An Enormous Yes

Wendy Perriam’s new novel includes a highly topical examination of what constitutes the good life. Is it a matter of “must-haves” and “me-time”, or should it be based on ideals of service to others? Is it better for children to be indulged and over-praised than to be criticized and strictly disciplined; less stressful for women to accept ageing and decline than spend huge amounts of time, cash and effort trying to stay forever young and gorgeous?

The protagonist, Maria Brown, has been brought up by her devout Catholic mother to value piety, economy and self-sacrifice and, despite a brief rebellion in her 20s, has been living a celibate and dutiful life ever since. However, when she leaves her mother’s shabby cottage in Northumberland for her daughter’s stylish London home, she encounters a joltingly different lifestyle and is led to question her basic values. Taught at her strict convent school to fear the Seven Deadly Sins, she is confronted with the new ‘sins’ of our contemporary society: hedonism, entitlement, celebrity-&-brand worship, conspicuous consumption, egocentrism ….

But are they sins, in fact? Not for her new friend, the artist, Felix Fullerton, who believes greed is good, and that the only duty for artists is to develop their inborn talents. Self-fulfilment, he claims, is a sacred calling. Maria herself trained as an artist, many years ago and, with Felix’s encouragement – and through his passionate sexual advances - she discovers a second self: a wild and talented creature, long constrained.

Yet, when it comes to the crunch, she faces a harrowing conflict: should she say ‘an enormous yes’ to a new life of artistic and sexual fulfilment, or follow her mother’s example and put her family first?