The Final Note

Veteran tearjerker Milne (The Paper Bag Christmas) packs this contemporary romance brim-full of melodrama. Classical guitarist Ethan meets artist Anna in Vienna, where both are poor graduate students. "I didn't know a lot about art," Ethan declares, "but I dare say that she was a Da Vinci compared to the rest of the Etch-a-sketch women I'd ever known." Reuniting in the States, they marry and fund their growing family through corporate work that takes them far from the arts. Their relationship slowly crumbles under the stress of more obstacles than could realistically fit into one lifetime. Bad luck proves to be a family trait when Ethan's grandfather reveals the history of his guitar, Karl, to teach Ethan about the power of forgiveness. Despite the acute overuse of metaphor, trite advice, cheesy song lyrics, and surplus angst, Ethan and Anna's tale is oddly compelling. (May)