A Population of One

By Constance Beresford-Howe

Willy (Wilhelmina) Doyle has two objectives: to get a job teaching and to marry somebody as promptly as possible – or at the very least to have an affair. This latter plan is labelled The Project. Our heroine is undeterred by the fact that, at 30, she is starting both projects a little late.

The first objective is easily accomplished when Willy gets a job teaching in a university English department, which suits her very well. Progress on The Project, however, is more difficult to measure, in spite of the several men in Willy’s new life. It is only after a romantic trip for two that Willy makes real progress on The Project — and comes to know true loneliness.

Told with a wry, self-deprecatory humour that can describe sexual disasters with elegance and affection, this book is part comedy and part tragedy. Readers will enjoy meeting brave, optimistic Willy Doyle.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jun 19, 2012
• ISBN: 9781551997032

Reviews for A Population of One

[jvanoosten_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My first Beresford-Howe, recommended by a friend. This book fascinated me. As a child of the 80's, I often wonder what it would have been like to live through the 60's and 70's - and reading this book felt like I was reading Willy's diary. It was intimate, funny, and painful - and ultimately, unrealistic in terms of character development. I cannot see Willy as a real person after her reaction to the events at the end of the book (which shocked me). However, very much worth reading.