1.
Do other women fantasize about living a
different life?
2.
Do they passionately love and loathe their
families at the same time?
These are
the questions pacing around Beth’s mind. A mother and wife, she contemplates
life, wondering why she’s not satisfied while growing bitter and
despondent.
Being the
mother of a toddler is too much, exhausting, which is why she is a stress eater.
Can you blame her? The “mommy” tasks (breast-feeding, school, baths, bedtime
stories, etc.) are boring. How long did the reader have to endure this
monotony?
Still, the
reader feels for Beth. “I had three ever-present men sucking the life out of
me.” (23) Do something!
Things start
to heat up when Beth runs into former student, Dave. Oh, now we’re getting
somewhere. The excitement of an affair is what Beth needed to resuscitate her
flaccid body. Dave was smart, sensitive, and empathetic. I liked how he
intellectually challenged Beth; it was not just physical, although he had a lot
of that going on too. If she keeps seeing him, she will have an affair, and
affairs are like drugs—once you start, you will want more and more and won’t be
able to stop.
I liked the
analytical aspects that unveiled the questions without answers. Is this all
there is? Is this it? What is it that we want? It’s always a tough decision.
Humans are just never satisfied.
For Beth, it’s all about the guilt, paranoia,
and remorse. She spends the bulk of the story drowning in all of it. Well, she
is the one with everything to lose. Readers will put themselves in Beth’s shoes
and ride out the guilt all the way to the end. At times, however, the guilt is
tediously overbearing. Still, this is a well-written story with a mediocre
ending.
My rating: 3.5 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment