( 6 reviews )
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( 3 of 4 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jan 30 2007
"My sense of romantic love inevitably involves obsession. It occurs when we meet the person we feel is essential for our life. Without that person, we will die. It happens when life stops us suddenly in our tracks and we love in a way we didn't know was possible." ~ pg. 4 Rosemary Sullivan explores more than obsessive love in her unique personal story which becomes as much an unveiling of her own world as an understanding of the search for ourselves by becoming obsessed with another. Throughout "Labyrinth of Desire," she paints erotic portraits of feminine longing and uses the colors of a short story to paint larger pictures within a world of spontaneous choices and unrestrained desire. I started to read this book in bed one night while my husband was looking up something on a map and I was amusing myself by reading him sentences so he could look up various locations in the initial story. A woman becomes obsessed with a man while she is on an adventure in Mexico. This leads to a discussion of what actually occurred within the relationship and why it eventually ended in disaster. Or did it end badly? Rosemary Sullivan has a few intriguing ideas about why we fall madly in love and how it can birth the self. Within the "almost confessional" personal revelations, excerpts from her diary, pop culture references, quotes from famous artists, passages from novels, witty conversations in movies, secrets between friends and intriguing memories from her world travels, Rosemary Sullivan reveals that she at times misses the "waking up of the world." For anyone who has experienced obsessive love or even just falling in love without complete obsession, this will present intrigue. Although, I must admit that an especially artistic movie can produce a similar "awakening" to the world. Colors become more vibrant, you notice the steam on a cup of coffee, the sun feels warmer on your skin, you long to sit in the sun as if it was some invisible connection between you and your lover. The most revealing aspect of this book may be the information on how she despises one type of romantic love and embraces a wilder more provocative expression. Needless to say, there is something warm and beautiful in this book, although it can at times read like a conversation between friends discussing their favorite lovers, movies and world travels. This book will be quite enjoyable to anyone who has ever wished to be an artist's muse. I think at the heart, this entire concept of obsessive love is birthed from our desire to be needed and validated. Why else would be long to be needed when so deeply obsessed with the object of our affection? Or does a sense of security make us feel that this magical space in our own little world will continue indefinitely? While falling madly in love has its seductive beauty, resisting when inappropriate reveals entirely new facets of your soul's strength. Obsessive love is a little dangerous and it could destroy your life and that may also be its appeal. ~The Rebecca Review
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( 2 of 2 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jul 30 2006
I'm a married woman and yet I feel no compelling need to be bonded to a man. I love kids, however I have no desire whatsoever to bear any myself. I enjoy community and friends but I am perfectly content to hang out alone. I guess this means my hardwiring is all screwed up. Oh well. Above and beyond that I have experienced romantic obsessions although they seem to have mostly quelled since I entered my thirties. Still, I loved this book. Sullivan's idea of writing a story and then using paragraphs from the story as the headings of subsequent and relative chapters was really interesting. A bit of emotional vs. literary analysis. I also enjoyed reading about Goethe and Leonora Carrington and Frida Kahlo. It's interesting to see the "romantic obsession" mythology tipped on its head and and Sullivan shake the truth out of it. I can't say I identified with all situations in this book. I didn't. But I will walk away some very interesting things to think about. I was particularly intrigued by the idea of needing a romantic obsession to feel fully in one's own body, to experience things in the here and now - which is, after all, one of life's greatest goals, right? To think about how sometimes women (and some men)can only achieve that by attaching to another person is both enlightening and depressing. I could wax on about how the typical male's role in these "affairs of the lonely hearts" made me mad, but I won't. Suffice it to say, the man winds up on top again. A quick and meaningful read.
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( 2 of 2 found this review helpful ) Posted: Oct 24 2003
A romantic at heart, this book provided a new insight into love and it's many forms - and an explanation for why some girls (and guys) fall in love so quickly, passionately, and often. Her description of the two main types of romantic love (mainly focusing on obsessive romantic love a.k.a. short-term, lustful love) via storytelling is both entricate and easy to understand. Anyone who has ever been in love can relate to this, and it certainly provides a medium for exploring not only the loves we have had and may have, but also views of love and ourselves. A must read for all lovers the world over.
