If I hadn't lived a student-professor-waiting-for-the-student-to-graduate situation, I probably would have enjoyed this book more. Or maybe not. There's so much that could have been done with that situation, showing the growing intellectual connection over months of office-hours discussions, leading to meandering conversations, developing friendship and emotional intimacy. Then the sexual tension waiting for graduation makes sense.This story didn't seem to me to show why Isaac and Nathan were so drawn to each other. Physical attraction, sure. But what drew them together so intensely that it was worth waiting for after graduation? Why not just find someone else more convenient and equally attractive?It seemed far too much like insta-love for no apparent reason to me, so it probably wouldn't have wowed me anyway. And the fact that they actually did have a sexual moment together before graduation? Ick. Ew, ew, EWWWW! No. Uh uh. Not cool, no matter how you frame it.Add in prose that has a disconcerting tendency to suddenly turn purple at the end of every sex scene, and a few other seemingly random moments, and this made for some uncomfortable reading. And yet, I cared about the characters and enjoyed it anyway.
