Counterpoint: Dylan’s Story by Ruth Sims
Counterpoint is at the same time a detailed, and wonderfully described, historical fiction and a love story; actually it is two love stories in one life, Dylan’s life, and as a perfect Salomon’s decision, Ruth Sims devoted the exact number of page to one love, Laurence, 160 pages, and another 160 pages to the second one, Geoffrey. And like in a perfect consecutio temporis, when the story starts Laurence is an adult who falls in love for a boy, Dylan, and when Laurence’s story is almost to the end, Dylan’s next love, Geoffrey, enters the scene, and he is only a boy to whom Dylan will be protector and lover, like Laurence was for him.
Dylan’s love for Laurence is completely different from what he will feel for Geoffrey, different but not for this reason lesser. If fate was not to interfere in their relationship, I’m sure Dylan and Laurence would have aged together, indeed the more or less 15 years they have of age difference can be huge when Dylan is only a student and Laurence his ancient history professor, but they are nothing when Dylan is in his middle twenty and Laurence is an handsome man in his forty. And with time they would have been even lesser until the difference would have disappeared. For sure Dylan’s love for Laurence was born from his need to be accepted, where his family and other professors didn’t comprehend his love for music, Laurence helped him, tutored him to become the man who was able to really write good music. But Laurence was also the man Dylan pursued, and not the other way; if they are lovers it was since Dylan, impetuous and young Dylan pursued Laurence until the quiet man couldn’t avoid to completely falling for his young protégé. Dylan doesn’t see in Laurence an old man, he sees his future, his love and the fire that will feed his passion.
When that fire is taken away, Dylan is almost destroyed, in mind and heart. Geoffrey comes back in his life at the right moment, giving him another pursue. Geoffrey is not a substitute of Laurence, he is a completely different man; not only he is way younger; he is also someone who needs Dylan and not the other way. Loving Geoffrey Dylan is not forgetting Laurence; on the contrary, in a way he is doing what Laurence wanted for him, to live for music. Dylan is a composer; Geoffrey is the violinist who will give sound to Dylan music, but also passion.
Counterpoint can well being two novels in one and having them together will prove to the reader that is possible to love two times, with the same deepness, and the point is that when something tragic happens in your life, you have to let your heart be open to that second chance.
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Paperback: 332 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (July 12, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1615815333
ISBN-13: 978-1615815333
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