Love Child

by Maureen Duffy

Kit’s mother has just embarked on an affair with Ajax, her husband’s secretary. Kit is murderously jealous, but of whom, mother or Ajax? And what gender is Ajax, or Kit for that matter? It is impossible to tell. Why is the reader uncomfortable not knowing? Whether boy or girl, it is clear that Kit is a monster: a mini-adult whose freakishly sophisticated brain knows ‘everything’ and whose stunted emotions know nothing. The combination is, inevitably, disastrous…

Love Child, Maureen Duffy’s teasingly brilliant exploration of the meaning of gender, was first published in 1971.

Genres: Fiction, LGBT

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Maureen Patricia Duffy (born 21 October 1933) is a contemporary British novelist, poet, playwright, nonfiction author and activist.

Duffy's work often uses Freudian ideas and Greek mythology as frameworks.[1] Her writing is distinctive for its use of contrasting voices, or streams of consciousness, often including the perspectives of outsiders. Her novels have been linked to a European tradition of literature which explores reality through the use of language and questioning, rather than through traditional linear narrative.[2] James Joyce in particular, and Modernism in general, are significant influences on her fiction, as is Joyce Cary.[3] "Duffy has inspired many other writers and proved that the English novel need not be realistic and domestic, but can be fantastical, experimental and political."[1] Her writing in all forms is noted for her 'eye for detail and ear for language'[4] and "powerful intense imagery".[5]

Reviews

[Pipkia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot stop thinking about this book; it quite defies description. It will certainly not appeal to everyone--it assumes the reader possesses a certain, peculiar brand of knowledge and experience and makes no allowances for those who don't. I'm not quite sure why it's published as part of the Lesbian Landmarks series--it certainly has queer themes, but seeing as two main characters' genders are not disclosed, it seems quite incorrect to label it as a work of lesbian fiction.

It's like an extremely erudite coming-of-age novel for teenagers who do not fit the Catcher in the Rye mold, about a child genius and a love affair set within a timeless setting. It explores the redundancies of gender in a primarily cerebral existence; relationships founded outside of the usual emotional interactions; how intelligence and emotion interact; the power of jealousy and revenge.

Read if you have any interest in Platonic dialogues, Freudian and Jungian psychology, Classical allusions and mythology, Oedipus complex, subtle explorations of gender and severely messed-up kids and families. It is an incredible experience. And disturbing. And kind of fucked-up. But... wow.

[bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-4 stars