Reviewed by Ian

I recall a comment in some wise words of advice for reviewers that was something about declaring any personal bias, so to Nicholas, when you look at this review, keep in mind that personally I don't much care for the subject or the characterisation. Having said that, let me say that Nicholas has drawn an excellent picture of a very unsympathetic character, and it is beautifully consistent, although I didn't find out much about what motivates anybody in this story, not even the main character.

The story is about a self-absorbed, self-centred, weak-as-water deadbeat even lacking sufficient intestinal fortitude to become a full blown alcoholic, whose only redeeming feature appears to be an ability to cause his wife (for unknown reasons) to choose to stay with him. The definitive piece of egocentricity has to be where he says HE has never regretted his marriage. Oh really! And of course, even the bartender reminds him of himself. The man expresses strong feelings of love and gratitude about his wife, which the author demonstrates quite clearly do not lead him to modify his behaviour. In another telling line, the author has his character wondering 'what attracted a beautiful lady like her to a pathetic bum like me' and so do I wonder. I don't think this can really be classed as a romance.

Come to think of it, I quite enjoyed getting angry about this story, and as we have been discussing in the guestpages, generating an emotional reaction is a good part of good writing. It must be worth reading! Good on yer, Nicholas.