Two for One …a novel about having choices

Author: Sean David Wright Publisher: iUniverse, Inc Year: 2005 Length: 313 pages Format: Soft Cover ISBN: 0595354483 Amazon Description Danielle Edwards leads a very fulfilling life. She has a fabulous and wealthy boyfriend, a dynamic career in international finance, and a mind-blowing sex life. But despite all this, something is still missing. Katie Shaw, a stunning Nebraska native, is single-handedly trying to solve the Big Apple's homelessness crisis. From the moment Danielle and Katie first meet to discuss a business venture between their employers, the mutual attraction between the two ladies is palpable. Yet under the circumstances they cannot do anything about it. For nearly six months, Danielle and Katie avoid seeing each other. Instead, they keep their contact limited to e-mail, though they do little to hide their feelings for one another in their correspondence. Over time, Danielle begins to feel trapped. Despite how much she adores her boyfriend Max, Danielle is not sure she can give up the fairer sex forever. But one day Max surprises her with an interesting offer. Suddenly, three New Yorkers find themselves in a modern day love triangle that sees Danielle able to indulge all her passions, and Max and Katie just trying to keep from going crazy.

Commentary/Review

I love this book. Maybe it’s the years of reading, entertaining, but poorly written lesbian fiction; or my foray into the realm of non-fiction two years ago that’s left me little time for new fiction, but this book has come up on my reading agenda four times this summer. Every time I move it to my bookshelf, I take it back off within a week, to read again.

I’ll say up front, while I do love TV shows and movies with male/female romantic leads, I’ve never been the fan of reading fiction of that sort. So my fictional reading was typically split between the more literary, like Alice Sebold’s “The Lovely Bones” or the more prurient, such as Karin Kallmaker’s “Painted Moon”. So, I might be heavily influenced by the unexpected lightness of this story. The prose is just clean and fun.

Max Bland is the man. I love his wit, his attitude, his insights into the human condition. H*ll, by the end of the book I even loved the description of is penis. Danielle, the bisexual, is wonderfully drawn as a modern, attractive, and very loveable, self-centered woman. You know the type-they’re so high maintenance, but you happily give into giving them almost any of their “needs” just to have them smile at you. And Katie, sigh, Katie. Katie is my type of girl. Girl next door, self-sacrificing, socially responsible, cool wit, not overly sanctimonious, and lesbian. I can even forgive her for having blonde curly hair, instead of my preferred dark curly hair.

So you have a story of three enjoyable characters and their road to becoming a single family. I was in from the opening line about how being rich makes you horny (newly discovered richness that is); and how ordering dinner decided which character would get to sleep with the Danielle. There’s this one scene/chapter where Kate and Max are fighting over who gets to have sex with Danielle first. Danielle has just completed a long recovery from appendicitis. Both Kate and Max have hormones raring to go, but Danielle is just raring to get out the house (try spending a few weeks in bed, and you’ll understand).  So at first Max calls the, “I’ve known her the longest card”, but then Kate calls the “women before men” card; but when neither is willing to give, they decide to do a competition—best of three, with three totally different games. 

What I love about this scene, is that we follow both characters along, almost as anxious as them to see who wins. Max wins, by besting Kate in a game of bowling by one point, or something like that. Needless to say, Kate is not happy, so at their home Danielle walks in on a smug Max and a gloomy Kate. But then we’re treated to the real truth about relationships, “you’re never in control of the things you think you are.” Danielle, without a hint of knowledge about the day of competition, picks Kate to order dinner (and thereby spend the night with her). Kate perks up considerably and now Max is pretty darn glum. Life.

There are other scenes, points, and plots that strike a cord or just amuse. I welcomed the scene when Max tells Danielle that she deserves a little cruelty in her life and how “only children” approach life so very, very differently from children with siblings. It’s tender, cruel, right on point, and bracing enough to ring absolutely true, even with life rarely offers absolutes. And the scene where we learn Kate has agreed to move in with Max and Danielle, because Danielle asked her at an inopportune time is just hilarious.

Ultimate, Max, Kate and Danielle end up creating a home and family for each other; it’s non-traditional, but instantly recognizable. Love and friendship create these human bonds that shape us, comfort us, and often feed our soul, Kate, Max, and Danielle have that, and I love that about this story. But mostly, I just loved that, I could sit on my front porch, rock and read, and feel incredibly happy that Sean David Wright happened to make my reading list, while lamenting that this is his only book (at least available through Amazon).

I highly recommend it.

Rating

Purchase Notice

Note: All books can mentioned in this section of the website can be purchased at Amazon.com. Proceeds from the Amazon.com Associate directly benefit Nonprofit Tech, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicating to providing technology services for nonprofit, educational, and public institutions; whom I work with. If that does not discourage you, then buy Two for One from Amazon.com

Other Details

Genre: Contemporary, Bisexual
Categories: fiction •
Viewed: 1855
Comments: 0
Permalink: http://www.wide-eyed.org/books/article/two_for_one/

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