A CRACK IN FOREVER: A Novel [Hardcover]

Jeannie Brewer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 5, 1996

A Love Story for the '90s -- an entrancing novel of a couple united by the volcanic intensity of their passion and the inexorable reality of death, the only force that can separate them.

When Eric Moro first enters Alexandra Taylor's life, he is a medical student eager to earn fast money modeling; she is an artist quite accustomed to drawing men's nude bodies. Nothing, however, has prepared her for his reckless sensuality -- the wayward smile that speaks of mischief and an acute intelligence, the intimate candor that leaves her raw and exposed, the unquestioning love, unlike any she has ever known.

They enter into a relationship astonishing in its ferocity. But then a foolish act from Eric's past comes back to haunt them. Reality crashes in when he learns he has AIDS. He tries to push Alex out of his life, but she clings to him, unwilling to lose any of the time they might have left together. Inevitably, death will force them apart, yet ultimately it is death, and the struggle to endure and to fight, that will ensure love's survival -- in this moving debut by a gifted new novelist, who also is a doctor who specializes in working with AIDS patients. Not since Love Story has a novel so unerringly delineated the emotional turbulence of young passion.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Part spicy contemporary romance, part tragic love story, Brewer's debut, which is being positioned as a Love Story for the 1990s (and does bear some surface resemblance in plot and tone to Segal's novel), should have broad appeal based more on its compelling story than its uneven and often overblown pose. Alexandra Taylor draws human figures for academic books. When a sexy, sensitive, motorcycle-riding medical student named Eric Moro shows up at her door?he's to be her nude model?Alex recoils at first at Eric's blatant, easygoing charm, then falls wildly in love. In three months, she's broken up with her boyfriend and moved in with Eric. But their breathless romance is altered forever when Eric announces that a routine AIDS test has shown up positive. The information is somehow relayed to the internship programs where Eric has applied, curtailing his medical career. Alex, who is free of the disease, begins a legal battle over leak of the confidential information while she struggles with Eric's physical demise and her own terror over his impending death. A subplot involving Eric's frosty relationship with his staunchly Catholic father provides tension and an additional tragic twist. The dialogue is often contrived and seems tailored for a filmscript, and sentimentality is rampant. The novel's strengths lie in Brewer's well-paced storytelling and her use of her own experiences (she has served as Associate Medical Director of a prominent AIDS clinic), which lend authenticity and vivid detail to her love story.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The first half of Brewer's novel sweeps readers up with its intense, minute rendering of a passionate love affair between medical student Eric Moro and artist Alexandra Taylor, whom he meets when modeling for a textbook she is illustrating. Brewer catches well the small, telling moments in the development of love, from initial sensual stirrings through passionate involvement to long-lasting commitment. When Eric learns he has AIDS, the pace slows as Brewer catalogs Alexandra's fears as Eric's condition deteriorates. Eventually, Alexandra must contact Eric's rigid, judgmental family, who have disapproved of their son for as long as he can remember, and then help him fight to preserve his independence as his life drains away. An emotionally touching story told with exquisite care, this novel may also prove to be the one that communicates the agony of AIDS to mainstream, heterosexual readers more effectively than the many gay-themed books concerned with it. Whitney Scott

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (August 5, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684801485
• ISBN-13: 978-0684801483
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,467,754 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MY FAVOURITE BOOK EVER!, September 27, 2005

By 

v_fi "v_fi" (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Crack in Forever (Paperback)

They say never judge a book by it's cover. But that is precisely what I did with A Crack in Forever. At 20 years old whilst in the bookstore randomly one day I picked up this book because I thought the cover was pretty. I read the first chapter standing in the store and left intrigued.

A week or so later I was in the bookstore again with my Dad and showed it to him. When we walked out, he handed me a package and said 'suprise'. It was the book.

I think I read the book in the next couple of days - I found it very hard to put down. I lay on my bed and the tears streamed effortlessly down my face. I have never cried so much whilst reading a book either before or since. Upon finishing the book, I went to help my Mum with dinner. I was still sobbing and she was most concerned.

I have lent this book to many friends and recommended it to countless others. Each of them have experienced the same love for the characters and the gut-wrenching pain at the end.

I only wish Jeannie Brewer would write more. I have searched for more of her works for the past 8 years only to find that she has written nothing else. arrrggghhh!

A truly beautifully written book. It felt so real.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking story!!, October 1, 2005

By 

D. C. Folch "Keen reader" (Spain) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Crack in Forever (Paperback)

I've read hundreds of romantic novels but this is the first one in which I cried helplessly while reading the last 40 pages. I don't have enough words to make you understand how this book made me feel, I just can say that if you like love stories, you won't be able to put this book down until the end.

There is just one problem: Jeannie Brewer hasn't written anything else, so take the maximum profit of this reading and prepare yourself for a long journey to the mysteries of the human soul!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing Story, October 16, 2004

By 

Theresa W (mi, usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Crack in Forever (Paperback)

A Crack in Forever is a unique story of a couple who is dealing with AIDS. We get to see them before the diagnosis, and after. We get to see her point of view, and can vividly imagine his. Most of all, we see a different type of love story. I'm hesitant to call it JUST a love story, but especially the first half, you can't ignore the romantic side amidst the tragedy.

Over-all I loved the book. It was a quick read at only 300 pages- perfect length for the story told. I enjoyed the characters, who I did NOT feel were stereotypical at all- and I read constantly. The only thing I would have liked to see more of was relationships with other people developed more. We got to see the couple, Eric & Alex, we met their parents, siblings, friends- but we didn't really get to know the other people. However, the vivid descriptions of feelings and surroundings made up for what was lacking. There were sentences & paragraphs I felt like highlighting, they moved or touched me so.

I'd definitely recommend this book to someone. Although, if you're not comfortable with AIDS, as some reviewers didn't seem to be, this might be a book to skip.