The Love Wars. L.
Alison Heller. Penguin Group (USA). May 2013. 352 pp. pbk. ISBN #: 9780451416230.
Molly
Grant is employed as a corporate lawyer for the prestigious law firm of Bacon
Payne; she’s okay with the 16 hour days because that’s the cost of earning one’s
way into partner status. One day she
hears a conversation in the elevator and soon thereafter applies to work in the
Divorce Department. No, this isn’t a
bleak, suffering, painful novel; Molly describes her work in a light manner
that is both amusing at the foolish demands and counter-demands of couples
ending a marriage; satire at the laws that dictate who gets what material
goods; and poignant moments when one is on the brink of losing a child and
Molly is bold enough to put on her fighting style for the sake of what is truly
right and wrong and not just “billable.”
Upon
entry into the marital real of legal affairs at Bacon Payne, Molly meets
Lillian Starling, a high power, driven attorney who either totally loves her “girls”
or fires them with the most absolutely withering phrases and insults, with no
in-between moments. When Molly meets
Fern Walker and hears her story, she is reminded of another request for help
from a threatened mother years ago and how cavalierly she was turned away since
protecting an abused spouse was not the area of the facility where Molly was
then interning. Deciding to represent
Fern Walker is risky because Fern’s husband is a very high profile customer of
Bacon Payne. Fern knows there’s a
conflict of interest and yet believes she can manage it by starting her own
firm. There’s another bonus in that
Molly would get the chance to represent needy clients and not the rich snobs
who constantly range from cajoling, insulting and bossy ordering snobs.
How
Molly can manage to do her normal work, pay off her college loans her parents
assumed for her dream career, and juggle friends and dates is funny, cool, and
interesting. For there are elements of
the law that aren’t dry and boring but instead specifically designed to be
neutral in order to protect a wife or husband from losing a child, an event
that could quite literally destroy that person forever.
Molly
also forms new relationships with colleagues that are honest, straight-forward,
challenging, and more reflective of the family-like atmosphere of many law
firms that succeed because of successful lawyers and a collegial team spirit, with an additional touch of spicy appeal.
The Love Wars is a fascinating look at divorce law
and the lawyers and clients who pass through its gates briefly but with all the
drama of a high speed roller coaster. L.
Alison Heller presents the topic and gutsy, intelligent characters with panache
and an obviously personal knowledge of the subject. This may be her first novel but it is
definitely a successful endeavor and will leave readers eagerly anticipating
more and better of this author with a definite, unique style! Well done, indeed, L. Alison Heller!
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