With so very few books written about polyamory (the practice of engaging in multiple romantic and typically sexual relationships, with the consent of all the people involved) from a People of Color perspective, Leslie Ann Carvery’s SHE LOVED: A Life Lived in Love could be a welcome addition to contemporary literature’s canon on the subject. With the main character’s son Darrin portrayed as half Black, half Mexican, and many of his mother’s significant others hailing from a smorgasbord of racial and cultural backgrounds, there is potentially much value to be found in this unusual novel. Categorized as ‘romance,’ the story would perhaps be better described as ‘literary fiction’ for it contains few of the typical beats that romance novels usually exhibit. Most character yearning is expressed internally and in hindsight, for example, while much of the dialog and story scenes come off seeming more like two-dimensional caricatures regularly summarizing facts rather than actual people talking, making mistakes, and actively figuring things out about this complex, unconventional lifestyle. Such story structure choices do not lend themselves towards effectively crafting the kind of escalating dramatic tension that romance — and really most good — novels are known for.
As fiction, the premise starts off strong: main character Charlene Reece was a beautiful Black woman from Nova Scotia, Canada who, as the story opens, is taking her last breath. The rest of the tale unfolds as those who have known Charlene over the years, including a host of polyamorous lovers, journey to pay their last respects and make peace with whatever the nature of their relationships with the deceased turned out to be. However, other than Darrin’s girlfriend (who wants a monogamous relationship and fears her beloved will eventually prefer the non-monogamous path of his mother), there doesn’t appear to be all that much tangibly-felt conflict in need of genuine peace-making. Charlene is depicted as a paragon of virtue whom practically everyone loved, respected, and admired. Not many issues generally navigated by the polyamorous community in real life are deeply delved into. These would presumably include such as ongoing challenges with jealousy, the stresses of time management and how exactly one goes about honoring individual privacy while simultaneously being fully transparent to all parties concerned. These are significant flaws to an otherwise intriguing project that would benefit from further development.
SHE LOVED: A Life Lived in Love by Leslie Ann Carvery explores the fascinating subject of polyamory (the practice of engaging in multiple romantic and typically sexual relationships, with the consent of all the people involved), though the characters and storyline remain superficially developed throughout.
~C.S. Holmes for IndieReader