REVIEW

“Beginner’s Greek” by James Collins (2008)

Rating: 7 / 10

Peter Russell is convinced he is destined to meet Mrs. Right on an airplane.

He has it all worked out: They’ll meet on a long flight, and she’ll be pretty, smart, sweet and funny. Peter knows fate is on his side, and he doesn’t doubt this encounter in the slightest.

“He was pleased to discover that on his side of the plane the rows had only two seats, an arrangement that would promote intimacy, and arriving at his assigned place he found that his row mate had not yet appeared, which would allow his mind to savor the possibilities for at least a few more minutes,” Collins writes in the prologue of his first published romance novel.

The author crafts an intricate web of characters, who, although not seemingly directly connected, make pivotal choices to grant each other the happiness they seek.

We’ve all heard this story before. Boy meets girl. Boy likes girl. Boy goes to hell and back to secure their rose-colored future together with 2.5 children. We go through an emotional roller coaster of a novel, knowing that in the closing chapter, we’ll undoubtedly be rewarded for our patience.

“Beginner’s Greek” is refreshing, simple and delightfully predictable. Collins integrates a typical romance with a poignant contemplation of life. Collins lends an astute eye of observation to all his characters. In turn, they offer us their opinions on fulfillment, personal character and whether happiness is ever really possible.

If one lets imagination take the driver’s seat when reading this, then the uncanny, and often unrealistic, circumstances are more believable. It’s like watching a romantic comedy with all its “Yeah, right” moments.

The ending is familiar, and with the quintessential romance-novel twist, the reader miraculously feels as if her time hasn’t been gobbled up for nothing. So no worries; a sweet treat awaits in the epilogue.

Rest assured, there isn’t even a smidgen of Greek.