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Title: Good start, one or two interesting characters, but a very stupid ending
Review: In October 2009, the NYC LGBT Center book group met to discuss this book.Almost everyone thought that the plot approached magnificence, with all the correct characters and plot points in place, but instead of being great, the novel was clunky. The opening exposition was bald and bland. Most of the characters were missing something. And the ending really really sucked. The most sympathetic character was Elena, the Russian wife (via Paris and Berlin) who was full of poetry and showed, that even though she knew what was going on, she was trapped in a drama that could never end well for her. There were some interesting ideas about painting and being an outsider and love in marriage and sex (and sexlessness) both in and outside of marriage. But it wound up being unclear because the ending refused to answer questions about the outcome of the characters. The lack of an ending was a major problem for most of us.
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