S.J. Finn’s debut novel focuses on a woman experiencing massive change in both her home and work life. It’s a timely exploration of the roles women play in each domain, and how motherhood impacts onidentity and career.

At age 33, Jen Montgomery tires of being called ‘Jen’ (she finds it generic and notes that there are four Jens in her workplace) and abbreviates her surname, to be identified as ‘Monty’. Monty also acknowledges her sexual attraction to women and soon enters a long-term relationship with Renny, leaving her marriage of 14 years. More change is inevitable, including a change in the relationship between Monty and her six-year-old son Marcus, who remains with his father.

As Monty is given increased responsibility at her social work job, her control over her personal relationships seems to wane. Monty describes herself as ‘a doer’ (as opposed to being prone to ‘inertia’), however at times I willed her to take greater control over the relationships with her ex-husband Dave, her son (from whom she seems estranged), and her rather bossy partner. The author does a wonderful job of describing the workplace, though, and Monty’s difficult interactions with colleagues with widely varying personalities and value systems. This Too Shall Pass explores a period in Monty’s life where she is forced to redefine herself. The novel also examines social issues such as the impact of management techniques and political expectations on non-profit organisations, and both institutional and personal discrimination.

The novel is written very simply in the first-person, and combined with its brevity, this makes it read more like a young adult novel to me. Perhaps this is appropriate, as Monty describes herself as having ‘a lot … of the eternal adolescent in me’. This is a brave novel that will be enjoyed by readers interested in the fall-out when nuclear families shatter.

Annie Condon is a writer and convenor of a Readings’s Australian Book Club.