Comments on: Review: The Caretaker, A. X. Ahmad

By: Athira

Athira — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 20:48:00 +0000

I know this post is almost a month old, but I have to weigh in to your question. 😀

I try not to mind that a character is cheating, especially when the author is trying to drive the point that it isn’t right. I know life isn’t perfect – that bad things do happen to good people, that bad things are sometimes done by people who were previously good. But it still annoys the crap out of me when the central character in a novel where he is mostly doing good things goes out and cheats. (I don’t know if that’s the case in this book though.) Somehow, it sometimes feels like the author is saying “Yes stuff happens, deal with it”. I hope that at the very least, the cheating had some relevance to the storyline.

By: Akilah

Akilah — Mon, 20 Feb 2017 00:42:00 +0000

In reply to Jenny. Agree!

By: Katie @ Doing Dewey

Katie @ Doing Dewey — Sun, 19 Feb 2017 06:14:00 +0000

I think it’s fine, but I don’t like it. I have very little sympathy for cheaters.

By: Cee Arr @ DORA

Cee Arr @ DORA — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 10:40:00 +0000

Ha, I’d say it really depends on the situation of the cheating (in the book – I personally wouldn’t actually cheat, I’d probably dump their butts and then move on to the next one.) If the person being cheated on is horrible then I have far fewer qualms about characters seeking enjoyment elsewhere. However, cheating while your wife and daughter are in detention sounds like a douche-y thing to do!

By: Jenny

Jenny — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 19:40:00 +0000

I’ll chime in with a totally opposite point of view and say that I don’t hate reading about cheating. In fact, some of my most favorite books in the world are about cheating. I think it’s part of human experience, and I like to find out why people do things, including bad things. I also like the ambiguity of books where a person is good but sometimes chooses to do nasty things; that seems realistic and helpful to me as part of a window into the human soul.

By: Tasha B. (heidenkind)

Tasha B. (heidenkind) — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 07:43:00 +0000

lol I can understand the ish factor with the protagonist cheating on his wife. That is so uncool. I think it can work when the motivation is well established, but it sounds like it wasn’t in this case. So fuck that guy

By: Naomi

Naomi — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 15:49:00 +0000

In reply to Jenny @ Reading the End.

Maybe the author’s just trying to be realistic – which is a depressing thought. I don’t like it either!

By: Jenny @ Reading the End

Jenny @ Reading the End — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 15:17:00 +0000

In reply to Stefanie@SoManyBooks. This comments thread has been hugely validating. Almost all of the commenters have said they also hate reading about cheating.

By: Jenny @ Reading the End

Jenny @ Reading the End — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 15:16:00 +0000

In reply to TJ @ MyBookStrings. I so agree. I guess that's probably how much cheating is going on in real life, too? Is that cynical to think? Anyway, yeah, it wears me out to read it, especially when it's a character I otherwise like.

By: Jenny @ Reading the End

Jenny @ Reading the End — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 15:15:00 +0000

In reply to JeanPing.

Yep, she leaves him! Partly because she gets deported, but when he comes after her with new visas, she won’t have any of it. I supported her completely, what a jerk.

Thanks for the rec of Full Cicada Moon! I’ll have a look.