Part of the problem is, I think, that I'm not feeling the characters. They're great characters, two oddballs who have managed to find each other despite an age difference and different worldviews. She's a 50-year-old botanist who lives in the scientific world, and he's a twenty-one year old writer who believes in spirits.
There's a big taboo-breaker here; we as a society at least accept older men/younger woman relationships. We might be a teensy bit squeamish about the older man and the sweet young thing, but it's a trope which is dismissed as understandable given the purported fragility of a male ego and the rich man's ability to "purchase" youth and beauty. Reverse the genders and it's unthinkable, the target of nervous laughter and prurient "hot for teacher" fantasies and protestations of how this is against nature because women look for strong males who can protect them ... bullshit.
As my husband reminds me, I like to bust tropes all to hell. I also have a fascination with younger men, even though they do not have a fascination with me (that damned biology, I guess). But I'm struggling with the questions about Jeanne and Josh's relationship:
- Can Josh be mature for his age even though he hasn't gotten into the workplace yet (and will likely go into grad school after he graduates)?
- Will Jeanne have patience for Josh's trajectory? (She doesn't need him as a provider, but would want him to have self-determination)
- Could Josh be attracted to the older, curvy, saggy Jeanne?
- Could Jeanne be attracted to the younger, rather small-boned Josh?
- Are Josh's parents going to crap themselves if Josh brings home an older woman (they will) and will Josh care (probably not)?
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