Diana Reid’s highly anticipated second novel Seeing Other People opens with a breakup, hilarious and truly wicked in its staging. It is a CBD food court in the middle of the lunch-hour rush that provides the backdrop as Eleanor and Mark end their relationship. They’re seated at the table closest to the only bin, with a lid constantly left swinging by departing customers and misaimed packaging occasionally landing, dripping, at their feet.
It’s a wonderfully theatrical setup, heightened by the sharpness of their wit and the snappy movement in their dialogue: that Reid’s background is in theatre is evident here. In fact, theatricality is one of the main forces that energises the novel, and it propels much of its narrative, too. After this ignominious breakup, Eleanor finds herself coming to reassess so many aspects of herself and her life, and beginning to make real decisions about them, rather than just falling into step with whatever comes her way.
