A dangerous man

I finished reading Anne Brooke's 'A Dangerous Man' this week. It is a book that lingers in your mind long after you've finished it. It doesn't really fall into any particular category - it contains a crime and a love story but does not fit under either heading. It is a story of Michael's obsession with his art, and his need to transcend his past. There is Joe, who has an unrequited love for Michael, and Paul who is a nasty piece of work. Then there is Jack, a wealthy business man, who loves Michael from when he first meets him. Because of his abusive uprbringing Michael finds it impossible to accept Jack's love for what it is, and ultimately it is this flaw in his character that causes the violent and tragic ending. Here is a lesson in how by trying too hard to escape from our flaws we will ultimately destroy the things we love. Powerful and dark, the book describes gay relationships in a way which brings home to the reader the similarities between all relationships.

I also in the same week, by way of contrast, read some of Erica James' 'Tell it to the Skies' and was disappointed by it. I read her books because they are well written escapism and this one contained too much reality. I didn't finish it because I found the characters surprisingly uninteresting. I'm sure some people will read it and think it excellent, especially if they have not read anything else by her, but I just could not get into it and gave up after about 100 pages. Perhaps I should not have read it at the same time as ADM.

In search of escapism I am now reading 'Second Chance' by Sophie King, and will report on that at a later date.

Surprisingly I have had the latest Rumpole from John Mortimer on my to read pile and have not yet started it. Usually I pounce on these the moment they're published, and re-read them regularly. I think I had it in mind to read over Christmas.

I'm off on Monday for my 3 monthly check up on my eyes. With wet age related macular degeneration in one eye, even though I hate going I know it's a necessity. I get so wound up before I go, though fortunately I haven't felt too bad this time. I am hoping in the next few years that they will find a cure for it, and I watch out for the latest developments. Currently treatment with your own stem cells seems to be promising, but who knows how long this will take to be available? AMD seems to be every much the Cinderalla disease. It is not much talked about and research is significantly under funded. Glaucoma is widely publicised, but unless you know someone with AMD you may not be aware of it.

In spite of lack of awareness and treatment ( I'm in BUPA fortunately) about 500,000 people in this country are affected by it. The figures for the developed world are about 1 in 50 of the over fifties and 1 in 5 of the over 85s. Often wet AMD - where blood vessels leak and damage cells in the macular, is not spotted early enough for the treatment that is available to be effefctive, as the good eye tends to compensate for loss of vision in the eye that is affected. Ho hum. Must stop brooding on it and concentrate on things now rather than in the future.