Insightful Social Commentary About Modern Life
Jack B. Rochester
19 November 2023
Attraction is a nuanced trait in all of nature, its intent to propagate the species. Animals, even plants needless to say, don’t give it a second thought. But humans? We deploy our intellectual and moral heavy artillery to define and in many cases attack it with human-made rules, mores, conventions, strictures, scriptures, and as of late the insidious powers of social media in particular. Shapiro portrays this, the state of American society in the 21st century, so well, and without authorial criticism or prejudice, never casting stones. He shows, but does not tell.
What’s wrong with two people being attracted to one another? In Shapiro’s latest novel, apparently quite a lot. The story of the older man preying on the younger woman is familiar, trite, even; but how do we react when their roles are reversed and there is no predation? The answer is a key plot point in the novel.
It is further enriched by Shapiro’s sweeping perceptions of these social institutions in conflict with the simple tale of a teacher-and-student love affair: what this woman and this man must contend with in order to share their love and lives with each other. And it is here the story rises to be so much more than its title suggests.
Highly recommended.
—————–
VEEB
5 December 2023
This is a gripping story about a mistake that even careful people can fall into, given the right circumstances. I enjoyed the way the author made the characters relatable with a plot that moved right along and took me with it.