Laying the Ghost

Laying the Ghost

by Judy Astley

Black Swan, HK$112

Laying the Ghost is not, as the title seems smuttily to suggest, the story of steamy goings on in the spirit world, but that of Nell, a thirtysomething wife and mother. When she discovers that husband Alex's frequent trips to New York involve rather less business than pleasure (namely a younger and blonder model), Nell makes two decisions: first, to learn self-defence after she is mugged at Gatwick airport; second, to track down her first love. Astley is a master of chick lit: the opening words are 'Comfort food'; not long after, she alludes to Princess Diana telling the world that there were three people in her marriage; and before you know it, Nell is looking up old flames on Google, in her case the moody and magnificent Patrick. Can an old romance be re-kindled or is it true that one should never go back? Apparently the plot was inspired by a real experiment: convinced that most women used internet search engines to track down their exes, Astley spent weeks researching her own lost love. While a plot inspired by internet stalking is hardly a match for, say, Isabel Archer's tangled relationships in Henry James' The Portrait of a Lady, Astley has a knack for tapping into everyday human relationships. This is funny, fun and well worth a look.