Novel Reads

I vaguely recall during high school reading a novel by Marcia Davenport. I believe it was titled "East Side, West Side," and it tells the story of the unhappy heiress to a Pittsburgh steel fortune, confined to a loveless marriage, who for a short time finds happiness by having an affair with a Czech musician, a violinist perhaps. She describes their illicit relationship which did not last very long. The Czech violinist, feeling his own soul owned by his native country and his gift of music the property of a government locked behind the Iron Curtain, in some sense feels himself obligated to stay there in Czechoslovakia after the conclusion of his time spent in America. Some reference is made to the historical events of Czechoslovakia after World War II although I have forgotten the details. Sin is a moment of fleeting pleasure followed by years of agonizing guilt and despair, as Jessie Bourne's story so vividly illustrates I suppose. I forget where this novel came from, whether purchased by mother or checked out from the library at high school or something. It was sort of depressing to read this but anyway this book is only fiction and the characters are not real people, just a mishmash of stereotypical boilerplate and artificial plot twists and turns who often are illustrations of what NOT to do. This is a typical dynasty-type novel in which the heiress has a vast fortune at her disposal with which to flit around the world and do whatever she wants. Obviously this book has nothing to do with me and my life. Just because Mike the violinist was in some of my college classes, that does not mean that I would have any great desire to have a personal conversation with him or to pursue a deeper relationship with this person, not that I would want him to feel insulted by my verbalization of this thought. I am just not interested. I really don't need to say anything more. Exploring a deeper relationship with Mike would create a lot more problems than it would solve, that is certain. Obviously.