Customer Reviews

As We Lay: A Novel (Strivers Row)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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

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...

It is somewhat difficult to review this book because I have positive and negative feelings about this book. As We Lay was told from the mistress' point of view, which did give you a insight as to what the other woman is thinking. I am engaged to a man I have been with for ten years and personally I don't like women that mess with other people's men. I sometimes wonder how women can be satisified with being second best, agreeing to be seen when he can get away, and sleep alone every night. But Brett's attitude did shed some light on how some women think. There was way to much unneccessary dialogue in this book. Brett and Eric don't even meet face to face until 100 pages into the book!! The author spent alot of time describing the atmosphere and other things than making the actual storyline exciting. I felt like the story could have had much more drama being the situation was Eric sleeping with two women. But that must not be her writing style. Brenda Hampton, Zane, or Carl Weber would have ate that storyline alive!! Darlene Johnson didn't include Eric and Gaby's relationship enough. I wanted to go inside of their world, not just Eric and Brett's. I also agree with the other reviewers about the ending. It made me so mad. The tragic incident was so abrupt and seemed to come out of nowhere. Like I said, I have a negative and positive opinion about this book. Well, I guess I didn't say much positive. I did enjoy looking from the other woman's view. But once a man has vowed to God to be with someone else till death do you part, he is off limits! And Brett and Eric never would have discovered whatever it was that they felt about each other had they never pursued it. You can't miss what you never had.

Is this book being made into a movie?! Excellent, simply excellent. We saw the characters. We saw action. The dialogue was believeable and real. I was moved. I turned the page without skipping over them (a good sign). I would have liked it if the author had developed the ending a little more. It ended rather abruptly and could have gone on for at least a few more hundred pages and I would have continued to read to see what happened next. Ms. Johnson, will there be a sequel to this book?

This was a very good book with a very good twist. When I first began to read the book it bored me with to much dialogue but as the story went on it just got better and better. The story was very insightful to me as a woman - I don't condone having an affair but it diminished alot of stereotypes that I had regarding women that deal with married men. I recommend this book especially to any woman that is trying to keep her man!

I really enjoyed As We Lay a book about an adult relationship. The writing was so good and the characters was so real, that I found myself not wanting the syory to end because I new something bad was going to happen.In a relationship like Eric and Breck had nobody wins. I still cried at the end,something I usually don't do. As We Lay would be a great book club book

Poignant exploration of the rugged emotional terrain of adult relationships. I found the characters to be captivating and believable. I was really touched by the realism.

I thought this book was very well written. I don't agree with infidelity, the characters were responsible for the choices they made. I would highly recommend this book, and will read more from this author.

This book was well-written, and one of the best I've read in a long time. I do not condone infidelity, he should have made a choice. It was a difficult situation for all parties. I highly recommend you read this book.