The First Review of my Novel One Woman Three Men

The first review of the novel One Woman Three Men on the US market from Diane Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review:

Can a life and relationships change completely between April and July? They can, as Pouline Middleton demonstrates in a new romance novel that outlines the evolution of a relationship between one woman and several men. The story is based on Middleton’s premise that a modern woman actually needs not one man, but three: one for sex, one for intellectual stimulation, and one to help around the house.

This open marriage exploration takes the form of a diary by a “…nice, well-behaved Danish girl ” who believes “…that my good behavior would create peace in ‘Palesrael,’ equal wages for men and women and reduced poverty in Africa, while I waltzed into the Copenhagen sunset with my prince, till death do us part.”

What’s wrong with this picture? Everything, as a failed marriage, single parenthood, and a lack of positive relationships proves to the novel’s narrator. Even her relationship with a millionaire doesn’t pan out – and when the ‘metrosexual’ choice also fails, it’s time for something completely new.

One Woman Three Men explores this different perspective of romance with an eye to blending philosophy, fiction, and real-world relationship concerns. Nothing is perfect or easy here, whether the goal is traditional or alternative in nature; but in the course of following the diary writer’s life and revelations, readers gain a better sense of the sexual and psychological differences between men and women and the ideals and realities that can come between them.

Exploring such possibilities in a truly different fashion involves re-examining one’s illusions, delusions, the precedents set by powerful social innovators of women’s rights (such as Erica Jong and Gloria Steinem), and identifying the ideal man’s qualities. The realization that no such ideal can exist in a single body leads the narrator to explore how such goals can be met through more than one relationship and, more importantly, how these polyamorous relationships can be successful.

Open relationships and modern love concepts certainly aren’t new ideas, but it’s their enactment which creates new ground and proves the real challenge. Employing humor, angst, intellectual analysis and psychological understanding, One Woman Three Men delves into how alternative romances are forged and how a ‘nice girl’ moves into uncharted romantic territories with no roadmap for success.

One intriguing aspect of the narrator’s encounters is that they consider open relationships using different analytical tools: thus she becomes involved in intellectual discussions that liken her philosophy to business world pursuits and organizational models as well as social experiments, all the while dancing around blossoming possibilities that come, go, or evolve.

Can a depth of vision be achieved in a three-man/one woman model? As the narrator finds her philosophy questioned, so opportunities arise for further clarification and definition of her chosen course.

Readers of the nonfiction classic Open Marriage as well as those who seek a fictional set of revelations for a new relationship model will find One Woman Three Men a spicy, thought-provoking read steeped in entertaining moments and intriguing blends of psychological and philosophical inspection: the perfect romantic alternative to one-dimensional, singular novels about relationships.

 

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