TESTIMONY, THE

Rating:
Summary: OK, but disappointing compared to their other work
Review: I love the work of Sharon and Tom Curtis. From THE WINDFLOWER to SUNSHINE AND SHADOW to LIGHTNING THAT LINGERS they go from strength to strength. However, in THE TESTIMONY, I feel they produced an adequate work, but it left me thinking chapters were missing. There is very little of the chemistry-filled interaction that makes scenes between past protagonists so memorable. Secondary characters, usually fascinating people in their own right were given a mention and not much else. I'd love to read an expanded version of this story someday.

Rating:
Summary: tie a yellow ribbon . . . if you're a die hard fan
Review: Journalist Jesse Ludan has come home to his ballet teacher wife, Christine, after 6 months in prison for refusing to name the people at an anti nuclear power plant demonstration. He is psychologically, if not physically, damaged from the experience and although Christine tries to be understanding, their marriage suffers. Jesse has an alarmingly large and loving Hungarian family and it is from his parents --- that fought in their own revolution and escaped for their own ideals --- that he is has learned the value of freedom and to stand by his beliefs. With the help of his family and Christine's love, he is eventually able to move on with his life.

While this book still has the quirky humor usually found in the Curtises' books, it lacked the strong characters and storyline. Also, it seemed to me that the silly humor sat rather oddly with the extremely serious storyline --- a couple trying to overcome psychological and marital problems --- and just didn't blend well. I was especially dissatisfied with the resolution in the end. It was anti-climactic, to say the least, and I wondered if I had missed something because I didn't know how it had all suddenly worked out over something so simple. Granted, this end may be more realistic than a more dramatic ending, but it seemed like the story was building up to something more significant and then --- blah. Well, it IS a very short book, after all.

Die hard fans will probably want to read this but, otherwise, give it a miss.

Rating:
Summary: tie a yellow ribbon . . . if you're a die hard fan
Review: Journalist Jesse Ludan has come home to his ballet teacher wife, Christine, after 6 months in prison for refusing to name the people at an anti nuclear power plant demonstration. He is psychologically, if not physically, damaged from the experience and although Christine tries to be understanding, their marriage suffers. Jesse has an alarmingly large and loving Hungarian family and it is from his parents --- that fought in their own revolution and escaped for their own ideals --- that he is has learned the value of freedom and to stand by his beliefs. With the help of his family and Christine's love, he is eventually able to move on with his life.

While this book still has the quirky humor usually found in the Curtises' books, it lacked the strong characters and storyline. Also, it seemed to me that the silly humor sat rather oddly with the extremely serious storyline --- a couple trying to overcome psychological and marital problems --- and just didn't blend well. I was especially dissatisfied with the resolution in the end. It was anti-climactic, to say the least, and I wondered if I had missed something because I didn't know how it had all suddenly worked out over something so simple. Granted, this end may be more realistic than a more dramatic ending, but it seemed like the story was building up to something more significant and then --- blah. Well, it IS a very short book, after all.

Die hard fans will probably want to read this but, otherwise, give it a miss.