The House of Esther
Lura Zerick. Durham, Conn.: Strategic Book Group, 2011. 161 pp. (Paperback).
Noelle was a young, recent college graduate who met, fell in love with and married Joe — all in a short time. Soon after the wedding, Joe began to change. The kind and attentive man Noelle had married was becoming controlling, cutting her off from family and friends. Finally, in a fit of rage, Joe caused Noelle to lose her baby by kicking her in the stomach. Noelle knew she had to get away.
This short novel grew out of the author’s own experiences with an abusive relationship. While the story is realistic and well-told the author seems to have gone out of her way to sanitize the story by taking out much of the conflict and strong emotions that must accompany a situation such as this.
The result is a bland and tepid story that could easily, given the author’s skill, have been a riveting one.
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