Gregory Rothbard’s Reviews > The Grip of It > Status Update

“Compassion fatigue” there is only so many times one can empathize with your others story. Marriages outside covenantal are transactional. Transactional marriages most continually feed the marriage account. Eventually this becomes a monster.

Why I love ghost stories is that they delve into the subconscious and how we deal with trauma. A good ghost story deals with the secrets of them who are involved. It’s what made the “reformatory” great, the trauma hidden in the historical record. “The Grip Of It” deals with marital trauma in our modern age. They want a new life and buying a house, moving to the suburbs will be their escape.

“ i know what it feels like to speak a lie to make it sound more true.” James thought.

What happens to the unity of marriage when the center is based on faulty logic? Does evil work to separate unity?

The way that each of us shapes the others reality is important in the expression of this book. James, the husband, is shaped by Julie, who are both shaped by Rolf!

Trick of the trade: I love the use of dialogue breaking into 1st person.
The author uses 1sr person narrative to force a pov. This pov is limited because you only see what the narrator sees. It’s far more moving when the pov is limited and the anxiety of the scene is amped. You can’t see outside the box you reading in.
But then the dialogue allows her to have both pov at the same time!