Before anyone asks, I’ll answer the question first – yes, I know Suzanne Brockmann’s book All Through the Night is made up. Just being make believe doesn’t diminish the powerful emotional honesty of this romance. In some ways, the fact that this story of love is a work of fiction makes it more compelling. And even though the plot centers on a Christmas-time wedding, I suggest this book is the perfect read for Valentine’s Day.
One reason this book resonates so strongly is that the issue of marriage equality and same sex weddings is in the news again, courtesy of the recent Appeals Court decision upholding an earlier federal court ruling finding California’s Proposition 8 unconstitutional. That decision would no doubt hearten Jules Cassidy and Robin Chadwick, the male protagonists of Brockmann’s book, because it should allow other couples just like them to have their passionate and caring relationships publicly affirmed by the state.
An important strength of Brockmann’s work is that these two characters are so well developed, a reader easily identifies with their desire for legal acceptance. Brockmann presents on the page two men with strengths and flaws as compelling as any encountered in fiction. And yet the love they have, the sense of mutual sharing, trust, and respect they strive for with each other, inspired me to be a better man in my own relationship before I’d even finished the book.
This, I think, is a great representation of one of most powerful tools of fiction in our society – we can begin to create a better world if we only imagine we can. I sincerely hope you’ll read All Through the Night. And then, I hope it inspires you to promote positive changes in our law and culture so we all have the chance to celebrate more couples like Jules and Robin experiencing happily ever after.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
