Paradise? Don't Let the cover fool you. No one is free from worries here....
A beautiful setting. Intricately woven relationships. Some brazenly real family dynamics. Sinners. Yes, sinners(arent' we all?). It seemed nearly every character battled a demon, an ethical dilemma, or a life-changing decision. Interesting and hateable, with their infidelity and secrets, I found it hard to sympathize with the two main characters, and I didn't want to relate to them. I didn't want to believe it's that simple to trip and fall into a moral quagmire. People don't just run off on vacation alone and fall into the arms of a stranger when their marriage is rocky, do they? Men don't fall in love with another woman within days of meeting her while on a family vacation with their wife and children, right? Well, maybe they do. That makes me uncomfortable. You might find it troublesome, too. Sometimes a book brings you out of your comfort zone and makes you ask, 'why?' It's not your everyday love story with the expected happily ever after. The book shows different types of love between father/daughter, brother/sister, and even love of faith and humanity. At certain points, I found myself in tears. It's gritty darkness and flawed characters camouflaged with an island paradise backdrop. It's a tender fifty-year love story enmeshed in the tragedies of its offspring. What is unique about this book is that I was rooting for the main characters NOT to get together the whole time. I wanted a revelation, a change of mind and heart. I wanted them to be better people, but they weren't. They were human. So, even though I couldn't condone their actions or want them to be together, I was still hoping for them to find an acceptable happily ever after in their separate lives. The story left me with a lot of questions. I have to wonder if there is a sequel in the works to sew up lives interrupted and give some closure. I would read it. I want to know if these characters changed, grew, became less selfish, gained internal peace, or found happiness.