The topic is "The End of the Affair." My problem is that everybody from Ovid to Henry Miller has had something to say about that - not to mention a few million folks on this site. So, I took a slightly different interpretation of "the end" here. My hero makes a bad choice. But he has decent instincts and with a little help from an unlikely source he eventually learns how to be a good person. Some of you might find this a bit allegorical. If so, I couldn't possibly comment.
Size: 140 KB (26,932 words)
Genre: Romantic
Sex Contents: Some Sex
Tags: Consensual, Fiction
Review by bill9900 [other reviews by bill9900]
Reviewed:
I've read and liked several of D. T. Iverson's stories. At the time of this review he has produced 46 stories for SOL (e.g., the Tugboat Man series and "Eight Whores for Denver"), and most of them have been very highly rated by SOL readers.
This story, "Somewhere East of Eden", is a very satisfying read if you like oddball romance stories. In this one, the main character(s) learn the Truth about their lives, and then the Consequences before they have to make a decision. There are notes reminiscent of Steinbeck's "East of Eden", and I particularly like this quote from one of that book's characters:
“But ‘Thou mayest’! Why, that makes a man great, that gives him stature with the gods, for in his weakness and his filth and his murder of his brother he has still the great choice. He can choose his course and fight it through and win.”
I like stories with character development, and this one has a lot of it. I won't give away details, but you'll find that the story is well-written, with interesting characters in interesting situations and predicaments.
Suffice it to say that the plot is unusual and interesting to watch as it unfolds. It has a few extremely minor technical errors, not many, and they won't get in the way of your enjoyment.
Give it a shot. You may find it as appealing as I did.
Review by burka_oz [other reviews by burka_oz]
Reviewed:
I have just enjoyed yet another of the great tales that come from the pen of D.T. Iverson. This one is different. The same as others and yet different. Do I sound confused? Well, I want to tell you all about the tale and how the Good guys win. I want to tell you that this isn't one of those tales.
Start with the story about a husband and the very hot wife of another. The inevitable seduction of each other. The passionate lovemaking when they finally succumb to their baser instincts.
Yeah, yeah, we've all read those tales. This is not like them because a change comes over them, a fatal change you could say.
It is why, when facing a sort of midway resort between Heaven and a Hell on Earth that each player learns about the Truth of their Earthly deeds, how those that are left behind try to pick up the pieces of their lives, shattered by his and her betrayal. They work through the consequences of their selfish actions and they get the opportunity to make amends and move on if they can.
But Romance is a funny beast and at times it can flare up between two strangers in an unquenchable flame. Then decisions and acts have serious consequences that might see you sent back to Earth to live out another life as a random child in a random family in a random part of the world.
Not such a great proposition but if you cant accept responsibility for your behaviour then you go back to try to learn the lessons needed so you can progress. |No hurry, you have eternity to sort it out.
As I said, the story of two lovers quenching their carnal lust on each other is a very familiar theme on this site. Finding that there are consequences is very rarely part of such tales. Certainly, at least so far, have I read anybody that writes such a meme resolve it so well. That makes this short tale stand out among its peers.
