Reviews

Confessions of a Reluctant Cougar
- from Broken Pencil

At first, I wasn't sure what to make of Myna Wallin's new novel, Confessions of a Reluctant Cougar. The glittery cover with a black and white stiletto definitely sent the words "chick lit" echoing through the caverns of my brain, and immediately I stuck up my nose. However, I was eventually able to get past my snobbish undergrad training, as well as the intense waves of testosterone that course through my veins, and start reading. That being said, the novel could still definitely fit into the 'chick lit' category. The plot follows a strong-minded, single female living in a big city (Toronto), dealing with the issues of a modern woman. However, in Wallin's story there seems to be more than that, specifically a deeper sense of intelligence and sharp wit.

With skill, Wallin blends confession and memoir with fiction, leaving the reader wondering just how much of the book is confession and who the confessor might actually be. Olivia is the novel's heroine and each chapter is a memory of one of her many past lovers, acquaintances and/or flings. With humour and insight, Wallin's narrator deliberates on the confusing mess that love can be while musing on her current and shaky love affair.

The final words of Confessions are "Vive le Cougar," a play on the famous call from the French Revolution. Though a somewhat cliché play on words, it is still a meaningful phrase in the context of the novel; here it is a call to action, a call for the liberation of the female body. The book seems to dichotomize the female experience: there are women who get caught in "the marriage trap" and the women who don't. Cougardom is portrayed as a means of escaping patriarchal society. As a cougar, a woman can remain independent and strong. This is one of the book's strong points.

Even if Wallin's manifesto of sorts isn't exactly a call for liberation, the book does offer a good take on relationships for anyone floundering in the sea of heartbreak: "You have to go through things, relationships that take you to the next one, the next stage in your life, the next relationship." (Eric Schmaltz)

Copyright © Myna Wallin,