Official Review: The Dark Loving Tale by Glossaydian

[MarisaRose]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Dark Loving Tale" by Glossaydian.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Glossaydian’s The Dark Loving Tale is a novel about a young woman and her search for love. Twenty-year-old Eden can’t seem to find what she’s looking for in a man, but her best friend, Caren, can’t understand Eden’s problem because attractive men regularly approach Eden when the ladies go out. However, Eden’s search ends after a chance meeting with a handsome stranger who is experiencing car trouble. Oliver, a criminal secretly running from the law, immediately takes to Eden’s beauty and is happy for her help. The two quickly begin a romantic relationship that leads to marriage and parenthood, but what will happen when the secrets of Oliver’s past come back to haunt him?

The Dark Loving Tale is categorized as a romance novel, but Eden's love stories are basically nonexistent. With Oliver, the two fall in love immediately following their initial introduction, and Eden's later relationship begins equally as fast. This book doesn't focus on romance; instead, the focus is on relationships that are based solely on physical attraction and that don't evolve over time. Further, there isn’t much substance to the main characters: Oliver is vapid and abusive, and Eden is naïve and submissive. In an attempt to fit the genre, the author includes a few erotic scenes, but the lack of connection between the lovers made these paragraphs awkward and unnecessary. Owing to the flat characters and the lackluster relationships, this story failed as a romance novel.

In line with the improperly developed romantic theme, the writing style is overly pedestrian. Information about characters’ actions and desires is relayed to the reader through basic statements, and dialogue tags are limited to repetitive versions of “he/she said.” Similarly, I felt a looming sense that the narrative is incomplete. In fact, the majority of the book reads like the outline of a novel instead of a fleshed-out narrative. For example, paragraphs begin with statements about how many months have passed and how characters now feel a certain way. Even the cringe-worthy erotic scenes come across as half-baked and incongruous. Moreover, improper sentence structure, subject-verb disagreement, and the author’s constant misuse of the ellipsis furthered the book's seeming incompleteness.

Above all else, the most flawed aspect of Glossaydian’s work is the story’s lacking credibility. From the start, most readers will question the main character. Eden is twenty years old, she is an established fourth-grade teacher, and she owns her own home. Nothing about this character’s circumstances is realistic. Similarly, details about Eden’s teaching life didn’t make sense. For instance, Eden teaches fourth graders, but her class activities consist of nap time and doodling in coloring books. Unfortunately, the reality of Oliver’s story is even more unbelievable. When first introduced, Oliver kills a federal agent and an officer; next, Oliver kills a man for his car and dumps the body on the side of the road. However, Oliver never acts like a fugitive, and he continues to drive around in the stolen car for an extended period of time, an act any street-smart criminal would agree is an egregious error.

Despite its many flaws, The Dark Loving Tale had redeeming qualities. As unbelievable as the majority of the book was, I couldn’t look away from its pages. Although maybe not the author’s intention, the growing absurdity of each subsequent event in the story made me want to keep reading. Further, Edith, Eden’s mother, was the one character I felt Glossaydian got right. Edith is the only person that senses there is something wrong with Oliver, she’s the only person that seems to truly care about Eden, and she acts the way a concerned mother should. Lastly, the author managed to capture the colloquial tone of the protagonists’ culture, which I appreciated. With these positive aspects in mind, I rate The Dark Loving Tale 2 out of 4 stars and recommend the book for readers who might enjoy a dramatic story that isn’t too realistic. However, readers should be aware that there are explicit scenes related to intimacy and domestic violence in this book.

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The Dark Loving Tale
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[kdstrack]

Oh, this one looks like it needs revising! Thanks for your excellent analysis of this text.

[Nisha Ward]

I wish this was a better sounding book because the premise can go to interesting places. Unfortunately, the shallow relationships and unrealistic characters are definitely a deterrent and I'm not sure I would be able to read this for any stretch of time.

[Ria710]

Thanks for your honest review, this book seems like it does have the potential to be good.

[Bles]

Just like Eden, many people, especially those looking for partners find it hard to get the right partners. This isn't because no good partners exist but because the particular one possessing the unique feature needed takes to long to be found. Eden eventually gets Oliver but then Oliver's past comes calling. I really want to find out what happens next and so I will add this book to my to-read list.