WHAT IS TRULY MERCILESS

You have published a more-than-glowing review of a novel (“Lying in Bed” by J.D. Landis, reviewed July 9) that boasts the line: “The ravages of AIDS to the body cannot compare to the devastation to the mind wrought by the slow evaporation of passion. AIDS kills you; marriage, mercilessly, lets you live.” Your reviewer enjoyed the above line so much, she reprinted it.

I find the comments insulting and inaccurate. AIDS does not kill immediately. Many people feel the devastation of AIDS for long, torturous years. If a marriage is causing pain in one’s life, the healthy, albeit heartbroken spouse, can leave. AIDS, on the other hand, has no cure at this point in time, and its survivors have no choice. Whether it be early HIV infection, or full-blown AIDS, the physical or emotional devastation to the mind, brought on by the ravages of AIDS is merciless.

ANDREW SEARS, LOS ANGELES