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Opposed Positions

Opposed Positions is a novel that takes a decisive step forward from Riley’s previous books in attempting a deeper examination of the themes they explored. Written in the first person, the novel’s voice is that of a woman in crisis examining her family history and the relationships that have shaped her. Her reflections proceed from her imaginative reconstruction of an incident that took place on her parents' first date, when her father humiliated her mother and her mother meekly let it pass. The novel investigates a complex network of pressures, as the protagonist decides what she owes to whom and what she can reasonably ask of other people. Riley maintains a high level of tension as the claims of each party - parent, child, lover, friend - are heard and evaluated. Opposed Positions is, like Riley's earlier work, explicitly feminist, depicting a world where men can expect one thing and women another, and this is a key factor in these negotiations. The book is also engaged with what it means to be an artist. There are characters who are a novelist, a playwright, a poet, a songwriter, a bookshop worker and a bibliophile, and how they use as well as sustain each other is explored.