A sexy and poignant novel that could have done well with a more original exploration of gay mores.
A Texas-based debut novel about a man controlled by his sexuality.
When Sam finally realizes that his sexual orientation might be different from what society expects of him, he resorts to the internet to find satisfaction. But the Missed Connections vertical on Craigslist is not enough for him. To his surprise, he happens upon a roadside arcade that guarantees anonymity to its customers, that allows for a quick release, and that carries the potential for a connection. For all intents and purposes a XXX video store, the arcade is where the confused Sam soon spends most of his days and nights. There, he meets a cast of men, ranging from a “tweaker” to “a big bull of man,” and engages in a variety of activities—most of which will elicit chills and a raised eyebrow. “I could have something like an encounter [at the arcade], a vicarious experience completely free of any fears of infection or the face-to-face intimacy I didn’t know how to process,” Sam says. The novel oscillates between telling Sam’s story outside of the arcade and framing it only in terms of his homosexuality (“I had seen porn magazines before…I remember shaking all over and coming in my pants….I kept shaking after that, searching my room for a hiding spot where no one would look….That was the moment when I knew…I might really be the kind of person you weren’t supposed to be”). Smith has created a narrative that entrances its readers, constantly giving us excitement and depicting with audacity the rawness of sexuality. However, the text rarely explores the complexity of coming out in a contemporary environment, reverting to hypersexualized stereotypes of gay men. Smith offers few glimpses into Sam’s life outside the arcade, with brief appearances by the genuine love interests and connections Sam has made, but quickly returns to the arcade—as if sex was the only thing on his mind or the only thing he was capable of. Nevertheless, Smith has crafted a daring and compelling debut that sheds light on a rather unusual lifestyle.
A sexy and poignant novel that could have done well with a more original exploration of gay mores.Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-939419-72-9
Page Count: 222
Publisher: Unnamed Press
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2016
PROFILES
There are unforgettable beauties in this very sexy story.
Passion, friendship, heartbreak, and forgiveness ring true in Lovering's debut, the tale of a young woman's obsession with a man who's "good at being charming."
Long Island native Lucy Albright, starts her freshman year at Baird College in Southern California, intending to study English and journalism and become a travel writer. Stephen DeMarco, an upperclassman, is a political science major who plans to become a lawyer. Soon after they meet, Lucy tells Stephen an intensely personal story about the Unforgivable Thing, a betrayal that turned Lucy against her mother. Stephen pretends to listen to Lucy's painful disclosure, but all his thoughts are about her exposed black bra strap and her nipples pressing against her thin cotton T-shirt. It doesn't take Lucy long to realize Stephen's a "manipulative jerk" and she is "beyond pathetic" in her desire for him, but their lives are now intertwined. Their story takes seven years to unfold, but it's a fast-paced ride through hookups, breakups, and infidelities fueled by alcohol and cocaine and with oodles of sizzling sexual tension. "Lucy was an itch, a song stuck in your head or a movie you need to rewatch or a food you suddenly crave," Stephen says in one of his point-of-view chapters, which alternate with Lucy's. The ending is perfect, as Lucy figures out the dark secret Stephen has kept hidden and learns the difference between lustful addiction and mature love.
There are unforgettable beauties in this very sexy story.Pub Date: June 12, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-6964-9
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.
Four men who meet as college roommates move to New York and spend the next three decades gaining renown in their professions—as an architect, painter, actor and lawyer—and struggling with demons in their intertwined personal lives.
Yanagihara (The People in the Trees, 2013) takes the still-bold leap of writing about characters who don’t share her background; in addition to being male, JB is African-American, Malcolm has a black father and white mother, Willem is white, and “Jude’s race was undetermined”—deserted at birth, he was raised in a monastery and had an unspeakably traumatic childhood that’s revealed slowly over the course of the book. Two of them are gay, one straight and one bisexual. There isn’t a single significant female character, and for a long novel, there isn’t much plot. There aren’t even many markers of what’s happening in the outside world; Jude moves to a loft in SoHo as a young man, but we don’t see the neighborhood change from gritty artists’ enclave to glitzy tourist destination. What we get instead is an intensely interior look at the friends’ psyches and relationships, and it’s utterly enthralling. The four men think about work and creativity and success and failure; they cook for each other, compete with each other and jostle for each other’s affection. JB bases his entire artistic career on painting portraits of his friends, while Malcolm takes care of them by designing their apartments and houses. When Jude, as an adult, is adopted by his favorite Harvard law professor, his friends join him for Thanksgiving in Cambridge every year. And when Willem becomes a movie star, they all bask in his glow. Eventually, the tone darkens and the story narrows to focus on Jude as the pain of his past cuts deep into his carefully constructed life.
The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.Pub Date: March 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-53925-8
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PROFILES
PERSPECTIVES
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