I really enjoyed reading this book that I picked up solely because Jen's blog (thereadersroom.org) had a fun little activity called "Blind Book Date" where you pick a book blindly based on a few words. My words were "Realistic Love", and this book was my date, lol.

So back to the book.

I truly enjoyed it more than the three stars reflect. In fact, I almost gave it three stars and a heart. It's just that I didn't quite want to appear that I was endorsing it for other people because I do think the book has somewhat limited appeal. The story is narrated by a divorced man with a son who is in a relationship with a divorced woman with a daughter. Each chapter represents a year in their relationship. There is just the barest whisp of a plot. Each chapter is comprised of tiny vignettes or anecdotes that give the reader a bit of insight into the relationship. It is also written in some kind of odd second person where the narrator is talking to "you", but where you represents the woman in the relationship.

The whole approach is very fresh, and I thought it was bold and that it worked. But I can seriously see people disliking it.

My other critique is that there is that so many of the vignettes are sexual. I am definitely not averse to reading about sex and some of the scenes were very well done, but because the book has no plot, it ends up seeming a little gratuitous.

On the flip side, I really liked the writing and the whole way the author used the smallest of details for big impact. Also, it truly showed how relationships can be very flawed and yet also why people remain in them despite the flaws. I found that to be very honest and intriguing. Somehow it came across a little more like a writing assignment where the student is super talented as opposed to a fully realized novel. The ending, which is pretty abrupt, doesn't really alleviate that impression.

All in all though, there was something very unique and original here, and I would definitely keep an eye out for more from this author just to see what he does with his talents. ( )

This is Between Us is an intimate look at the minutia that comprises a relationship. And not in that lovey-dovey, fictional way but in the real, confusing, tedious, painful way. Author Kevin Sampsell navigates the terrain of affairs, blended families, teenagers, and jealousy in quirky little vignettes. The story covers five years that begin as an affair on both sides, move through divorce, dating, and to living together.

The book reads like a diary—small paragraphs of events and thoughts jotted down from the male narrator’s perspective. Sampsell’s stream-of-consciousness prose is effective at relaying the complex banalities of love

You started to think I was falling out of love with you. You said I didn’t share things with you anymore. I asked you what you meant and you said I hadn’t read out loud to you in months. And you said I didn’t take your picture anymore…You said I said no more often. I didn’t even push the cart at the grocery store when we went together. You said my hands felt cold. You said my lips didn’t open so easily. You said I was not all here. And I asked you, “Where?”
But while the ‘I’ can create intimacy, the novel’s format keeps the reader at a remove. It’s difficult to get attached when things are related in such broken bits. With no string to the narrative there is no way to emotionally engage and instead the novel feels dispassionate. Although I never connected with any of the characters in This is Between Us, Sampsell’s writing is strong enough that I’ll be interested in where he goes next. ( )