Review: Lovely writing but conflicts and issues are silly, dated and contrived.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 07 2, 2014
Lovely writing but the conflicts were so contrived and idiotic I had to stop reading.  There are so many real reasons why love gets waylaid, but this was ridiculous.Perhaps I'm not a romantic after all.  Or perhaps this book didn't seem relevant because it was first written in the late 1980's.I love the story of lost love found and I will suspend my belief of two hurricanes arriving within 48 hours on Long Island.  See, I am not so evil after all.But (spoilers) here is what I hated:The conflicts:1) grandparents jockeying for custody.  This is the most ludicrous wish for elderly grandparents.  There is no basis for legal rights for grandparents.  There is NO case law of where a child is taken from a healthy law abiding and employed parent to live with grand parents.  What attorney would make a client meet with the grandparents?  Grandparents don't even have the right of visitation, much less when they violate a direct agreement of a hand off in the interest of education. One of the dumbest non conflicts I've ever heard of.  Argh.2) Not telling the truth about having an illness.  What is this, the dark ages?  If people don't want to people to know they are sick, to quote another person - they are" too stupid to live".  If Sandra had a spine, the whole point of this book would be over.  Which I guess, is what the book is about.  Also with a genetic disease, it's in everyone's interest to know everyone's medical history. Especially if you want to marry and have kids together.  Or not.  Argh.  Dumb.3) giving a 5 year old a parrot for a birthday present. A parrot such as one mentioned has a lifespan of 50 years and costs between $500-1,200.  Is this really suitable for any 5 year old for a gift? Even giving a canary may be cruel to the animal for child this age.  Dumb.4) corporate culture and sexual harassment : banks like to show that their leaders give to the community.  There is no way that there would be a vice president that would be made to work 18 hours a day and be threatened to be fired.  At this level, they have staff to assist them.  In addition, vice presidents are expected to volunteer and serve on boards in the community. I hated seeing Sandra sexually harassed by her mentor and she doesn't say a damn thing.  Then he threatens to fire her when she won't go to dinner with him.  When is it ever appropriate to have dinner with your boss alone and have attendance be tied to being fired?  Yuck. Creeper.  Then he gives her away at her wedding?!5) When someone goes to college, people don't have telephones? Oh and there is such a thing a stamps and letters.  I guess that's the whole point of this book.6) Michael's co-worker has the hots for him and after all the years he's been working with her, she decides the day after he sees his lost love to make a move?  Really? It would have been more interesting if they were dating.. or had dated...Enough said.  You have been warned.