Madeleine Gray’s 2024 debut novel Green Dot was an instant breakout success for the Australian author. It sold in a six-figure deal, was shortlisted for Debut of the Year at the British Book Awards, and celebrities Gillian Anderson and Nigella Lawson posted gushing reviews about it on social media.
31-year-old Gray has not rested on her laurels and has returned quickly with a robust second novel, Chosen Family. Her publisher described it as “Normal People if both main characters were women” and indeed, the story charts the bumpy friendship of Eve and Nell from their school days to adulthood.
The story is told across two timelines – one set in the past, during the girls’ adolescence, as Eve is coming to terms with her burgeoning sexuality and being ruthlessly bullied for being gay, and the second set in the present day.
We know that Eve and Nell had a catastrophic falling out in their teens but we also know that Eve and Nell now have a child together, but it’s been two years since Eve has seen Nell. The book is set up as a twofold mystery that slowly reveals what happened in both timelines. While this mystery structure initially feels exciting, the strict linear pattern it follows sometimes trammels the novel’s pace.
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The title Chosen Family refers to Eve and Nell’s decision to have a child together as platonic friends (with a little help from their gay housemate). This is one of the central philosophical questions posed by the novel – could two people buck the traditional heteronormative family structure and instead raise a child as platonic best friends? And in doing so, might they avoid the messy risks faced by romantic couples, such as divorce. It’s an interesting premise, which gets examined from all angles and Gray avoids any easy idealism thanks to her nuanced and complex characters.
The book shines in the adolescent scenes, which have real emotional impact. Likewise, the more subtle strands of the story, such as how shame around sexuality can have long-lasting impacts on a person’s psychological wellbeing, linger in the reader’s mind. Gray is a talented, stylish and smart writer, with lots of wit, which makes this book a pleasure to read in spite of some minor structural issues.
