Seasons of Change by Carolyn LeVine Topol

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Loosing someone you care is always traumatic, but loosing him just weeks before the commitment ceremony that was supposed to be the beginning of a long-life together and exactly on the day your family disowned you for being gay is a little too much for future rabbi Andy to bear alone. He is lucky since, not only his late partner’s mother promptly substitutes the missing family, but also friends and colleagues support him. Plus Jack, the same nurse who took care of Mitchell the night of the accident is there to help and maybe also for something more.

The main theme of the story is: will Andy let his second chance at love to develop or will he consider that it’s too soon to be happy again? Jack probably approaches Andy in the right way since he doesn’t pressure him; not only that, Jack also recommends to Andy a therapist specialized in family loss, and she will greatly help Andy, especially since she will not stuck to the common theory that you need time to mourn before being able to truly love again.

Sure, there will be the more traditionalist reader that will think Jack is not really Andy’s true love, that Andy should mourn longer than barely some weeks, that is not possible that at less than one year since Mitchell’s death he is ready to move on with his life… all good reasons, but I also think that, it’s the quality of the time not its length that matters. It’s true that Mitchell was Andy’s love, and I’m sure that, if Mitchell didn’t die, they would be still together and more than happy; there was never once that I felt as Mitchell and Andy were not perfect together, and they fulfil each other completely. In this situation, Jack had no space, and if they had met him together, Jack would have been only a good friend. But Mitchell died, and Andy is still young and everyone wants for him to live again.

Maybe since he is a rabbi in training, and so probably he was taught to consider that everything happens for a reason, Andy is also able to detached himself from his pain and be able to rationalize; Andy is alive and as such he is allowed to be sad, but not to stop to live.

The novel has a warm feeling, even if, of course, it has also a bittersweet taste; the feelings, the colours, even the seasons are mostly “autumn”: warm given by wool jackets and blanket, green, brown and orange around, in the trees, grass and co (lot of walks in the park), Thanksgiving and other autumn Jewish festivities… everything tends to add to the autumn feeling, even the story between Andy and Jack, with Mitchell Andy was living his spring and summer, with Jack he is living his autumn and hopefully they will end together in the winter of their life.

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=1981

Amazon: Seasons of Change
Amazon Kindle: Seasons of Change
Paperback: 232 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (August 23, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1615815643
ISBN-13: 978-1615815647

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading_list&view=elisa.rolle

Comments

[jan-irving.livejournal.com]

There were times this book moved me to tears. Autumn warmth is a perfect way to describe it.

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

moving and intense, and yes, it gave me feelings and colors impressions (even if it sounds strange ;-) )