The dialogue is my greatest quibble with No Stone Unturned. The dialogue is as stiff as stiff can be. Granted, maybe there are people who really do speak 'properly' at moments of great emotional stress, as Carl Stone did when he could not find the gate of the school to drop off his children:

"I know they were a little upset and upset when I had a hard time with the turn at the school gate. I hope that even if they don't understand it now, they will remember it for the future."

Confrontation

And when Rosemarie Stone is finally confronting her husband about his women, which she had long suspected, he says: "Rose, you know that my infidelity has nothing to do with you or the state of the marriage." And she replies "that's bull....! You cannot be having the women and the good marriage 'that works on so many levels' and truly believe that that kind of living, apart from being a schizophrenic, won't have repercussions".

Then get this one. When he calls around to find her, she demands if he thinks she is seeing someone. He says, "I don't even know how to answer that". To that she replies:

"Well, I will answer it for you. No, No and No. Remember that your actions during our marriage have sealed my fate when it comes to men. Not only will no one want to be involved with someone with HIV, but certainly, you have showed me how unevenly balanced the relationship between a man and a woman is. I went into the relationship with you, I thought on par, but men have the upper hand every time. I feel so much at a disadvantage now that you don't have to worry about me getting into a relationship with anyone."

That is so civilised, so decent ... so stiff, so unreal. But maybe it is not my reality; it may just be that there are some of us who express ourselves in such standard, sometimes sterile terms, no matter the circumstances.

The inclusion of the story of other women who contracted HIV from their husbands is a wonderful touch. The amazing thing is that they all stayed with their husbands, who all treated the matter in different ways. Dina was close to 60 when she was infected and took care of her husband, who "never thanked me once, not once - that was painful." Dorothy was in her mid-30s, whose husband Errol, "Is a fair-skinned, nice-looking man...". Then the diagnosis hits and in the doctor's office the word 'bisexual' floors her. His physical response is wanting more and more sex. Then there is Megan, who does not like sex (twice in six months?) whose husband Michael "Is only concerned about his squeaky image at the expense of all of us." Hence, a code of silence is enforced.

Amazed

But I am amazed that not one headed towards the door.

What is heartbreaking (though I am sure some will read it with a sense of grim satisfaction) is how Carl Stone craved his wife's attention after he found out he was going to die. Before, she was the one who wanted more of his time and he was too busy. After, as he got weaker and weaker, he tries to play table tennis with her (he was hardly able to hold up the racket), he dances with her and he calls her excessively (which leads to the demand if he had not made any friends in his flings).

- Mel Cooke