Review: Dawn At Last - Unique & Refreshing Read!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 16, 2014
I'll start by saying that I found this story to be intriguing, funny at times and most of all page turning.  Had a hard time putting this one down.  Mr Grodecki found a way to intertwine characters in a way in which I would never have anticipated.This story takes many twists and turns within the lives of these characters and most predominately Donna.  I really took to her from the beginning and as the story unfolded I found myself still loving her even though she could be raw.  I wanted to know why she felt the way she did....why she seemed cold in many ways, and why she wasn't with specific people in her life.  The author developed this character in a way that blended within the lives of the others but kept her at the forefront.The way this story intertwined between the characters was unique.  I wasn't expecting many of the connections throughout the storyline but they all came together in a way that makes the reader want to know all the details.  What brought each person to the other?  What circumstances landed them all in the same place?  All the details surrounding these people...you just have to know.I loved the analogy of how paint blends.  How "careful rolling" makes the streaks disappear.  It mirrors the characters.  Careful rolling or direction helps make their streaks (pasts) disappear....at least to each other.  The author's connections with people, humor, religion, morals and love come through in so many places and when you least expect it.I found myself asking questions while reading and re-reading passages.  There is a passage that says "After a certain age there comes a point where it seems there is no more room for heartbreak".  I wondered if this was because the heart simply shuts down in that area to protect itself?  Maybe.  Or maybe the heart opens completely without reservation or preconceived notions about how things are supposed to be.Even though I can say that this story is indeed romantic, it seems to me that it is more of an exploration into those preconceived notions of what is right and wrong.  What is good and bad.  I've come to the conclusion that it depends on what a person experiences and sees in his/her own life that inevitably rule that course.  What I may view as perfectly normal, the next person may not.  Doesn't make either of us right or wrong.Mr. Grodecki has managed to question and propose questions throughout this novel.  This is what keeps the reader involved.  He managed to mix lives, sexual situations, and love between a group of people that you wouldn't ordinarily picture together.The art aspect of this story was refreshing.  Finding out at the end what it was all about and the outcome was delightful!  I think the author has found a way to interject art into a story that plays with each character in a different way.  Even the most un-artful of the group seemed to finally see past "just the picture" into the whole of the art.Mr. Grodecki has accomplished much with this novel.  He kept me entertained with a great story, added some humor which I always find to be a must have, some out of the ordinary sex scenes, and art.  He writes of "an ongoing, unattainable fantasy" and while I am not sure there is "pure love" out there in this world, he made me hopeful that there could be.