Review: Green Dot by Madeleine Gray

Green Dot by Madeleine Gray

It was almost by chance I came to this. A colleague mentioned that she was reading it, and within a week I found it on sale and thought "why not"? It wasn't until a few weeks later that I realised I was going to see Madeleine Gray at the SWF and so it jumped up the priority list. 

I actually enjoyed this book far more than I expected it. I think we can call it contemporary romance, and I won't lie, one of the things that I was particularly drawn to is that it is set in my city and events occur near where I work. I could really visualise the characters in the actual places that are within my own experience. When Gray describes the workers entering their place of work - how they look, how it feels to be one of them - it connected with my own personal experience. Even just the way Gray describes how the office works - the siloing of colleague groups, the awkward interactions, the importance of finding some you can connect with and send those snarky messages to when required. Gray nailed it. 

The novel follows Hera, a 24-year-old Australian navigating the disillusionment of post-university life. She has finished her degrees, still lives with her father and despite feeling completely disconnected from herself and those around her, she concludes its time for her to do something to move her life forward. She begins working as an online comment moderator and finds herself drawn into an intense affair with Arthur, her older, married colleague. Despite identifying as a lesbian, Hera becomes infatuated with Arthur, finding in him a source of excitement and escape from her mundane routine. Their relationship, largely sustained through digital communication (hence the green dot connection - that good old green dot on Teams) begins to consume Hera's life.

Hera's voice was one of the key strengths of the novel for me. Her voice is bold and unique - she isn't afraid to engage with her own inner thoughts and self. She recognises that her actions aren't acceptable, that they do damage to her, to Arthur, to his family and to those that love and support her. But despite knowing it's wrong she isn't afraid to pursue her desires knowingly. She is chronically anxious about what people think about her but handles this by making every attempt to seem overly confident and extroverted. I think this is a fairly authentic depiction of how some people deal with their own anxiety. 

It also added a welcome element that the story was told from the perspective of Hera looking back on her affair with Arthur - we know where it all ends, but it doesn't impact the journey. I would say that even though Hera was the leading lady, as someone much closer in age and experience to the 'older man' I couldn't help but reflect on the experience of him and his family, something that isn't really touched on in the book. The duplicity that can sneak into marriage. The desire to be the centre of someone else's world and what people will do when that feeling fades in their own relationship. The heartbreak and betrayal his wife must have felt. This definitely wasn't the point of the story - just where perhaps my own age led my thoughts and reflections.  

In short - this was a compulsive read, and I highly recommend it.