
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