Carolyn and I both loathe Anthony, for pretty much the same reasons that A. points out. Liz handled her relationship with Paul poorly, but, yeah, that's common enough in fiction as well as real life. I don't remember her transferring to Toronto in connection with Anthony's divorce (though I'm not saying my recollection is accurate), but because she missed her family. Anthony's divorce was coincidental. Regardless, I do think Johnston is going for some sort of "it was fated to be" story for Liz and Anthony. I could stomach that if Anthony weren't such a spineless wuss.
I hadn't thought about Paul apparently cheating with Susan in the light A. gives it, but now that she brings it up, I agree that it's lousy storytelling. Liz needs to have some consequences, not sail blithely through life without suffering any real ill effects of her decisions. Granted, some people do manage to go through real life without reaping what they've sown, but it makes for unsatisfying fiction (at least the way Johnston seems to be handling it).
As for Michael... I didn't think about what he was doing. I've never liked his wife, because tends to be self-effacing. I tend to "bleep" over those storylines as a result, so I didn't notice what a jackass move that was on his part.
Of course, what occurs to me as I think about it NOW is ... why was it even necessary for him to go back in? Maybe twenty years ago it might have been understandable, when there weren't a zillion options for backing things like that up. But for Pete's sake, this is the 21st century! I have copies of my novel on my laptop, on my work computer, on an external hard drive, and uploaded to three different web-based repositories, two of which are free. I'd go back into my burning house to rescue my wife, the cats, and Pookie. Maybe the coffee roaster. But for my novel? No need. It isn't there. All of the creative writers I know back up their work with as much redundancy as is possible.
And I agree with both of you
I hadn't thought about Paul apparently cheating with Susan in the light A. gives it, but now that she brings it up, I agree that it's lousy storytelling. Liz needs to have some consequences, not sail blithely through life without suffering any real ill effects of her decisions. Granted, some people do manage to go through real life without reaping what they've sown, but it makes for unsatisfying fiction (at least the way Johnston seems to be handling it).
As for Michael... I didn't think about what he was doing. I've never liked his wife, because tends to be self-effacing. I tend to "bleep" over those storylines as a result, so I didn't notice what a jackass move that was on his part.
Of course, what occurs to me as I think about it NOW is ... why was it even necessary for him to go back in? Maybe twenty years ago it might have been understandable, when there weren't a zillion options for backing things like that up. But for Pete's sake, this is the 21st century! I have copies of my novel on my laptop, on my work computer, on an external hard drive, and uploaded to three different web-based repositories, two of which are free. I'd go back into my burning house to rescue my wife, the cats, and Pookie. Maybe the coffee roaster. But for my novel? No need. It isn't there. All of the creative writers I know back up their work with as much redundancy as is possible.