Book Review of "Before, During, After" By Richard Bausch

I listened to the audio book edition of this novel. I personally liked the characters in this story. I thought both Michael and Natasha were believable, yet flawed characters. The story revolving around 9-11 was more of a plot device than anything else. The impact to the characters was due to either personal factors or personal tragedy.

Bausch could have left out the 9-11 part from the plot and the novel would have worked just as well. The main theme of this novel is "Can we put our past behind us and forge a new better tomorrow?" I also liked how Bausch explored the themes of fear, guilt, regret, and anger.

As a reader I felt what the characters felt. The dramatic tension was there. Bausch succeeds in this regard. Where he did not succeed was with the novel's ending. It lacked emotional closure in my opinion. At the end of the story, Bausch gives the reader hints that things will work out for the best. I would have liked to have read about how they actually did work out. I would have like to have seen a little of their lives together. Also of interest is the baby. Who's is it? If it had not been Faulk's, would Faulk have tried to track down Nicholas Duego? Would he have done something drastic? What was Duego's point of view?