DIRTY LOVE
By Andre Dubus III
Well-written and depressing, Dirty Love is just as described in the synopsis. A group of four novellas, lightly bound together by characters from each that make cameo appearances in one story or another, this book made me glad all over again that I’m divorced, not in a relationship, and that my children grew up before the internet became such a dark and dangerous place. They barely missed it, and I shudder when I think of what teenagers deal with today when everything is so often bared (yes, pun intended) online. I thought the events in each chapter were probably quite relatable to some people who might read them, and foreign to others who have never experienced the drama depicted here, or who live in denial of what’s really happening in their lives. The title of the book makes it sound somewhat like erotica; it’s not that, but it does deal heavily with sexual situations and relationships and how each impacts the other. A good book, but I was very glad to finish it.
Reviewed June, 2016
House of Black and Blue 