Reviewed:
How can you tell that this is an "aroslav" story?
- It's really, really well written
- Its technical quality is impeccable
- The characters are interesting and credible
- The story is set in a world that is plausible
- There are sex scenes, but they don't dominate the story
- The characters develop and grow over time
- It's written about an area of the arts that teaches something as you read it
So, is the latest story "Things I Never Told My Wife" the best of his 38 stories?
In my opinion, no, but it's still better than 90+ % of the stories on the StoriesOnline website, and well worth reading.
(For what it's worth, my personal favorite aroslav stories are the "Living Next Door to Heaven" and "Model Student" series of stories, but every other aroslav story is good, too.)
Anyway, back to "TINTMW", which I found very appealing, perhaps because I have a big interest in live theater. In fact, we subscribed to Ashland Shakespeare Festival, going twice each year - spring and fall - sometimes seeing as many as 9 different plays in a week! Now that we live in San Antonio, we subscribe to four different theater companies, though we still miss Ashland.
aroslav provides a lot of Ashland background in this story, but even better, he talks about the world of acting and actors and provides insight into their lives and craft. Utterly fascinating!
When we would go to Ashland, we almost always took the "Backstage Tour" which was hosted by an actor, stage manager, costumer, set designer, hairdresser, or dramaturg, etc. Doing this gave us a deeper appreciation for the art and deep admiration for the talent and effort it takes to be successful in the arts. And success does not necessarily mean fabulously wealthy as some in Hollywood are.
Clearly, aroslav has personal experience in this realm of the arts, and that makes this story even more interesting to read.
I really enjoyed it, and hope you will, too. And maybe that will lead you to one of those top-notch stories from his earlier works. If so, you'll spend many happy hours reading!