Review: A Novel Worth Obsessing About!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 3, 2011
Rose Gerbaldi is a woman obsessed... with reading that is. When Rose finds the time to read Only Her, she steps into her reading space (or hiding place, as she likes to call it) and she escapes all reality. As she reads, she can imagine the characters so vividly that the lines between reality and fiction become blurred for her. Sometimes she reads in her hiding place, and sometimes she just sits there and daydreams about herself interacting with these characters, bringing them into her world. But the madness truly begins when Jim, Rose's husband, gets her out of her hiding place long enough to watch the movie version of Only Her, and she meets Michael Terrance, the actor portraying the fictional character in her novel. I won't give too much away, but there's a letter that turns everything around, a death you never saw coming, heart break, sorrow, and then happiness. Will Rose get over her obsession with Only Her and Michael Terrance? Will Michael fall in love with Rose? How does Jim cope with his wife's obsession? All of that and more is answered in Absolute Obsession.I really enjoyed Elizabeth's no nonsense writing style. She doesn't go on and on about the scenery or flowery details in an attempt to bring the characters and atmosphere to life. No, it is her constant dialogue, and excellent showcase of each character's inner turmoil, thoughts and desires that really make this novel shine. This is a slow burn at about 470 pages which takes you on a long and fulfilling journey with Rose. I was completely satisfied with the character development in this novel. You got a chance to see each character's fears, dreams, anger, disappointment, and the like here.I enjoyed Rose's character the most. I found her to be very relatable in the way she reacts to situations. I found myself thinking some of the same things Rose was and feeling her emotions as she experiences the ups and downs of her life. I thought she was a nutcase in the beginning of the book, especially with her obsession with the Only Her novel, but I now see it for what it is - the need to completely enjoy and absorb the moment she is in. And once she put down the novel and started living her own life, she did it the exact same way.Absolute Obsession is a novel worth obsessing about! I give this novel my top rating - 5 of 5 stars. I have never read Elizabeth's work before, but I definitely have my eye on her work now! - Zee at FirePages.blogspot.com