Book Review: Calling Romeo (Alexandra Potter)

Juliet can't help wishing she had more romance in her life. She loves her boyfriend Will, but after living together for two and a half years, she's come to realise that thirtysomething monogamy isn't all it's cracked up to be. Will used to whisk her off to candlelit restaurants. Now his idea of a perfect evening is a video and vindaloo. He used to leave post-it notes saying 'I love you' on the bathroom mirror. Now the only things she finds are his dirty socks on the bathroom floor. So, when Juliet meets a sexy, dark-eyed Adonis from a rival London advertising agency she is sorely tempted. And when he invites her away for an illicit, no-expense-spared weekend in Verona it's almost impossible to resist. Her very own Romeo.

But does she want to risk losing Will and all they have shared together? Juliet must work out what's really important in life and whether romance really is all about sexy lingerie and red roses.

I'm not certain why I somehow still read books about someone infidelity when I know that all it ends up doing is making me feel terribly agonised. It irks me to no end, but perhaps I keep looking for a book that gives an insight to both sides of the party. Well, Calling Romeo fits well, but it isn't the best read, I don't think.

I'm very torn about my response to this book. On the one hand, the trickling pace of the plot bored me. Too much narrative! I was tempted to skip through and just get to the ending. I disliked the ending; hated the message it could have easily given to the reader. On the other hand, I appreciated Juliet's hesitations because that is how it is. Unless one is unfeeling or morally apathetic, you would hesitate and reconsider to the nth degree your decision to begin an affair. I thought Juliet's thoughts and indecision - her consultations to friends even - were an accurate portrayal of that dilemma. But I'm not saying she justifies it - adultery for me is never justified, whatever the circumstance. Juliet does however, show that she isn't indifferent and has genuine reasons for her affair with Sykes. Admittedly, I believe part - a very small part - of the blame lies on Will, but as Juliet realises love is not always the happy side of the coin.

Calling Romeo is underscored by many subplots, and one can view the events from different points of view. And so when everything unravels, there is much, too much pain swivelling around the characters. I'm not exactly happy how Will handled Juliet's unfaithfulness, and how towards the end Juliet for me didn't feel as apologetic as she should be. Oh yes, there were many tears and pain but I didn't feel she was ultimately entitled to be angry at Will after her unfaithfulness, because whatever Will did or did not do, cheating surpasses that. I tell myself this though: she isn't me. She's a flawed character, and in that she is entitled to feel what she does. I don't think they resolved anything by the ending, and it was very vague, but there you go.

The plot is cliche. The characters are naive, sometimes foolish, sometimes selfish. It can be dragging. But ultimately, Calling Romeo is a book that builds on its imperfections. It made shed tears, it made me angry, it made me want to lash out at the ending, but at the end of it all it's a story of two people that isn't me. Therefore while I don't think it's the best book, plot or ending for me, it might just be for them.

Three Stars.