Book Review – Red Dress Walking by S A Jones
A Novel About Books, Friendship, Romance and Personal Crisis
Sarah Jones introduces Emily and Will and their diverse group of friends, in her unusual and at times challenging debut novel Red Dress Walking (Allen & Unwin, 2008). With
Red Dress Walking
Will and Emily are not the typical couple of women’s fiction romances. Will is an engineer, who succeeds through hard work and determination rather than innate ability. Emily is quiet and withdrawn, working for a publisher and asserting herself only when she explores her passions of literature and cooking.
Unknown to Will or her friends, Emily keeps a secret journal of stories she believes are shared with her by marginal characters from her favourite novels. In her mind, they take on central rather than half-realised roles and, while she knows that they are visions and not part of the real world, they are as meaningful and significant for her as Will and her best friends Tash and Suella.
Not long after a fourth anniversary dinner celebrating their relationship, Will is struggling to find a way to let Emily know that he wants to make a long term commitment. He eventually stumbles upon a stunning red dress that he believes will show Emily just how much he loves and appreciates her individual style and personality, but despite his good intentions, the gift sets in motion a series of events that create a huge rift in their relationship.
Relationships, Friendships and Confronting the Truth of the Past
While Red Dress Walking is undoubtedly an examination of a relationship in crisis between two young urban professionals, an undeniable preoccupation of mainstream "Chick Lit" novels, the many literary references give the impression of something more worthy and the role and consequences of Emily’s visions lend a far more serious tone.
The novel offers an examination of consequences for both romantic relationships and friendships of unexpected mental health issues. Such illnesses, with their often frustratingly vague diagnosis, symptoms and prognosis, can cause stress fractures in the strongest relationships but can also reveal unknown strengths and true friendships.
Will’s reaction to Emily’s breakdown and Emily’s own exploration of the significance of her visions takes Red Dress Walking out of the Chick Lit genre and establishes it as a far more gritty and real drama. His feelings of helplessness, anger, frustration and isolation are well portrayed and in many ways, he is a far more real and sympathetic character than Emily herself, whose vague disconnection from the world around her translates somewhat to readers.
It is unfortunate that the frequent literary references might alienate some readers. For those who aren’t sufficiently familiar with classic literature to identify the several characters mentioned simply by name, a vague sense of being out of the loop or missing something significant could distract from the more serious themes.
What Next for Sarah Jones?
While Red Dress Walking might fall through the cracks between genres, Jones has nevertheless constructed a group of interesting characters with believable strengths and flaws that engage the interest of her readers. The network of relationships – family, romances, friendships and acquaintances – reflect those in real life and are a welcome change from the formulaic relationships found in many popular women’s fiction novels.
Red Dress Walking (ISBN: 978-1-74175-521-3, 310 pages)
Red Dress Walking by S A Jones
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