Reviewed by Wendy Lipke
Love Unedited is the work of Caro Llewellyn, an Australian business executive, artistic director, festival manager and nonfiction writer. Her publications include the 2020 Stella Prize-shortlisted memoir Diving into Glass, which explores her father’s experiences with polio, her own multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis and the realities of living with a disability. Love Unedited is her first novel.
Most novel writers generate stories based on their own experiences and interests and in this contemporary love story Caro Llewellyn has infused some of her own.
Written in the third person this story is presented with two storylines, one later than the other, of women working in the publishing industry. They are Edna and Molly. The reader soon feels that there could be a close connection between the two – that will be revealed. The earlier storyline dominates with the other slipping in now and then in the early part of the novel but gaining precedence in the later part.
Young women who seek a career often find it difficult to find true love and a satisfying, lasting relationship. While reading about these characters, I was reminded of the book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, by John Grey, which discussed the differences between the sexes when considering communication styles, emotional needs, and modes of behaviour in relationships.
The detailed description of fly fishing, provided in this novel, epitomised the relationship I was reading about being enticed, caught, released abruptly to have the cycle repeated again and again at later dates. For Edna she wanted more than what she was getting from him, but the magic was not there with others. It was the impossibility of him that kept her coming back (146).
The women in the two stories have much in common. Both were Australians who spent much of their time in America. Both worked in the publishing industry so were involved with travel for readings, interviews, signings, rules of engagement, secret relationships.
Reading about Edna’s story frustrated me, but Molly’s introduction with a brief segment of a manuscript from an anonymous writer generated renewed interest. The manuscript touches Molly on a very personal level and she wants to know more, as does the reader.
There are few significant characters in this story, and they have only been given first names. As for Edna’s significant other, he is referred to by pronouns. He is spoken about but never actually named, that I recall.
As the unravelling of the connection between the two female characters occurs, the reader is still left without confirmation regarding some relationships – who was Molly’s father?
This novel turned into an interesting read about the publishing industry, modern society, relationships and disability and how this can affect a person’s life.
Love Unedited
(2025)
by Caro Llewellyn
Picador Pan Macmillan Australia
ISBN:978-1-76156-174-0
S34.99; 272pp