[ BOOKSHELF ]
Family’s troubles
drive romantic tale
The Shakespearean classic "Romeo and Juliet" is retold in this modern tale by two local writers, with a happier ending but still filled with angst galore.
But "Recovered Memories" is not so much about a romance that overcame tragic beginnings as it is an incredibly insightful portrayal of a woman who can't give up trying to make peace with and within her dysfunctional family. Against logic but so true in real life, Reza/Juliet's love for her family -- especially her father -- is "bigger" than the exasperation and the misery they've caused in her life.
"Recovered Memories"
by Elaine Hatfield and Richard L. Rapson
(XLibris Corporation,
2003; softcover;
312 pages; $22.99)
The University of Hawaii professors/husband-wife writing team of Richard L. Rapson and Elaine Hatfield only promise that the "love affair does not end in tragedy." To deliver a happy ending would make it a fairy tale.
This book was engrossing enough for me to finish in one day, which is a feat considering the fact that reading about screwed-up families isn't my top choice for weekend entertainment.
As in most good books, when you care about the main characters, it's because they are so well fleshed out that you can't wait to find out how things will turn out. You hold your breath and wonder if you can really feel relief when the star-crossed couple, Reza and Sam, manage to rekindle their love affair 13 years after their families broke them up. Is tragedy lurking around the corner?
The book jacket says that the lovers "find an ingenious, thoroughly modern way to salvage their romance." The first time, Reza was 13 when she was thrown out of the house by her father, J.B., because of her pregnancy, and Sam, 15, was banished to another country to live with his grandmother.
Being grown up makes it a lot easier the second time around. Their solution is to return to Sam's roots in Madrid, Spain -- a "Great Escape," away from "guilt and captivity" of their feuding families.
"When the 16th-century Romeo and Juliet fell in love, the confines of tradition and family hatreds left them no way out. They were simply consumed in the cauldron of family hatreds. But Sam and Reza were not of the 16th century, but the 21st," a passage in the book explains.
One would think the story would end when they decide to put their families' feelings aside and spend the rest of their lives together, but it picks up again at their wedding. Sam's mother is trying to tell him it's not too late to change his mind, but he finally tells the snooty bitch off, and at long last the vows are spoken.
Again I expected the credits to roll, but then the story jumps to their return to the United States three years later, at a welcome-home party under the same roof with their families.
They have a romantic tryst in the bathroom during which Reza realizes that the "magical dream world" that she and Sam had been sharing away from their families had come to an end. After all, "Enchantment always ends. ... She would pretend that in the end everything would be all right. Just for today she would insist on believing that they would all 'ever after' live in happiness."
WHAT HOVERS OVER Reza (not Sam, whose character isn't nearly as well developed) are the dark memories and secrets of her childhood and her inability to distinguish between the truth and her ambiguous perceptions of reality.
"Memory possesses so many hiding places," the authors observe.
Did her father really sexually abuse her sister? The crisis that ensues following her sister's accusation -- which Reza thinks is "a crock" -- is one of those recovered memories (referred to in the title, I assume) that resulted from time traveling with a psychic and having a dream.
Whatever the truth, the accusation shatters the remnants of the family togetherness Reza had been trying to build. She had been allowed back into the family several years ago when she and her father assumed an unspoken truce, and everyone pretended the disastrous affair with Sam never happened.
But her mind wouldn't let her rest from the "shameful memories (that) swarmed in like black clouds of gnats."
The ironic thing is that while she and her father were once the most antagonistic of adversaries, now it is only Reza who believes him and takes his defense. She, who once butted heads with him every step of the way, realizes she "loved him more than she hated him."
The authors' descriptions of the idiosyncrasies and annoying/pathetic habits of Reza's parents are the strongest characterizations of the story and are a hoot. It's easy to believe that Reza's mother and father are based on real people, because many a reader will be able to identify with that contorted mixture of love and hate that is almost inevitable in a parent-child relationship and, for that matter, between a husband and wife.
All it took was for her father to have a heart attack to soften her heart toward him and start taking care of him. Suddenly the tyrant of her childhood is vulnerable, human.
The passage of time, a known healer of wounds, also makes her see her father through different eyes. More often than not, for example, a person gains a deeper understanding of the hardships and frustrations of being a parent once he has his own child. When we uncover the reasons our parents acted a certain way -- no matter how atrocious or unfathomable at the time -- it is somewhat easier to forgive them for making mistakes even as they tried to do their best.
As Reza recovers her memories, she reluctantly reopens her most painful wound to find the answers to why she is the way she is with men and being in touch with her own emotions. A former lover once called her "The Ice Queen."
Pop psychology today says that a woman's relationship with her father is the key to future relationships with men. If she was Daddy's Little Princess, she will be looking for a Sugar Daddy all her life. If she never felt his love or approval, she will be attracted to aloof men and twist herself into knots trying to capture his heart.
As human beings seeking to make sense of our world, sometimes we are doomed to repeating our mistakes until we sit up and realize what is really happening, make a conscious effort to face our fears and, finally, try to get it right.
For Reza, she got a second chance to realize her most fervent desire: to love and live with Sam without the destruction and heartache that occurred the first time around. But as with anything in life, happiness forever and always is never guaranteed, and that's what scares Reza and every one of us.
All we can do is give it our best shot.
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