This is the latest in 
a series of occasional posts featuring books I read years ago about which I was wildly enthusiastic at the time, wanting to press a copy in as many hands as I could.
Regular readers of this blog will have noticed that I tend to shy away from fluffy novels, often heading towards the darker end of the fiction spectrum although not too dark, particularly in recent years. Unashamedly romantic, The Republic of Love might seem an uncharacteristic choice but I loved it.
Shields’s novel tells the story of Tom and Fay both of whom have a chequered romantic past. Fay finds it hard to commit herself. She has her parents’ idyllic marriage as a model, a marriage which seems almost to be a mirage of happiness, one she can’t quite believe she can attain for herself. And Tom? Well, Tom already has three marriages behind him. Ill matched as these two may seem, they fall in love but, as we all know, the course of true love never did run smooth.
Not the best known of Shields’s novels but it was the first of hers I read and I have a soft spot for it.
What about you, any blasts from the past you’d like to share?
You can find more posts like this here.
I’m sure I read this years ago but it’s completely faded from my memory! I’m not much of a romance reader either but the author being Carol Shields must have encouraged me to pick this one up.
Not my favourite genre either but this one’s lovely. Definitely has a Carol Shields stamp on it.
I loved her Stone Diaries many years ago when I started reading seriously. That led me on to read other similar writers such as Ann Tyler, Joyce Carol Oates, Margaret Atwood, and more recently Elizabeth Strout.
Nice to see Strout ranked alongside those authors. Margaret Atwood wrote an introduction to the edition whose cover I’ve borrowed to illustrate the post.
I’ll have to look out for that Atwood introduction, but it’s not like I need convincing as this is one of my all-time favourites anyhow. There’s so much in it that I don’t think of it as a romance first. The film is very slow moving (typical of a lot of Canadian indie films) but it’s loyal to the spirit of the book and I really loved it too. (As I did the film versions of her Unless and Swann. Did you read those as well?)
I did and loved Unless but didn’t get on so well with Swann. I wonder if I can track down the Republic of Love film. It sounds just the ticket to cheer up a winter evening.
I love Carol Shields but remember this was one I abandoned halfway through. I can’t recall why and am very tempted now to revisit it. DNFs are usually about mood for me, and if you loved it, then it’s got to be a good book. I see above that you struggled with Swann, and I did too. But I got to the end of it and remember it being worthwhile! The rest I just straight up loved.
I feel the weight of responsibility on my shoulders! I hope it works better for you second time around if you do pick it up again, Victoria.
I’ve not read any of Shield’s fiction, but I am thoroughly enjoying her bio on Jane Austen atm.
I’d forgotten about that. Thanks for the reminder. I remember when it was published thinking that Shields and Austen were the perfect match.