desert_vixen's lair

 I picked this up at the PX here in the IZ (our selection is pretty small), and decided to give it a try.  After all, If I didn't like it, I could always leave it in the MWR where someone will give it a good home.

 My verdict: LKH has earned her way back on my bookshelf, but only in paperback.  Unless the Science Fiction Book Club has a good deal...

 Full review on Dreamwidth (I'm trying to keep the reading and creative stuff there, sorry if it causes a headache) here.

 Towards the end of the book, the Jean-Claude -- Anita -- Richard thing starts rearing its head again, and I did have some thoughts on that.  For a long time, I haven't been a Richard fan.  I get that he's not happy with what he is, or what it does to him, but seriously: he needs to get help.  He needs to move on, and he needs to stop being a Nice Guy.  (Yes, using it in the non-complimentary sense, hence the caps).

Life has to be faced, and we all have to deal with our monsters in the closet, and with what is real, not what we wish was real.  Adults don’t get to hide under the covers and pretend they don’t hear the monster – we have to get out the flashlight and check under the bed.  I find that with my divorce, I really have no time for Richard’s issues.  Anita being a coldhearted bitch is one of the things that’s kept him alive, and maybe his dislike of that is one of the problems.  Jean-Claude accepts her, even when it’s painful – because he loves Anita and doesn’t want to force her to fit in a frame she can’t fit.  I know which man I’d take. 

Even after going through a painful (not wanted by me) divorce, I still know I'd take Jean-Claude.  You can't cling to the past, and you can't just hope that one morning you'll open your eyes and it will all have been a dream.  You have to open your eyes, and somehow get out of the bed, face the day, and live the life you have.  Do what it takes to try to make yourself happy, but you can't force someone to make you happy. 

 DV