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CASTING THE FIRST STONE Kimberla Lawson Roby Delfina July 2001 (4+) Jennifer Coates |
Contemporary Romance |
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REVIEW: |
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Tanya Black has the picture-perfect life. She has a wonderful daughter, finds great satisfaction and fulfillment in her job, and is married to a successful, trusted Pastor at one of the largest churches in the city. However, all that glitters is not gold. We soon find that Curtis, Tanya’s husband, epitomizes the saying that You’ll never find more devils than you’ll find in a church. Tanya’s world begins to unravel in the first few pages of the book. Due to her husband’s misdeeds, she finds herself and her marriage the subject of rumors and gossip in the congregation. Half-suspecting that the rumors are true, Tanya sets out to heal her marriage and herself. On her journey, however, Tanya learns that everything that is broken isn’t meant to be fixed, and sometimes what appears sinful, is your salvation. I loved CASTING THE FIRST STONE. The story was fascinating, and the characters and their emotions were complex, without being pretentious or overdone. The people in this novel and the situations that they often found themselves in seemed very real to me. There were times I sympathized with them and their plights, and there were times when they frustrated me so much, I had to put the book down and walk away for a few moments. As a result, I sometimes found myself wanting to take Tanya aside, and say “Girl, you need to go,” and then five minutes later saying, “Well, maybe if you stayed and tried to work it out.” I found myself just as confused as Tanya at times. Swept up in her story, I didn’t know what to do. It is precisely this tug-of-war that makes Tanya’s character both frustrating and likeable. Throughout the novel, Tanya tries to make a life-altering decision that will affect lives other than her own. She needs to think, and consider all of her options. At the same time, however, she recognizes that life is moving forward, and there may be a chance for happiness, she just needs to decide which road to take to it. Her confusion and fear of choosing the wrong thing will echo loudly with readers, as will her inspirational and brave steps to resolution. In addition to Tanya’s story, I really appreciated the balance of positive and negative male characters. Roby wrote the novel in such a way that the reader could evaluate Curtis’ behavior for what it was: Curtis’ behavior. At no time did I feel like throwing up my hands and saying, “Well, you know how men are.” Instead, I was able to evaluate Curtis and the other men in the book as individuals, responsible for their own behavior, rather than genetically programmed to be what they are. As a woman who gets tired of the brother bashing, I really appreciated this departure from the stereotypical “men are bad” story line. Roby has developed male characters with depths and feelings that are neither perfect nor demonic. The men in this novel are human, and stand on their own as such. CASTING THE FIRST STONE is a novel that should not be missed. The story is engaging, the writing and dialogue is fantastic, and the characters are memorable. Roby has constructed a realistic tale about what happens when happily-ever-after goes horribly wrong. The novel is not judgmental, but encourages the reader to appreciate the myriad of emotions people feel when they are facing the failure of their marriage. I haven’t seen it done better. |
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July 2001 |
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