Review: Look Deeper
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 11, 2013
One of Lanyon's strengths is his gift for creating fully realized characters. In the body of his work you see the traits of humanity - warts and all. It can really be a pain: to like dislike a character's actions, while liking, and even rooting for him. We want characters to be "all goodness and sweetness," worthy of our hero's love and devotion. Lanyon writes what's real, not the fairy tale. The happy endings are earned through some creditable conflict. People get hurt, otherwise it's just a sweet fairytale. They have their place but not in a Modern Romance.SPOILER  We learn, while having a great/awful time on time the roller coaster ride, it makes us fearful (maybe because it's so well written we can see it happen to us?) In the case of this short novel, a lot is packed in here. A younger guy, with everything to lose does what it takes to get what he wants, really needs, for his HEA. An older guy wants a more convenient and "traditional" on-the-side arrangement. He sees no conflict in his offer to continue "as is" so he can be comfortable in his public personna. Younger guy risks all for a chance, not a very good one.We've read this storyline before. But we haven't enjoyed the nuances of THIS story. Lanyon's gift is his use of the language, a dying art; his gift of expressing and showing clearly the many ways emotion twists our souls to takeprecipitate action, especially as a last gasp effort. How never giving up is a compulsive action when the heart and mind meet, recognizing there is nothing to lose.(SPOILER)