Standish
by Erastes
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Book Summary Information
Author: ErastesEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-11-06
ISBN: 1933720093
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: P.D. Publishing, Inc.
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9781933720098
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Standish
Book Review: great writing, mediocre attempts to further plot
Summary: 3 Stars
WARNING: SPOILERS
I liked this writer after reading a few short stories by her. Her writing style is precise, beautiful, imaginative, evocative, and of course, her almost 100% grasp of the regency period is astounding.
This was why I decided to give her longer work a chance. Which resulted in some ambiguous, mixed feelings after reading the final page of the story.
I love the types of characters she portrayed: one smart, yet still so blind and naive to life (Ambrose) and seriously needing some major man!lovin'; the other tormented, tortured, damaged beyond repair, Heathcliff type of guy(Rafe). When I started reading, I thought, "Oh, so both will find love in one another, Ambrose helping to mend Rafe's broken spirit, Rafe teaching Ambrose there's more to life than reading books after books and swimming naked with his dog. They have amazing sex and live happily ever after once they overcome the hurdle of what makes a book gripping and excitingly unpredictable."
WRONG.
There's no mending of souls in this book. There's no healing. And most certainly, there is no happily ever after. (I don't think there's love, either, just a really twisted, codependent sort of relationship and this dampens the romanticism that SHOULD be present with these types of characters to enhance the overall plot. Once you get to the end, you will see what I mean.)
I was very satisfied with the way the book started out. However, once their relationship is precariously established (as much as it can with both characters being so incredibly foolish in the ways of love, but that's a good thing, personally), the story carried on in a rather monotonous, smooth sort of way (which I actually prefer once I knew the things to come).
UNTIL, of course the climax, where Rafe is sex crazed and and chasing after some dangerous guy that is basically the symbolism of Rafe's weakness, which, by the way, he NEVER overcomes, but instead runs away from. BAD SYMBOLISM. Of the THOUSAND ways Rafe could let go of his inner demon, THIS IS THE WORST WAY TO GO. It would've made much more sense for Rafe to kill him than for Fleury, something that confused and dissatisfied me beyond measure.
I think at this point, near the end of the book, the author got confused of what this dangerous character is supposed to represent: Rafe's struggle to resist temptation, so to speak, or the source of Ambrose's torment. If the author approached this character as the latter, then okay, I do SORT OF see why Fleury killed him. But for the former, no, I don't see it, sorry.
EVEN if for some reason, both are interchangeable and the dangerous character (whose name escaped me) is indeed both Rafe's struggle and the source of Ambrose's torment, then it still WOULD HAVE MADE MORE SENSE FOR RAFE TO KILL HIM. Because, despite the UN-F****-BELIEVABLY unsatisfying and pointless ending (worst open ending I have EVER read, and I have read many), I think the author still meant for Rafe and Ambrose to end up together. So the way I see it, Rafe should've sought Ambrose's forgiveness by destroying the source of Ambrose's torment instead of using his power and money (something external and superficial) to ultimately save him from that torment (aka prison both literally and metaphorically, etc).
OKAY, and then of course another thing happens at the climax, which is Ambrose's sexual violation. I'm not sure if the author wanted her readers to feel hellish despair and emotionally connected to the book or whatever, but she failed. This was a perfectly good book (until then), and with the aplomb and intrigue she brought to the story up til that point, there was NO reason to stoop to such a plotline to make the story more interesting (it was already interesting enough). I get it, her characters are tormented, they're damaged, good authors should make their characters suffer and suffer and suffer and oh by the way SUFFER.
OKAY I GET THAT, but rape brought NOTHING to the story. It regressed Rafe and Ambrose's relationship, it divided the characters, it did NOTHING to the major plot but of course, made Ambrose 'stronger'. Which I personally thought he never did. He might have survived terrible things, but in my opinion he never grew stronger in his own right, always being protected by either one or another, or when he wasn't protected, he got pushed around or *gasps* raped. (Quite frankly, I was more sympathetic/moved/upset when the children were hanged for stealing than Ambrose's struggle to overcome his dilemma, something that I MUST emphasize BRINGS NOTHING TO THE PLOT.)
From that point on, I felt nauseous reading until the end (NOTHING went right; Ambrose fell in love with Fleury, and would've run away with him until Fleury left him 'for his own good' or some equally pathetic and rushed excuse that Ambrose came up with in like the second to last page, and Rafe tried to make it up to him for being his broken self and incapable of doing the right things unless literally buying Ambrose's safety). I wanted the plot to redeem itself somehow. But I think as the plot progresses, the author became more obsessed with metaphors and underlying motifs and literary complexity (which she managed to create but not resolve).
Anywho, I have so many unresolved anger for her plot that I fear one review may not cover.
Basically, this is the gist: hands down perfect writing style and language, detailed and accurate description of regency period, tormented/already damaged or WILL be damaged characters, horrible plot with lots of loopholes, clumsily pieced together motifs, a tragic hero who didn't die, characters who didn't develop the way they should, or at all, unsatisfying ending (not even sure if I could call THAT an ending).
I loved her short stories (Hard and Fast, Chiaroscuro), and her writing style is one of the best I've ever read, but her obsession with complexifying the plot and putting everything in a 'literary context' is the downfall of the book.
Summary of Standish
A great house. A family dispossessed. A sensitive young man. A powerful landowner. An epic love that springs up between two men. Set in the post-Napoleonic years of the 1820's, Standish is a tale of two men - one man discovering his sexuality and the other struggling to overcome his traumatic past. Ambrose Standish, a studious and fragile young man, has dreams of regaining the great house his grandfather lost in a card game. When Rafe Goshawk returns from the continent to claim the estate, their meeting sets them on a path of desire and betrayal which threatens to tear both of their worlds apart. Painting a picture of homosexuality in Georgian England, Standish is a love story of how the decisions of two men affect their journey through Europe and through life.Gay Books
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