~ Review: Until ~

If you are looking for something fresh and wonderful to read, I insist that you go out right now and get UNTIL... by Timmothy McCann.  I will tell you at the outset that it is one of the most wonderful books you will ever read. If it is possible to have a crush on a novel, I fell in love with this book chapter by chapter.  It is by turns tender and fierce, hilarious and poignant and it is always true.  Mr. McCann does not make one false step in this remarkable novel.

Betty Ryan is a dynamically intelligent, overworked associate in a white, Southern law firm. Her career and her accomplishments have been the total focus of her existence.  Even though she is in a loving relationship, she is afraid of the essence of love.  Betty’s dilemma is universal--she is trying to find the right balance for love in her life.  When is it real?  How do you express it without losing yourself?  How do you learn how to love?  How Betty finds answers in her search for intimacy in her personal life and integrity in her profession makes a story to which all women will instantly relate.  All of us are Betty on some level.

Andrew Staley is an entrepreneur.  Hardworking, honest, sensitive, and wondering if love is worth it in the end.  He is mourning the loss of the love of his life and trying to keep his business going at the same time.  Andrew’s vulnerability and his honesty reveal much about the man and explain much about men in general.  Through Drew we gain entrance to the part of a man that is so often barricaded and boarded-up; we get to feel his pain, feel his joy and experience his coming back to life.

Mr. McCann has a real gift for character.  These are real people, not just the main characters, but the unique and fully drawn people who make up their worlds.  One mark of his talent is the way he uses an economy of words to give you an entire picture.  His writing is lean and elegant; he wields his pen with the precision of a surgeon.  It would be condescending to say that he writes women well--he writes people well, although I am not sure that he did not tap my phone line. Some of those conversations between Betty and her best friend cut very close to my bones!

Overall, this book goes much deeper than other books of this kind.  Mr. McCann manages to tell an entertaining and engaging story while casting a fresh eye on racial politics, sexual politics and the eternal mystery of love.  After I finished reading it the first time, I was dashing for the phone to spread the news--I had found the definitive book of the 90’s.

This novel is a must-read, must-have, must-recommend.  It is funny, tragic, sweet and strong and will echo in your heart long after you have finished it. UNTIL... is a triumph for Mr. Timmothy McCann.  You will all forgive me when I say that I cannot wait UNTIL... his next book is in my hands.

7th August 1999