Rapture

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful and provocative novella
Review: This is a rather interesting novella. The entire story is set during a rendezvous at the heroine's apartment. During the throes of passion, Kay and Benjamin remember the circumstances that brought them together. Kay is hopeful -- albeit skeptical -- that Benjamin will leave his fiancee of eleven years and move in with her. However, Benjamin is confused and torn between the two women. Kay and Benjamin inwardly analyze their feelings for one another during what could be their final sexual encounter. Will Benjamin sort out his feelings, or does he want his cake and eat it too? There are some interesting revelations throughout the novel.

Rapture shines with its sensual prose and brimming intelligence. Susan Minot does a splendid job in exploring the feelings the two protagonists are going through. She writes with a great deal of insight and prose. The erotic scene is the perfect backdrop for the story. I enjoyed reading this provocative novella and look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

Rating:
Summary: Underdeveloped Idea for a Book about Affair
Review: This was the first book I picked up by Minot, and I can say it wasn't enticing enough to read any of her other works. For this book being about nostalgia of an affair wrapped around fellatio occurring in the present, it was very dry and boring. The book just dragged on as it describes the depressing affair between two unstable characters. I felt that the idea of the book as a whole had been underdeveloped, leading the author to beat a few semi-solid ideas of the affair into the ground repeatedly. It definitely could have been a 50-page book rather than a novel.