Necessary Sins

Necessary Sins is a lovely elegy for Darling's marriage to Lee Lescaze, which ended with his death from cancer at the age of 57. By turns poignant and wry, her reminiscence tells the tale of her relationship with Lescaze, which began when he was married to his first wife. Acutely conscious of the pain inflicted on others through her choices, Darling unsparingly holds herself accountable for this damage, while cherishing the memory of what she and Lescaze built in their relationship. The result is a rich and complex exploration of the contours and chasms of marriage, beautifully expressed in exquisite prose. Each sentence pays tribute to Lescaze and their shared love of language -- truly this book is a pleasure to read. Highly recommended.

We all have to remember that a review (including this one) represents one persons opinion -- and the review must not ever be construed to be the opinion of the publication in which it appears. And while I respect Publishers Weekly and feel they get it right most of the time, I feel that the reviewer got it wrong on this occasion. Necessary Sins is a beautifully executed honest and totally absorbing memoir. What Darling refrains from doing is throwing everything possible in. She is judicious in what she gives us and although she is hard on herself, one ends up admiring her. The book has everything you could want: a driving narrative, proper reflection, limpid prose, a sense of restraint. I highly recommend it

This is a beautiful book. It conveys all the simple hunger of young love and all the complicated pain of real life. I read it in one sitting, stopping only to get more tissues. It left this reader emotionally scoured, but able to look with fresh eyes on what it means to be a lover, a mother, a woman.

This is a self-deprecating love letter from Lynn to Lee. Anyone who has found themselves to have fallen in love during a ravenous and questionable affair will be able to identify with Darling's simultaneous certainty and uncertainty. I feel as though I have discovered a love letter in a bedside drawer and am reading it as quickly as I can, lest I be discovered by the owner.

Lynn Darling is a wonderful writer, and in this memoir she tells the story of a true love that transformed her and that remains, years after her husband's death, the wellspring and center of her life. But she also shows the price he and she paid for their love story--a broken first marriage for him, guilt and pain for all involved, and the deep tragedy of the death of a child. A skilled reporter and stylist, Darling can create memorable characters and scenes. But what makes this book so powerful in the end is her refusal to spare herself or be less than candid about her motives and behavior. If you believe in love and in its power to redeem the soul (or even if you think you might), you'll find yourself thinking about NECESSARY SINS long after you have read the last page.