Michael's Secrets
"Michael's Secrets" by Milton Stern is a beautifully written story with well-drawn, vivid characters. The protagonist, Michael Bern, is a delightfully sympathetic character. I enjoyed journeying with him into his world of romantic heartaches and self-discovery, always facing whatever darkness his life presented with humor and the desire to retain his personal integrity and goodness no matter how much he's been mistreated. The fact that Michael also stands firm and faces deep pains from his childhood and teenage years at the hands of his truly awful mother and her husbands only adds to his likeability.The supporting cast of characters, too, is wonderfully drawn, especially of course, the elderly Jewish women who'd cared for Michael since he was born. Their humor was so hysterical I was laughing out loud and there is one line in particular that is one of the funniest lines I've ever read in a book. (You'll have to read it to find out which one I mean.) And even though these characters and others are introduced in Stern's other novel, "On Tuesdays They Played Mah Jong," Stern does such a good job of constructing this story and the emotional situations, that Michael's Secrets can be read completely stand alone. Although, the humor is so engaging, you'll probably want to read the first one as well if you already haven't.That said, I really only had one complaint about the book. The ending was, I felt, disappointing. I reflected for a long time on exactly what was bothering me about an otherwise funny, sweet and engaging story and came to understand it was this: A story like this needs to end on a note that uplifts the reader, that makes him or her feel a certain hope about the possibilities of the human heart and spirit. The body of the novel does just this. However, in spite of the fact that Michael does grow and learn and change to some degree througout the course of the story, the very last scene felt like a watered down conclusion to everything Michael had endured in his life, the romantic heartbreaks, the abuse, the betrayals as well as the joys, love and humor (all rich and touching to say the least). Not that an ending has to be happily ever after in order to be fulfilling. I don't mean this. I just felt that Stern fell short of bringing the depth of Michael's rich experience into the very end. He seemed to draw a fatalistic conclusion about relationship that said, "oh well," instead of showing that he was going to continue forth in his life, drawing on the wellspring of self-love he'd gained during the course of the story. I felt let down in this regard. If the rest of the book hadn't been so wonderful, I'd just say, "oh well," myself and chalk it down to the fact that it was a poorly written book. But Stern is clearly a talented writer with a sensitive approach to life. I just felt that with a little tweaking at the end, this work could have touched upon that depth.In spite of this, I would recommend "Michael's Secrets" to anyone who enjoys a read filled with humor and the journey of a person who cares about people and who wants a better life for himself and those he loves.--Sedonia Guillone, STARbooks Press Contributor