Two women meet in Sri Lanka. They begin to travel together. Over time, Catherine, the older, tells Ruby of the many years she spent loving, obsessively and against all good advice, Michael. The affair spanned years, countries and even when it was off, it was never off for Catherine.
It’s so annoying having a character like Catherine with self-destructive behavior. I want her to take the obvious path, the path her friends are pushing her toward. A path that would be less dangerous and less destructive, but would not be such a great story. When I care about a character, I want her to make different decisions. That, for me, is the appeal of good books; I can become so wrapped up in them that I get frustrated at the path they take. But I still want to go on their journey.
