No Sex in the City (Randa Abdel-Fattah, Macmillan)

There is no disguising the genre of well-know children’s author Randa Abdel-Fattah’s first adult novel. The cleverly named No Sex in the City is unadulterated Aussie chick-lit with a twist: lead character Esma is a devoted Muslim, which adds an interesting layer to the ‘girl tries to meet boy’ narrative. Many of the familiar elements of the genre are present: professional women looking for love; quirky best friends; and a series of comedic dates that go horribly wrong. When faced with the difficulties of finding Mr Right, Esma forms the ‘No Sex In the City’ club with her best friends—Jewish social worker Lisa, Greek lawyer Ruby and Hindu midwife Nirvana. What is refreshing about this novel is the fact that the ‘No Sex’ aspect isn’t such a big deal. The issues faced by each character in negotiating the ups and downs of contemporary dating are universal and it doesn’t really matter if you ‘put out’ before marriage or not. As in the chick-lit of Anita Heiss, Abdel-Fattah’s women are smart and likeable. They are all trying their best to traverse 21st-century life, including demanding careers, and to do so within a range of conflicting cultural values. I am already looking forward to her next book.

Rachel Wilson is a Melbourne based media academic and former bookseller

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Category: Reviews