A novel with a pinch of romance to celebrate the pivotal moment of marriage equality

A debut novel centred around the US Supreme Court’s decision about marriage equality? Can fiction outmatch reality? Blythe Rippon’s Barring Complications beats all odds and delivers an impressive, captivating tale, which combines our history, courtroom politics, and a tender lesbian romance.

Here is the scoop: The Supreme Court decides to hear a case about gay marriage. Justice Willoughby, the newest justice, is rumoured to be a lesbian. She must now navigate courtroom politics, the press, and her own feelings in this landmark case and her biggest challenge: Genevieve Fornier, the brilliant, out lead counsel representing the LGBT cause.

Here is why this is a brilliant novel: By including the formative years of both main characters at Harvard Law, Rippon includes the history of so many of us who had to decide in decades past between a promising career and being out and proud. This historical dimension shows clearly why the decision of the Supreme Court in favour of marriage equality was a landmark case.

The opening scenes introducing justice and then the counsellor hook the reader from the start. The clear, crisp prose commend the book, which entertains with a mix of history, romance, convincing and likable characters, court politics, and just plain good storytelling. And watch out for a new and ingenious application of the dreaded “silent treatment” to build a relationship.