The Catch (Marg Vandeleur, Penguin, $22.95 pb, ISBN 0143000039, March) ***

Being single isn’t easy and theatrical agent Letty Summers knows it. Her partner has dumped her for an orthodontist, she can’t commit to Weekly Weighers and the events manager for Solos Online feels sorry for her. At 35, she knows her time is running out. Every week Letty juggles work, comedians, Tim Tams and yet another hilarious encounter with perspective sperm donors. Until Robert Darling—unattached, gay, gorgeous and desperate for a child—places an ad. Letty now discovers that there is a lot more involved then just a turkey baster. The Catch is Marg Vandeleur’s first novel after publishing poetry, short fiction and writing for performance. It is an honest and clear portrayal of the themes involved with women coming to terms with themselves and what they want. Readers will enjoy the ‘ex-lesbian-rebel-cum-conservative-mother’-type characters, although the inner city cross-section of characters can steer too close to stereotype to make any real statement or cause for thought. It’s chick lit with an urban edge. If you enjoyed Bridget Jones’ Diary then you will love the musings of Letty’s broken heart, self-conscious and determined weigh-ins, and confusion. It’s a light read that is enjoyably predictable.

Alex Grantham is a freelance writer and reviewer

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2005, Thorpe-Bowker