Review: Puffball by Fay Weldon
Puffball, the iconic novel by British author Fay Weldon is a deliciously dark comedy about marriage, pregnancy and change. Although it was first published in 1980, many of the themes feel very relevant to modern readers. It tells the story of Liffy and Richard, a young and fairly innocent couple whose lives are thrown into disarray after Liffy decides that they should move to the country. Thanks to the interference of their supposed friends, as well as that of their new neighbours, Liffy soon finds herself pregnant and alone, while Richard is busy trying to bumble his way through his new life--and many new women--in London . Puffball is not a book for readers who are looking for likeable characters and lovely descriptions of the British countryside. Rather, it is a criticism on human nature--on the often cruel way that women treat one another, while they fight for the attention of men who hardly deserve it. Liffy is a fairly decent character who means well most of the time...