I was so taken by Rosemary Tonks’ The Halt During the Chase that I looked for more by her. I found The Bloater.
Min is a married sound engineer whose husband is seldom home. She occupies herself with witty, frivolous conversations with her girlfriends and flirtations with her admirers. She has one admirer she finds disturbing, though, a large opera singer whom she finds disgusting and attractive at the same time. She talks endlessly with her other friends about whether she wants an affair with him, whom she refers to as the Bloater.
This novella is crammed with witty, sometimes cruel dialogue. It moves along very quickly and is beautifully written. At times, I wondered if Min really wanted to have an affair with anyone—or maybe she does.
When I was reading about this book, I learned that Tonks gave up a successful career and retreated into isolation. You would hardly believe this of the creator of such witty, vibrant characters.
What? Me Read? 
Hmm, the story doesn’t sound too interesting, but it sounds like it’s the characters and dialogue that make this one work! I haven’t come across Rosemary Tonks – I’ll look out for her.
I really enjoyed The Halt During the Chase.
I knew nothing about Rosemary Tonks. It’s always good to learn about another author who excelled at writing short books (Novellas in November is coming up sooner than you think!).
Oh, I know! At least I have read quite a few this year to talk about.