THE WOMEN AND THE GIRLS

Set against a backdrop of inner-city grunge and 70s glamour, far-out parties and ABBA songs, The Women and The Girls is a funny, questioning and moving novel about love, friendship, work, family, and freedom.

Three friends. Three marriages left behind. Life begins in earnest: It's 1977, and warm, bohemian Libby - stay-at-home mother, genius entertainer and gifted cook - is lonely. When she meets Carol, who has recently emigrated from London with her controlling husband and is feeling adrift, and Anna, who loves her career but not her marriage, the women form an unexpected bond. Their husbands aren't happy about it, and neither are their daughters. This is a 1970s-set comedy of manners that brilliantly captures a moment in time when women's freedom and empowerment exploded in bold new ways. Bloom skilfully weaves moments of big social change in the 70s politics, relationships, religion, history, family and sex through the lead characters of Anna, Libby and Carol. These three women couldn't be more different, but they are brought together through circumstance and their children, who all attend the same school. Anna is a very successful marketing professional who one evening discovers her husband's stash of gay magazines, Libby is a stay-at-home mum with a talent for cooking and fashion who wants more than her small world offers her, and Carol is newly arrived from London when the realisation that her husband is manipulative and controlling leads her out on her own in a city where she knows no one. When they each decide to leave their marriages, they come together to live under one roof with their children in an unconventional scenario. Bloom's writing is intelligent and heart-warming, offering a closeness to Anna, Libby, Carol that makes this a personal and intimate story of freedom, love, and chosen families. Bloom also adds to her skilful narrative the fun nostalgia of 70s fashion, music, design and lifestyle. It is such a wonderful part of history to spend some time in and will have you searching for ABBA on Spotify and on ASOS for crochet dresses. Laura Bloom is the author of eight critically acclaimed novels for adults and children, including The Cleanskin, which was described in The Australian as 'a masterpiece of drama and characterisation.' Her novels have been shortlisted for many awards, including the NSW Premier's Awards. Laura is also an award-winning screenwriter, and many of her novels have been optioned for film and TV.