Review: A brilliant novel that entertains and makes you think long after you have read the last sentence
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 15, 2014
This novel is entertaining, thought-provoking and well written. I commenced reading and couldn't stop. It is a book about relationships, primarily about the relationships of an attractive woman in her late thirties with her ex-husbands and two young admirers. It is also about the relationship this woman has with herself. This, actually, is at the heart of this book: her relationship with herself. Then there are the woman's mother, her daughter and a gay business partner. All these people have to deal with their day to day life issues, just like everybody else on this planet.With the help of the characters in this book, the author Dermot Davis brilliantly displays the bits and pieces of our thinking and actions that make relationships difficult, that create happiness, guilt and whatever other emotions play a role in our dealings with others and with ourselves. (Why do we think one thing but say the opposite?)I was fascinate by the plot. There are no murders, no car chases... There are just human beings dealing with their lives. What is going to happen next? Will there be another conflict? Will common sense (or whatever we regard as common sense) prevail? To present ordinary experiences, the kind we all can relate to, in such an interesting context, is as thrilling as a mystery thriller. In fact, it is more thrilling. It is real life stuff.I was equally fascinated by the way I gradually felt closer and understood better what it is that makes the characters in this novel tick. They are complex and yet, they are also likeable. This applies to both the female and male characters.And finally: how, I am wondering, can a male author write such a fascinating book about women? I guess he must have had many girlfriends and on top of it he must be a sensitive guy, perhaps a bit like the younger man in the book...I enjoyed and highly recommend this novel.