Genevieve

by Eric Jerome Dickey

published

May 10th 2005 by Brilliance Audio

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binding

Audio Cassette

isbn

1593559984 (isbn13: 9781593559984)

description

Eric Jerome Dickey's boldly sensual new novel centers on what his fans love best - steamy romance and shocking betrayal. This is an edge-of-your-seat ...more

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Jazzypom rated it:

(review of isbn 0451218493)

08/18/08

Read in January, 2008

Whoa.

I must admit, when I opened this book and saw that it was first person narrative, I wanted to put it aside and call it a day. The sex scene (boohyah!) at the beginning made me wonder if I were reading one of those tell all erotica novels (cue, the wicka chicka music in the background).

But.

The premise intrigued me: Genevieve is called home for a funeral, and the story is told through the eyes of her husband, a nameless presence, but a presence, to be sure. The first person...more Whoa.

I must admit, when I opened this book and saw that it was first person narrative, I wanted to put it aside and call it a day. The sex scene (boohyah!) at the beginning made me wonder if I were reading one of those tell all erotica novels (cue, the wicka chicka music in the background).

But.

The premise intrigued me: Genevieve is called home for a funeral, and the story is told through the eyes of her husband, a nameless presence, but a presence, to be sure. The first person pov works in this sense, because we only know what Genevieve tells him/us, a woman who's remade herself through the sheer force of her will. She's changed her name, erased the liquid syllables of the South from her diction, and trained her body to be as firm and unyielding as she is.

The story unfolds, and we find that Genevieve's past is tragic, that sort of Gothic South, where whites and blacks have a tangled, intimately brutal history where their lives intersect. I don't really want to give the game away, because I actually respect the author's pace, and what he was trying to do. I even liked the ending, in that the characters got what they deserved.

My hang ups with the book is, Mr Dickey seems to like his turns of phrase - to the point where, even though it threatens to undermine the narrative of his story he doesn't care, because the poetry of his lines intoxicate him.

It's like, there are times where he goes: "I like this line, it's a thing of beauty." and his editor says, "Erm... but it detracts from the chapter-"
EJD: "Let it stand!"
Editor: "Okay."

In addition, there's a sort of intellectualising of sex, and lust and what the narrator is doing that left me cold at times. As if he knew he was weak, but couldn't fight it, and trying to convince himself why not fighting temptation is a good thing.

Some people reading might not like the sex scenes, they are raunchy and raw, but it works most of the time, and it has its place in the novel. Some women mightn't like the narrator, in the sense that he tries to give himself absolution for his betrayal, but he pays for it in the end - and not in the way that you'd believe.

A good read, but I shan't reread it again.
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Genevieve

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