Story Behind The Book
A modern tale of love and relationships. A look at the breakdown of a marriage from the perspective of the husband and the wife. A story about abandonment, forgiveness, and secrets. Told in an entertaining yet realistic way.
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Reviews
This novel would work beautifully as a four act play. The dramatic tempo is nearly perfect; the characters are well exposed in just their dialogue. It would be riveting to hear this text spoken because it is riveting enough on the page. The key to this working in either form, is the gift of the author for wrenching emotions, and crushing self-doubt. Has that made this a depressing story? Absolutely not. No. <br /><br />`Second Chances' by Maria Savva, is actually very tight, disregarding the fact the characters hop on international flights a couple of times. We don't watch these two main characters from much distance at any point of the story. This is very intimate, and a stage would enhance that. It would be stunning. <br /><br />The subject is quite sad, and very life-like. Pam and James do not have a made-for-each-other marriage. What marriage they have, can hardly bear the strain of silence they have imposed upon one another. Silence they have created because they are each tormented, so deeply they cannot express any part of it. Maria does not allow her characters any privacy, nor does she introduce their problems over any gentle length of time. Pam and James certainly arrived at this moment, over years of strain and hesitation. But, Maria introduces them to us at the precise point that they can no longer contain their individual torments. They are literally flung apart, and we are washed by their heartache. We don't journey to that point, we journey away from it. <br /><br />How do people act, when broken so completely? They act rashly. How do people confront the loss of nearly everything they hold dear? They wallow in self accusation. In that one little slice of human nature, Maria hangs her entire moral, and she does have one. Pam and James blame themselves - more deeply than they blame one another. `Second Chances' avoids any hints of a love story, the characters don't dwell on that emotion; this is a doubt story. By finding a way to overcome their self-doubts, Pam and James turn this into a story of trust. Something as valuable as love could ever be.<br /><br />Reviewed by Joel Blaine Kirkpatrick, author of 'Breathing into Stone'