Published: 2 September 2020
ISBN 978-1-920727-46-8
ISBN epub 978-1-920727-47-5
Format: Paperback
AU Price: $32.99
ebook Price: $12.99
Also available as an ebook from Kobo, Apple and Amazon Kindle
About the Author
Paul Dalgarno was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, and immigrated to Australia in 2010. In Scotland, he was a senior features writer, columnist and Deputy Weekend Features Editor with The Herald and Sunday Herald newspapers. In Melbourne, he was a launch editor, Deputy Editor, Arts Editor and Science Editor of The Conversation website. Paul has written for many Australian publications including Guardian Australia, Australian Book Review, Sunday Times Scotland and The Big Issue. His memoir, And You May Find Yourself, was published in 2015 (Sleepers Publishing). In 2016, he was awarded a Varuna Residential Fellowship to work on his second book. When not writing, reading or parenting, Paul loves to cycle vast distances. Poly is his debut novel.
Poly
By paul dalgarno
Chris Flood – a married father of two with plummeting self-esteem and questionable guitar skills – suddenly finds himself in the depths of polyamory after years of a near-sexless marriage. His wife, Sarah – a lover of the arts, avid quoter of Rumi, and always oozing confidence – wants to rediscover her sexuality after years of deadening domesticity.
Their new life of polyamory features late nights, love affairs and rotating childcare duties. While Sarah enjoys flings with handsome men, Chris, much to his astonishment, falls for a polydactylous actor and musician, Biddy.
Then there’s Zac Batista. When Chris and Sarah welcome the Uruguayan child prodigy and successful twenty-two-year-old into their lives they gratefully hand over school pick-up and babysitting duties. But as tensions grow between family and lovers, Chris begins to wonder if it’s just jealousy, or something more sinister brewing…
A searing and utterly engrossing debut, Poly is a raw, hilarious, and moving portrait of contemporary relationships in all their diversity, and an intimate exploration of the fragility of love and identity.
Poly is also available at the Book Depository, Amazon or at your local bookstore.
‘A fresh, witty take on modern masculinity and the lengths a man will go to for love. And sex. Lots and lots of sex.’
ANGELA SAVAGE
‘A quintessential 21st Century love story, Poly will shake you up, madden you, have you in stitches and, most significantly, make you consider your own life more deeply. I couldn’t put this novel down.’
LEE KOFMAN
‘No one uncovers our human frailties quite like Paul Dalgarno – part relentless investigative journalist, part poet of the bohemian suburbs. Poly is authentic, merciless and wincingly accurate; black humour at its best.’
JANE RAWSON
‘An engaging entanglement of love, desire and distraction.’
ANGELA MEYER
‘'Poly takes us into the heart of a loving family we want to be part of, no matter how dysfunctional it gets. A rip-roaring ride through contemporary Melbourne that will have you heartbroken one moment and laughing the next. This is a portrait of real, lived poly life – with all of its paradoxes and complications – that I recognise with delight,'
ROCHELLE SIEMIENOWICZ
‘Part wicked skewering of the delusions of hip; part thumping page-turner. Great read.’
LUKE DEVENISH
‘Charming and disarming … Paul Dalgarno has written a fine debut novel with engaging characters and one which deserves to be widely read.’
QUEENSLAND REVIEWERS COLLECTIVE
“The prose is light-hearted, non-judgemental and drizzled with droll humour… [Poly is] romantic comedy-noir, a new genre perhaps. Dalgarno’s writing is lively, and upbeat. It’s a racy, pacy, can’t-stop-to-take-a-breath romp of a read, and the protagonist’s stark honesty and relatable frustrations with everyday life makes Poly a page-turner.”
ARTSHUB
'One of the most pleasing reads published in the present pandemic'
SYDNEY ARTS GUIDE
'A refreshingly honest and authentic take on love and sex, as well as an intimate exploration of 21st century masculinity.'
BETTER READING
'Paul Dalgarno lays bare the complexities of modern adult relationships, neatly balancing a discussion of freedom and self-expression with an examination of the adult responsibilities of careers and children'
BOOKS+PUBLISHING
'A hilarious but moving story of modern relationships in all their diversity, and an exploration of the fragility of love.'
GOOD READING MAGAZINE
‘a quirky ode to the complexities of adult commitments'
KILL YOUR DARLINGS
‘An entertaining, hot mess of an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish.’
PENTHOUSE