Aspiring to everything Aphra - a successful web-designer with so many more possibilities, at last meets the author that has changed her life. Isaac is a prolific author, who's Vietnam experiences had an important role in forming his perceptions. Somehow, they see the unlikely characters within one another .. but fan and star rarely find true middle ground to meet.
Yet, in their conversations, they find many points to share. Even their vehicles, paralleling themselves, somehow show a strange, tenuous connection between the two of them. There is no denying the age difference, and no escaping the disapproval of certain other people. Coping, and discussing the issues allows them to share a problem, and instead of driving a wedge between them, serves to give them another point to share.
Even so, a melancholy air hangs over this work, almost as if we, too, cannot quite see how this relationship can work. Surely, the two are so vastly different? For Aphra, with her almost life-long study of Isaac's work, and her fan-like knowledge of his background, this cannot be a healthy future. We expect doom. Grindstaff's literary style even contributes; both to the slow pace and the disquieting sense that they cannot truly have found one another.
Thomma Grindstaff's work is more slowly paced and introspective than much in the way of today's romances, yet the many layers of depth here have appeal. The story is plausible, and the characters' interaction and growth is both plausible and pleasurable. Grindstaff's work offers a certain insightful, even visceral understanding of the human heart.
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