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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Is Infidelity worth it ?, December 17, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: As We Lay: A Novel (Strivers Row) (Paperback)
I'm a married woman of 10 yrs. with three kids, so from the start I had already made up my mind that I wasn't going to like reading about a married man cheating on his wife. What married woman wants to read about a married man falling in love with another woman other than his wife. We know infidelity is wrong, but it happens. Most affairs happen when there are problems in a marriage. If people learn to communicate and realy become ONE in their marriage, infidelity will drop. It's sad to say that in most cases in infidelity, I've seen where it has had many marriages stronger, because it was a wake up call. Now in the case of the main male character Eric, even though I felt like he was in love with his mistress as well has his wife, the time he devoted in lieing to his wife to be with his mistress, should have been devoted in communicating with his wife on trying to work out the problems he saw in their marriage. We all make choices in life, weather good for bad, it's the end result that we have to live with. No one is perfect, and good people sometimes make bad choices.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Aint No Shirley Murdock, January 13, 2004
This review is from: As We Lay: A Novel (Strivers Row) (Paperback)
Indianapolis architect, Breck Lawson, steps out of her self-preservationist' shoes to fall in love with a charismatic client, who catapults her career to designing fame. She leaves her hometown, her parents and her past bad relationships behind for Boston. Eric Warren of Warren & Peterson Property Management, her dashing new sweetheart lives there. . But this great catch is no Prince Charming. He's a devoted father and committed husband to a woman, who he has no intentions of divorcing, not even when Breck becomes pregnant with his son. Will Breck listen to her family and friends and let Eric go? Will Eric have second thoughts and leave his wife? Will his wife find out and throw a wrench in their plans, or will the two boys become saving graces for both families? When I saw the title to this novel, As We Lay, I immediately thought of Shirley Murdock's classic hit song whose title has the same namesake. Both Breck and Eric live their lives with a let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may attitude. Although they both know what they are doing is wrong, they can't tear themselves away from each other long enough to make an ethical decision. Breck's independence and drive has always kept her from surrendering herself to a committed relationship. So, in the beginning of the relationship, she is quite cavalier about Eric's other life. It isn't a threat to her until she bares their son, Jordan. Eric is the best version of Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde that I've seen since the Robert Luis Stevenson classic. Both he and Breck epitomize the human condition, the ability to exist between heaven and hell. Darlene Johnson is a master at presenting this love triangle in a way that keeps the reader questioning the validity of what happens to Breck and Eric, and the reality that it could happen to anyone of us. Johnson is such a great plot twister. I did not entirely agree with the resolution and ending. She has the writing capability to churn out a more controversial resolution, to haunt us at the end and leave us breathless. I wanted her to step out and floor me like she did in the first turning point and the climax. This ending cheapened all that she worked for in the beginning and the middle, which dropped the piece to something more average than exceptional. This book is provocative, sexy and a surprise. You will like it and talk about it for months to come. Nice book for a reading club. Dee Y. Stewart R.E.A.L. Reviewers
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Be Careful what you wish for, December 4, 2003
This review is from: As We Lay: A Novel (Strivers Row) (Paperback)
AS WE LAY takes a hard look at the price of having an affair with a married man; a price ultimately paid by everyone close to the relationship... Ms. Johnson tells this story with a uniquely mature look at infidelity, void of the intense drama so prevalent in some relationship novels. And while this story in no way condones their volatile affair, it certainly gives an unrestricted view of the other side. And it escalates this situation to more than just a clear-cut right or wrong issue. There are lessons to be learned on all sides. Bold, deliberate, and provocatively real, this is a monumental read. Reviewed by aNN of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers Complete review can be found on our website...
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