Beware the Dwarfs

Are you, or have you ever been, single, female, twentysomething, flat-sharing in London, stuck in a dead-end job, longing for true love, a better life, something else--anything else? If so, the desperate futility of Terri Paddock's leading ladies' lives will become all too recognisable, all too soon. The "dwarfs", of whom Ms Paddock would have us steer a wide, wide berth, are not persons of a height-challenged physique, rather "small people" who belittle the ambitions of others. As opposed to the "really great" who "make you feel that you, too, can somehow become great". (Mark Twain.) Rather like a dank and fetid version of the sugar-sweet Friends, the story revolves around the daily lives of Charlotte, Rebecca, Harriet and Liz. Each is hounded by her own demons, unable to gel in the one-dimensional world of good-time City life. Boyfriends, lovers, flat-mates and neighbours come and go; Pete the heartless womaniser; hard-nosed but "available" Maxine; Joyce, whose baldness leads to sexual revelation. But the real trouble starts when wannabe writer Harriet persuades hapless Charlotte to share a daily diary. Charlotte's frankness, particularly over her disastrous love life, makes for unexpectedly entertaining reading. This dark tale of modern female friendships, worthless men and the search for enlightenment could have been titled "Beware Friends". --Carey Green


Genre: General Fiction