A review by jaclyncrupi
Love & Virtue by Diana Reid

4.0

Love & Virtue is a book about privilege, entitlement and power. It’s set at a university college, something I didn’t know existed in Australia until I started university (but that’s another story). It’s deeply interesting that a novel published in 2021 is dealing with and referencing subject matter Garner grappled with (albeit inadequately) in The First Stone. We are still very much here. Reid’s insights and restraint are wildly impressive. I could feel how she must have carved and styled this work and how easy it would have been to make it heavy handed, something she avoids beautifully. Her commentary on class and consent is timely and provocative and I loved it. The way she extrapolated out to questions of moral impoverishment was delicious. I continue to struggle with the much used literary student–professor relationship trope as a way to talk about power but again, here we are. This book is impressive and so very timely – you’re definitely going to want to read it.