IT STARTED WITH A CLICK .. and let to a meeting in the flessh (spoilers)
Estelle Wilkinson's It Started With A Click: A Memoir of an eBay Romance is a story of our times for our times, about an online romance which springs out of nothing to become something.
Catherine 'meets' Damien when she buys some tickets on ebay for a rugby game. As you do! The two strike up a chatty relationship which has them swapping messages on cars, football teams, bosses, friends and exs. We learn about their characters as they become increasingly revelatory with each other. They are at ease from the start. They literally click, click, click, from the first click. And they don't stop .. clicking.
We learn about Damien's dodgy hips and Catherine's wardrobe full of black trousers. And we see our own lives in what they are watching on TV and how much boozing and partying they are doing.
There must be thousands of such relationships going on right now.
It Started With A Click: A Memoir of an eBay Romance is a mini social history of our times. We see how we are from it and maybe pick up a few tips on how to be from it. Art immitates life and life immitates art.
And we are curious because we are evesdroppers on the most private of exchanges which evolves as the two clickers gradually shed their inhibitions.
Will they hit it off? Yes. Will they do the ugly? What's stopping them? We will them to get on with it. But this is 2004, things have speeded up since then. D and C are polite, measured, respectful and gentle. And the story is a great tease, especially in the second half when they make plans for holidays in Spain and America, but have not actually met for their first weekend at home.
How will it be meeting a beautiful stranger about whom we know so much apart from whether the big click will happen .. in the real.
That said things do progress, in some ways astonishingly so. The notion of them discussing whih football teams their kids will support shows how vigorous their fantasy is.
But what about the ugly? Will they? Will they? We will them to.
They plan holidays, they discuss flights to Las Vagas and Spain. But how about meeting ..
Things progress. Their chit chat becomes increasingly passionate. Our eyes hoover it up. We know them well now, we want them to make it. We want to be there, with them. We want to know, to share their feelings and thrills. Phew.
Yes, the story becomes steamy.
But for this reader it was the struggle between fantasy and reality, which must feature in most online romances, which was the most fascinating angle. How far can fantasy take us?
Over to the two love birds:
DAMIEN: If there's a spark there, let's ignite it, there will be plenty of time for talking over the weekend!
CATHERINE: .. it seems a foregone conclusion that we will meet, melt and pounce, ignite that spark and fall in to bed probably at about the same time that we fall madly in love!
DAMIEN: I've never fancied someone I've never met before, I've never even had a crush on a celebrity or anything like that, which is what makes it all so strange. I really do think I fancy you already - how can a rational 31 year old bloke come out with something like that?
CATHERINE: I don't know! None of it makes sense but it feels really good so you just have to follow your heart! Which is what we're doing by meeting on Friday!!
DAMIEN: I think we're too romantic by half!!
CATHERINE: I think we must be! Is that good?
DAMIEN: It dependes whether we let romance get in the way of reality or reality get in the way of romance. .. I'm not that interested in reality at the moment, just the Catherine Lord fantasy.
CATHERINE: What about the Catherine Lord reality on Friday - will you be interested then?
DAMIEN: Yes, because I think it will be even better than the fantasy!
CATHERINE: It will be!
I thoroughly enjoyed this fly-on-the-wall read and recommend it to you. Estelle Wilkinson's story won my eye and keep me reading with increasing curiosity as the temperature rose steadily.
Catherine 'meets' Damien when she buys some tickets on ebay for a rugby game. As you do! The two strike up a chatty relationship which has them swapping messages on cars, football teams, bosses, friends and exs. We learn about their characters as they become increasingly revelatory with each other. They are at ease from the start. They literally click, click, click, from the first click. And they don't stop .. clicking.
We learn about Damien's dodgy hips and Catherine's wardrobe full of black trousers. And we see our own lives in what they are watching on TV and how much boozing and partying they are doing.
There must be thousands of such relationships going on right now.
It Started With A Click: A Memoir of an eBay Romance is a mini social history of our times. We see how we are from it and maybe pick up a few tips on how to be from it. Art immitates life and life immitates art.
And we are curious because we are evesdroppers on the most private of exchanges which evolves as the two clickers gradually shed their inhibitions.
Will they hit it off? Yes. Will they do the ugly? What's stopping them? We will them to get on with it. But this is 2004, things have speeded up since then. D and C are polite, measured, respectful and gentle. And the story is a great tease, especially in the second half when they make plans for holidays in Spain and America, but have not actually met for their first weekend at home.
How will it be meeting a beautiful stranger about whom we know so much apart from whether the big click will happen .. in the real.
That said things do progress, in some ways astonishingly so. The notion of them discussing whih football teams their kids will support shows how vigorous their fantasy is.
But what about the ugly? Will they? Will they? We will them to.
They plan holidays, they discuss flights to Las Vagas and Spain. But how about meeting ..
Things progress. Their chit chat becomes increasingly passionate. Our eyes hoover it up. We know them well now, we want them to make it. We want to be there, with them. We want to know, to share their feelings and thrills. Phew.
Yes, the story becomes steamy.
But for this reader it was the struggle between fantasy and reality, which must feature in most online romances, which was the most fascinating angle. How far can fantasy take us?
Over to the two love birds:
DAMIEN: If there's a spark there, let's ignite it, there will be plenty of time for talking over the weekend!
CATHERINE: .. it seems a foregone conclusion that we will meet, melt and pounce, ignite that spark and fall in to bed probably at about the same time that we fall madly in love!
DAMIEN: I've never fancied someone I've never met before, I've never even had a crush on a celebrity or anything like that, which is what makes it all so strange. I really do think I fancy you already - how can a rational 31 year old bloke come out with something like that?
CATHERINE: I don't know! None of it makes sense but it feels really good so you just have to follow your heart! Which is what we're doing by meeting on Friday!!
DAMIEN: I think we're too romantic by half!!
CATHERINE: I think we must be! Is that good?
DAMIEN: It dependes whether we let romance get in the way of reality or reality get in the way of romance. .. I'm not that interested in reality at the moment, just the Catherine Lord fantasy.
CATHERINE: What about the Catherine Lord reality on Friday - will you be interested then?
DAMIEN: Yes, because I think it will be even better than the fantasy!
CATHERINE: It will be!
I thoroughly enjoyed this fly-on-the-wall read and recommend it to you. Estelle Wilkinson's story won my eye and keep me reading with increasing curiosity as the temperature rose steadily.
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