Reviews (3)

ON BEING NORMAL
This review is primarily an endorsement of Anna Otto's December 5, 2000 review of this book. I don't think her review could be improved upon except perhaps for one quote from Christopher Isherwood's 'Mr. Lancaster' which holds forth the promise of universality: "What I am has refashioned itself throughout the days and years, and until now almost all that remains constant is the mere awareness of being conscious. And that consciousness belongs to everybody; it isn't a particular person." Mr. Lancaster's statement is surely a promise to gay people of all ages, and to the friends and parents of gays.

ON BEING NORMAL
...I don't think her review could be improved upon except perhaps for one quote from Christopher Isherwood's 'Mr. Lancaster' which holds forth the promise of universality: "What I am has refashioned itself throughout the days and years, and until now almost all that remains constant is the mere awareness of being conscious. And that consciousness belongs to everybody; it isn't a particular person." Mr. Lancaster's statement is surely a promise to gay people of all ages, and to the friends and parents of gays.

Excellent collection
A versatile and engaging anthology of stories about gay relationships. Some author names included here will surprise you (Henry James? but his "Pupil" is one of the most amusing and engaging stories), others will delight you (W. Burroughs' "Wild Boys."). Edmund White, a prominent gay writer, thankfully included his own short story, "Skinner Alive," into this collection, and I fell in love with his lyrical style. He displays great taste in editing this collection, and provides an insightful foreword. Every story here brings an interesting nuance to the genre, and each one holds surprises for the reader. This isn't just a book for the collection of short gay and lesbian fiction... this is a book of great short fiction - no more definition needed. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Gay men    3. Gay men's writings, American    4. Gay men's writings, English    5. Short stories, American   

Reviews (139)

"If you can't fix it, you gotta stand it."
First published in the New Yorker magazine in 1997, this powerful short story won the National Magazine Award for Fiction and an O. Henry Award.Exploding the stereotype of the cowboy, author Annie Proulx creates a passionate love story between two young ranch hands who believe their love and relationship are unique.Both are nineteen, and neither will entertain the thought that he might be gay ("I'm not no queer...it's a one-shot thing.").
"Nobody's business but ours"
I read Annie Proulx's short story, Brokeback Mountain, after seeing the movie. I find it incredible that Proulx could convey such depth of emotion in a 55-page short story.Her words are haunting and the story paints a beautiful portrait even though it is kind of hard to shake the images of Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger and instead see the characters as just Ennis and Jack.If you liked the movie, you'll love the short story. It's such a quick and fulfilling read, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

HEATH LEDGER SHOULD HAVE WON THE OSCAR !!!!
As you (may) already know, "Brokeback Mountain" is the story of forbidden homosexual love in rural 60's Middle-America where homophobia and bigotry are (very) prevalent. This is an awesome love story because the love of Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar is pure, and genuine.
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Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay    4. Literary    5. Movie-TV Tie-In - General    6. Short Stories (single author)    7. Fiction / General   

Reviews (11)

AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT TO THE GOTH TRIUMVIRATE
which I deem:
in depth eye opener
Mr. Clint has really let all of us, no matter what stage of life we are in, what planet we are from, or the aumont of zeros on our paycheck, look inside his world and gave us a whole new realm of thought. I loved this book. I read it in two days. AND thats with two kids under the age of 4, a hubby and a big white dog. I couldnt put it down. Its an awesome book. I can not wait for his next wonder in print... keep up the good work clint. This is definately a must read!

Catalyst at his Best!!
This is a great selection of essays and poetry from Clint Catalyst.They deal with gay relationships, adolescence, and out of control drug addiction.These subjects are dealt with in such an honest, clear and edgy way.The lives of these unconventional characters are brought to the page so intensely with all their flaws clearly exposed.You'll feel their thoughts and feelings.The artistic language used in this book make it a pleasure to read right through to the last page.No matter how dark and trashy these characters get you'll want to read more. Read more

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Drug abuse    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - General    5. Gay    6. Gay youth    7. Goth culture (Subculture)    8. Homosexuality    9. Literary collections    10. Popular American Fiction    11. Short Stories (single author)    12. Fiction / General    13. Literature of special Gay interest    14. Modern fiction    15. American    16. Essays    17. Poetry   

Reviews (4)

A Big Bowl of Awesome and Awful
Here's a book of short stories, with a title that will make you think it's about English School boys. Yeah right. The stories are about young boys from 9 to 16-years old (sprinkled here and there with older men, including a disturbing story with the writer itself... and here I thought only fic-writers dared to write Mary-Sue's...), all male, with other males... well, save one story. Or was it two?
Oh puh leeze
Having lived in a boarding school I thought that this book would perhaps reflect or enhance my experiences. As it turns out this is nothing but adult men writing about their sexual fantasies of being younger and wantingto be with other men. As an example, I know of no 10 year old boy who whould want to seduce a grown man. Perhaps there are some pyschopathies in the real world that will be the exception, but this book isn't even worth being resold. I have been around the block on so many levels, but this book reeks.

Boys and sex with other boys.
This book contains many short stories that are so realistic they appear true. All stories are about boys having sex with other boys, either sex play or the real thing. The book does an excellent job covering all ages from preteen to teen. I wish this author would write a sequil. The book has high re-readability. It was hard to put down and I can't wait to start it again. There is a need for more of this kind of 'first sexual contact' stories. Chris Kent did a marvelous job covering subject matter that in the US get's only negative coverage. My childhood sexual encounters produced positive cherished memories.
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Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. General    4. Literature of special Gay interest    5. Modern fiction    6. Short stories   

Reviews (3)

More Of Rebel Yell
In REBEL YELL 2, Mr. Quinn continues what he started in his first volume REBEL YELL although the collection is bigger here with 22 writers represented, including some from the previous volume. The definition of a Southern gay writer and who therefore makes the cut seems to have gotten even milkier here with the likes of Felice Picano making an appearance. According to Mr. Quinn Mr. Picano comes from New York and now lives in California-- and I suppose he has changed planes in Atlanta if that makes him a Southern writer-- in any event, he's included. More tabasco please
As a fan of Rebel Yell 1 it is with resigned disappointment that I accord this Sequel the two star rating befitting most any Sequel in any Genre.Because to my disappointment that is all Rebel Yell 2 amounts to.Outakes...leftovers."Let's take a good thing and see how far we can make it stretch".To anybody interested in this subject matter I can only say buy the first book skip the sequel.And hold your breath together with me in hope that Jay Quinn takes a long enough breather for Rebel Yell 3 to be something FRESH.

More Stories of the "Southern Gay Experience"
Once I had read the first book of stories about the Southern gay experience, REBEL YELL, edited by Jay Quinn, I was hoping there would be a second book of stories to follow.My wish has now come true.Jay Quinn, who authored two other wonderful books, "METES AND BOUNDS" and "THE MENTOR" has gathered together twenty-two new southern gay stories.These are exciting and touchingstories of awakening gay sexuality, and the impact that religion, friends and family have on their lives.They are told from a Southern gay perspective.There stories are from such noted authors as; Jeff Mann, Jameson Currier, Robin Lippincott, and Greg Herren, as well as many other new voices in Southern gay writing.These are not erotic, sex-filled stories, but heartfelt renderings of what it is like to be gay, and from the south.There's a feeling of Southern pride and heritage in each of these stories.Whether you're gay or straight, a southern boy will always be a proud southern boy.Read more

Subjects:  1. American fiction    2. Anthologies (multiple authors)    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - General    5. Gay    6. Gay men's writings, American    7. Psychopathology - Compulsive Behavior    8. Short stories, American    9. Social life and customs    10. Southern States    11. Literature of special Gay interest    12. Modern fiction   

Reviews (3)

Winner Small Press Book Award & A Different Light pick
The title story "Rainbow county" is amazing in this book that was a "Staff Recommendation" at A Different LIght Bookstore when it came out. I remember. I worked there then. I recommended it. And time proves me right. Muscle stories, soldiers, you name it. Some stories you forget. Some stick in your head. This book took me over the rainbow!

A Five Star Bedside Read
You could read through all 12 of the selections and never guess they were written by the same man. The going is rough and rugged in "Rainbow County," one of the many anthologies of Jack Fritscher's work. I will pay a very high compliment to "RoughNight@sodom.com." This story shocked me so much that I had to put the book down and catch my breath. I won't give the details, but you'll never again think of [certain phrases] in the same light after reading this story. God forgive me, I didn't know I'd get turned on by this!
I like erotica, but this book pushed the meaning of erotica into territory I never knew could be a turn on. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that this old dog learned some new tricks. The writing is way better done than writing in mainstream books. Erotica when it's good becomes so believeable that you... Can John Grisham make you do that? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay    4. Short Stories (single author)    5. Literature of special Gay interest    6. Modern fiction    7. Short stories   

Editorial Review

During his life, Gerald Tyrwhitt, the 14th Baron Berners, made his reputation as a composer of ballet and opera scores, but he was also an entertaining memoirist and a crafter of sly and funny tales. In Read more

Reviews (2)

A marvelous collection of bizarre tales
Lord Berners' Collected Tales and Fantasies are six rather bizarre tales or short novellas, filled with dark and mysterious happenings.The characters who inhabit these stories are equally as bizarre and eccentric as the tales themselves, and, although they contain some hilarious satire in the style of Evelyn Waugh or"Saki," the narratives are laced with violence and tragedy.Lord Berners' characters include an assortment of eccentric artistocratic types that he knew between the years dividing the two World Wars. His characters include a mixture of neurotics, paranoids, megalomaniacs, pederasts, parasites, and what Monty Python would call "upper-class twits," all of whom partake in the most amazing adventures. In one of the best stories, "Far from the Madding War," the author himself makes a brief appearance as Lord FritzCricket.Berners admits that his own outlandish personality is that of"the Unstable Peer," an eccentric born into the aristocracy who can act in any way he pleases.Let us look briefly at a few of the stories. "Percy Wallingford," (written in 1914) tells the adventures of a self-assured and talented man who, on the eve of World War I, has his confidence destroyed by his wife, a fantastic woman who can see in the dark and who strips him of his self-assurance."The Camel," (written in 1936) relates the mysterious appearance of a camel at a vicarage in the quiet British town of Slumbermere, which violently disrupts the easy life there and forces people to confront their own fears, anxieties, and jealousies. It is a deceptively dark and disturbing tale, perhaps influenced by the novels of Thomas Hardy and Anthony Trollope which also dealt with small-town British rustic life."Mr. Pidger," (1939) takes place on the eve of World War II and is, in reality, a British country-house farce in the best tradition.Lord Berens takes the models of the genre - a dog-hating misanthrope, a missing will, an ill-tempered dog, an over bearing wife, and a reticent husband - and molds them into a bizarre burlesque with tragic overtones."Count Omega" (1941) is a satire on reincarnation, Freudian sexual psychoanalysis, modern music, and practical jokes, which involves the ego-centered musician Emanuel Smith, maliciously modeled on the British composer Sir William Walton."The Romance of a Nose" (1941) may be the weakest tale of the collection, a rather plodding story about a Queen with an enormous nose and the chicanery that takes place in international politics.Berners' final story in the collection, "Far From the Madding War" (1941) is in itself worth the price of the book.It is an outrageous reaction to World War II, peopled with whimsical neurotics and eccentrics in the university town of "All Saints." It is Lord Berners' satirical attack on Oxford and Cambridge Universities' reaction to the war, and an intimation of his own nervous breakdown during and after the war years when his private world was shattered.It is a hilarious yet disturbing story.I highly recommend these six stories to those Anglophile readers like myself who enjoy the works of such writers as Evelyn Waugh, "Saki," J.P. Donlevy, George MacDonald Fraser, or John Mortimer.Lord Berners is indeed a talented author who writes stylishly and with a sharp satiric thrust. I have enjoyed his music (now recorded on several CD's) and his excellent memoir, "The Ch�teau de R�senlieu," which was recently published.I hope that more of his fine literary work will be published.

A writer, too?
I've loved Lord Berners' music for years. And I knew he was an eccentric. But these pieces knocked me out. Wry, ironic, hilarious, skewed, but also humane. He's someone I wish I'd had dinner with; I suspect it would havebeen a memorable encounter. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay    4. Literary    5. Short Stories (single author)   

Reviews (4)

The Freshmen Team Does Well
First, this new anthology of gay writing, FRESH MEN, has a clever title with at least two meanings. Secondly, the writers are all for the most part unknown. Edmund White, who selected them says that not one writer has had a book published yet. Third, they come from all areas of the United States as well as the British Isles. And they are not all Caucasian. The stories are set in a variety of locales and are not all about gay men picking up other gay men in bars. We can finally read about gay men who interact with other people besides other gay men and live outside a gay ghetto in a large city, usually New York.As you would expect from most any collection of stories, some are better than others. Some of the stories are excellent. I would put "ONJ.com," "Acqua Calda," "TV Dinner" and "Teamwork" in that category. "ONJ.com" by Vestal McIntyre, the first story in the book, is about a young woman in the world of advertising who wishes to "make a gay friend," a silly wish on its face, and gets more than she bargains for. In Keith McDermott's "Acqua Calda" a young American wrestles with how and when or if he should tell an Italian whom he is attracted to that he is HIV positive. "TV Dinner"by Reed Hearne is a funny account of a minor TV personality's filming of a day in the life of a waiter in the California Bay Area. Kevin Reardon's "Teamwork," which according to the biographical data about the authors won the 2003 Richard Hall Memorial Short Story Contest, is a great little story about proofreaders at Healthco, "a pharmaceutical advertising agency. The narrator has a crush on Todd, a perfectly drawn character, who when he gets fired over an ampersand by Gregory, a gay art director who "played for the team," responds: "'You're a bastard, man. . . I am so out of here.'" He is just so "kwel."
Another Anthology & Largely A Good Thing Too...
These twenty stories seemed to me excellent, also okay, few deficient. I found a quarter of them to be good art.
Excellent Stories of Life in the Gay Community
"Fresh Men" is a collection of twenty short stories selected by distinguished author Edmund White.All are interesting. There are stories with African-American, Hispanic, Filipino, and Asian characters, as well as the usual types.There are stories set at school, in the family, at work, at cruising, and around relationships.The variety is good, at least as it has been understood.
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Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay    4. Popular American Fiction    5. Short Stories (Anthologies)    6. Social Science / Gay Studies   

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay    4. Gay men    5. Short stories    6. Modern fiction   

Editorial Review

A sly, brainy, delicately shaded novel masquerading as a postmodern short story collection, Aldo Alvarez's debut is like an offbeat dinner guest who ends up as the life of the party. Most of these 16 stories offer a fragment in an ongoing (though out-of-sequence) tale of the love relationship of Mark, a brooding, slightly homophobic music producer, and Dean, an antiques appraiser, who tests the tolerance of his new love interests by making a queeny display of himself on first dates. One of the most poignant of these stories, "Quintessence," takes place before Dean meets Mark, and is about his failed attempt to find love with a simple, well-meaning, ordinary Joe, who has shown Dean his horrible "art" of doll toilet-paper covers, "breathtakingly ugly in design and execution." Refusing to take the easy way out of this heartbreaking scenario, Alvarez's sympathies remain evenly divided. Even when Dean hates himself, his author doesn't. With malice toward none, and humor for all, Alvarez builds a network of complicated but very real connections, in a voice that is spare and surprising. Read more

Reviews (11)

The best collection of stories in recent memory
I find a lot of collections of short stories have that aroma of M.F.A. program to them: they're samey, predictable, tame, bloodless, by-the-book, trendy, with maybe a few features that distinguish them from each other and from the Big Name Author books they're parroting.Aldo Alvarez's collection constantly surprises, engages both my emotions and my mind, and succesfully breaks the rules; hopefully, it will also set a trend for books in their own genre, with few or no equals.I feel like I've discovered a new favorite author; I've just read INTERESTING MONSTERS a second time, and I can't seem to get enough.I strongly recommend it to my friends.

The Death Of Expectations
I had heard about this book from friends of mine in San Francisco, where I live, and I couldn't wait to read it.I have to say that Mr. Alvarez can write, and he knows how to put words together.But he doesn't know how to write a story.I kept waiting for things to move together in a way that made for enjoyable reading, but all the time I kept thinking that Mr. Alvarez was writing for himself and not giving any thought to the reader.He lost me in his forced symbolism and his strained surrealism.I guess he's read too many Latin American novelists and he thinks that he's supposed to be mystical.I am sure he'll write a really wonderful short story collection someday, when he's thinking of his readers first.There are rules to writing stories.Mr. Alvarez should learn them.But, it was a good effort.

Mostly moving stories
Most of the "fictions" in this interesting collection seem to befragments of a novel, a novel about the rocky romance of Mark and Dean,told out of chronological sequence and with differing narrators, including that of a homophobic social-climbing San Juan realtor who gets her comeuppance ("Property Values"). I particularly like "Quintessence" and "Other People'sComplications"two stories about the impermeability of hearts (gay and straight, respectively.Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay    4. Fiction / Short Stories (single author)    5. Literature of special Gay interest    6. Modern fiction    7. Short stories   

Reviews (3)

Dazzling
This book is one of the most extraordinary accounts I have ever read of the AIDS crisis and its impact.It disavows all the usual cant, in favor of two "stories" that recreate the mental world of two survivors. The larger portion of the book is given over to the memories of OdetteO'Doyle, a drag queen (though she would never use the phrase) who has justreturned from Europe where she scattered the ashes of eight of her deadfriends.Her account ranges over the New York gay scene for nearly fourdecades, with constant insight and an accumulating mass of detail that are,in the end, both funny and deeply moving, in a way that I had hardlyanticipated.You may be able to find this book second-hand; it certainlyshould be back in print.

A tough and trenchant masterwork by James McCourt
Time Remaining -- technically a story and a novella which cohere into a whole -- is a masterwork of the most impressive order and a classic on a number of levels.Its various strands include: half a century of haut gaysensibility, from the postwar years to the season of AIDS; the lowcorruption of American politics; a fireworks display of opinions on opera,poetry, the novel and old movies (or "moompix metaphysics"); anda feat of tough and brilliant writing, sustained at the highestintellectual level.This is sheer text, and not for the lazy, thefaint-hearted, or those happy with received truths and well-worn genres. Though its purported story -- a scattering of the ashes of nine dead dragqueens, most casualties of AIDS -- suggests an elegy, the impact of readingMcCourt in full, ferocious form is nothing short of exhilarating.Thatthis book is out of print is scandalous; that it was barely recognized onpublication -- in favor of easier, more easily categorized (ormarginalized) gay authors and their books -- is yet more shameful.This isan alkaline, angry turn from the author of Mawrdew Czgzowchwz, the mostdazzling novel about opera ever written.But in its idiosyncratic way,Time Remaining gleans the gold.

Why is this book out of print?
You can take your Caleb Carrs and your Cold Mountains and whatnot and call them the best of the 1990s, but this wonderful masterwork by the sadly underrated McCourt (no relation to Angela's Arses) is the decade's finestbook. Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Gay men    3. New York (N.Y.)    4. Popular American Fiction    5. Short stories    6. Non-Classifiable   

Editorial Review

"Who cares what straight people think about us?" complains one of the characters in Andrew Holleran's first collection of short stories. "I don't care if they understand what I do in bed. Read more

Reviews (16)

beautiful
beautiful simply because holleran's observations are keen and well-written.deeply satisfying and true.

Light and Dark
I am just as impressed with this book on my second reading as on my first, years earlier: the beauty of the prose, the sharply drawn characters and the sense of reality that the writing imparts. On my second perusal, however, I noticed more strongly, the loneliness and restrained sadness that suffuses nearly all the stories. Andrew re-creates on paper, a homosexual world wherein sex is abundant, love a rarity and romance non-existent. This book might have sunk into pessimism and gloom but Andrew lifts it up to rarified layers with his sheer talent for description. Whether it's a graduate house or a lifeless station platform, a small town or a big city, the precision and economy of his style is extraordinary. Running short
I'm alittle torn on this one:Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Americans    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - General    5. Foreign countries    6. Gay    7. Gay men    8. Short Stories (single author)    9. Social life and customs    10. United States    11. Fiction / Gay   

Reviews (1)

excellent fiction
The short story by Richard Davis is wonderful and is worth getting the book for.I strongly recommend this book and you will adore Mr. Davis' writing.I cant wait to see my from richard davis, he is brilliant! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. American Short Story Collections    3. American fiction    4. Fiction    5. Fiction - General    6. Gay    7. Gay men    8. Male authors    9. Short stories, American    10. Fiction anthologies & collections    11. Literature of special Gay interest    12. Modern fiction    13. Non-Classifiable   

Reviews (1)

India, Trindidad, Canada, Feminist, Lesbian short vignettes
First read Shani Mootoo's novel, Cereus Blooms at Night. Then, come back to these short stories to learn more about her. Find phrases like: "She so fem, she redundant". Shani is not that. And you will not find men painted in a pretty light. Very similar to The Bean Tree in that respect. Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay Studies    4. Popular American Fiction    5. Short Stories (single author)    6. Social Science   

Reviews (5)

Comforting
These stories are comforting because they're normalizing, but some of the magic of the original folktales is diminished because the author feels compelled to bring in cliches of the gay world.Cliches such as S&M type characters, AIDS and various yuppie-lifestyle references (the gym, designer clothes ...etc).However, I would still suggest looking in to it because it offers a beginning of homosexuals themselves looking at themselves - as normal, just people in the world.I found about an equal proportion of the book tacky as I did touching, but it's a book I'm sure to revisit. A few of the stories had some thoughtful lessons to them.

Too bad my parents didn't read this to me!
I'm glad to see that there's finally *fairy* tales out there for gay men. And, although I prefer the romance, being the starry-eyed dreamer that I am, it pleases me seeing tall aspects of life in these stories: love and loss, youth and aging, rags to riches, on and on...
A gay adventure awaits you!
The quiet power of these tales is as mystifying and timless as the originals from which they are spun.By recasting and reshaping both favorite and obscure fairy tales from our youth with gay themes, Peter Cashorali has given gay men the myths and legends on which empires are made.Queit, pensive, reflective, moral, funny, entertaining, sexy, thoughtful and just plain fun are the words I'd use to describe this collection.The 17 stories are easily read in one sitting (some only a page or two long), but are hard to forget.I chose to read one a night, right before bed.If you have a lover, reading them to one another makes for great bedtime stories.Each is begun with a simple line drawing that forshadows events to come.A nice design element is each of these drawings are picked up on the jacket cover.If you happen to not know the tale on which a particular story is based, it is refrenced on the bottom of each stories first page.This makes it really easy to find and read the original to see just how much Cashorali has reworked it.I espicially loved the range of gay life portrayed; from girly boys to butch boys, S&M, AIDS, aging, looking for lasting love and dealing with a loss, this book covers it all.And don't forget the manditory enchanted objects, talking animals, handsome princes, frogs, ogres and withces needed for any good fairy tale!All are included and no one feels left out.Read more

Subjects:  1. Adaptations    2. Fairy tales    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - General    5. Gay    6. Gay men    7. Literature of special Gay interest    8. Modern fiction    9. Short stories    10. Social Science / General   

Subjects:  1. Fiction - General    2. Gay    3. Short Stories (Anthologies)   

Reviews (5)

Fresh, Original Stories
Vestal McIntyre has written eight very fine stories here, everyone of which is unique and original. The plots are as different as the kidnapping by teenage hoodlums of a busboy wearing a kangaroo suit to lure customers to the restaurant where he is employed to a man, no longer in love with his very successful wife, who hires a prostitute to have sex with him while driving his Mercedes through an automatic carwash. Mr. McIntyre is very wonderful with words and can do a lot with a little: "She looked at his tired gray eyes and lipless mouth. He had a habit of chewing on the inside of his cheeks." Another example: "The cousins slept scattered around the downstairs like shoes on the floor of a messy closet". And drinking brandy is like "swallowing candlelight."
SHARP, FUNNY, WONDERFUL
This collection offers the kind of rewarding experience readers desire and so seldom get.The story "Sahara," about the mistaken-identity kidnapping of a boy wearing a kangaroo costume, is just one example of how original, touching, and wildly entertaining this book is.Vestal McIntyre is a major talent, and YOU ARE NOT THE ONE is one of the sharpest, funniest and most well-crafted story collections I've ever read.I highly recommend it.

One of the best short story collections I have read all year
Vestal McIntyre has created the most eccentric characters and bizarre situations in this collection of darkly funny short stories.He writes about things that people could relate to, yet he adds a touch of peculiar situations that make the stories dark and compelling at the same time.Some stories were written in second-person narrative and that gave the stories a more unique voice.My favorite story is "ONJ.com."I like to think of the aforementioned story as Will and Grace with a twist.I also loved "Nightwalking," "Disability," and "Binge."I enjoyed entering McIntyre's world with this fascinating collection and I look forward to reading more of his stuff in the future. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography/Autobiography    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. Gay    5. Oceanic Water Transportation    6. Sail Boating    7. Short Stories (single author)    8. Short stories    9. Fiction / Literary   

Reviews (3)

Dark but engrossing
Nice style and well written.I read this a while ago but it stayed with me.

Read this. It is good.
Klein sure knows how to dance, but with words, baby. With words. I enjoyed this read. It has guts, swings along and then hits you like a half baked pie --- pow. Like a weeping monkey in the garden, or a squealing cat in the laundry. Sad, yes. Wounded, hounded and powerful fiction, oh double yes. A bit depressing but nicely written
I read a used copy of this book.The author deals with pain...the pain of recognizing and claiming one's sexual identity and the pain of living life until death.The stories are nicely written with great description and expression of feeling. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay    4. Gay youth    5. Popular American Fiction    6. Short stories    7. Literature of special Gay interest    8. Modern fiction   

Reviews (12)

The Music of YOUR Life
John Roswell's book of short stories is a true tour de force.The first story raises the question - what is the music of YOUR life?Is it Cosmic Fabulosity or is it Valley of the Dolls?Or is it Supercalifragalisticexpioladocious?Or is it a bit of each of these, mingled into the complex symphony of our own lives?Roswell uses music and a strong sense of gay sensibility to open our eyes and lift us to a higher level of self-consciousness.
Mainly Impressive Collection
John Rowell's stories are nostalgic.The Music of Your Life is a very bittersweet collection about being young and about being old, often in the same story.The collection may end on a weak note, "Wildlife of Coastal Carolina", but until then it is very strong with all the stories connected by the lead character being gay and southern, and all that may imply.Characters from pop culture wander through either in person, such as, memorably, Lucille Ball, or flickering on the television or movie screen, such as Lawrence Welk or Julie Andrews, but the focus never wanders away from the main character.The author is strongest when a character is looking back to the past from the present.These moments are very touching even when, maybe even particularly, not much of great import is occuring.It is a wonderful short story debut.

Common Themes plus Uncommon Style = Literature
These stories, it was said, repeat themes already written about. Well, "Duh," so did Shakespeare. Literature is not the What, it's the How. And these stories are dynamic artistry with a toned voice. Not "telling" or prosaic, pondering, ponderous, plodding, author-intrusive. Instead, "showing" or a suave crafted re-creation of a world which lets us readers actively participate in real-izing...
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Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay    4. General    5. Psychological fiction, America    6. Psychological fiction, American    7. Short stories    8. Fiction / General    9. Modern fiction    10. Sagas   

Reviews (4)

A Voice Too Soon Silenced
Sam D'Allesandro may be just a nom de plume to those who have had the pleasure of reading his works in various magazines and quarterlies, but this young farm boy born Richard Anderson in 1957 and who migrated to the West Coast as a dreamy eyed young gay man, left a number of excellent hints of his gifts strewn about the premises and minds of his adopted state before succumbing to AIDS in 1988.This collection of all of his writings, edited in style by Kevin Killian, is at once joyous, funny, insightful, erotic, full of rage, and finally replete with resignation.