Fiction-Net > Book Reviews > The Love Hexagon

Book Review Title Author Publisher The Love Hexagon William Sutcliffe Penguin Fiction-Net Rating Buy It - Buy This Book Cover Story Six young Londoners - three men, three women, too much desire, not enough self-control. What could possibly go wrong? You're happy. You've got a decent career or one on the way. Maybe you live with someone. But it's not enough. You're not sure what missing, though. Real feeling, more sex? Love? Not with anyone obvious of course, like your partner or the colleague who's always liked you but with that out-of-reach someone you've secretly always wanted or the surprise candidate, the friend you hadn't looked at that way before. Or a close friend's boyfriend or your girlfriend's best mate. Sometimes, when Cupid gets you in his sights there's only one sensible thing to do. Duck. We Say As you can probably tell from the synopsis above, there's no radical new concept at work in The Love Hexagon. It's the same old 'Friends' type scenario, in which a group of twenty to thirty-somethings conduct their eventful love lives with far more panache and humour than anyone in the real world can seem to manage. That's not to say that there isn't plenty that we can all relate to - it's just that it has been exaggerated beautifully and converted into entertainment in the process. The Love Hexagon is an extremely enjoyable book, albeit a short one. Okay, so the plot is almost unforgivably simple and falls just short of being totally predictable but the characters form a group of people that you'll love spending time with. The narrative shifts between all six of them, giving the reader a perspective on each one. The author makes sure that we take on board both their faults and their virtues, in order to understand them fully. Most importantly, the characters seem very real. Often, in this kind of modern romantic fiction, the characters are stereotypical and dull but William Sutcliffe goes to the trouble of giving his characters another dimension. They are not merely the shy, insecure one or the laid-back joker. Their thoughts are voiced in a sincere and convincing way. There's lots of dialogue in 'he Love Hexagon and this works to great effect. It keeps the pace moving and brings some of the more predicable events to life. Finally, an obvious selling point for this book is its humour. It is one of the funniest books I have read for a while. Reading about the bickering between Lisa and Guy or the strange mind of Graham is better than any sitcom. Review by: Rachel Taylor Buy It - Buy This Book