Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay    4. Literary    5. Short Stories (single author)    6. Short stories   

Editorial Review

Anthologies of gay male fiction have become increasingly popular during the past decade. Edmund White and David Leavitt have produced volumes of classic stories, and the Men on Men series (now edited by David Bergman) has presented works by both established and new writers. In the past three years Robert Drake and Terry Wolverton's His and Hers series have distinguished themselves by featuring the work of (mostly) up-and-coming writers in a format that is both accessible and pleasurable to read. Winner of a 1998 Lambda Literary Award, 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. Gay men's writings, American    9. Sexuality In Literature    10. American English    11. Literature: History & Criticism    12. Modern fiction    13. Sexual behaviour    14. Short stories   

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay    4. Gay men    5. Short Stories (single author)    6. Social life and customs    7. Wales    8. Modern fiction    9. Short stories   

Reviews (1)

intriguing subject, poorly served
The subject matter is dramatic intriguing and full of genuine anguish, but the writing is so overblown and self-satisfied that one has trouble finishing any of the stories here. The author can't keep away from cliches and hackneyed situations and characters and finally you give up expecting anything fresh or any character who doesn't fit a stereotype. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. AIDS (Disease)    2. Fiction    3. Gay men    4. Patients    5. Popular English Fiction    6. Short stories    7. Non-Classifiable   

Reviews (1)

enjoyable queer irish storytelling
The editor of this book reports that gay sex was decriminalized in Ireland in 1993, and that Ireland quickly went on to become a fairly progressive country in regards to lesbian and gay rights.Indeed, the stories in this collection could be from any western nation, except that these stories havea particular "irish lilt" to them.Humorous, sad, bittersweet,and often poignant, these stories deal with some universal themes in thelives of gay men:sex, coming out, identifying each other, families,friends and lovers.This book keeps alive the skill and art of Irishstorytelling, adding queer voices to the mix. I read this collectionquickly, and while no story really reaches an incredible literary height,many manage to be enjoyable and illuminating, haunting and evocative. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. English fiction    3. Fiction    4. Gay    5. Gay men    6. Gay men's writings, English    7. General    8. Popular English Fiction    9. Short stories, English    10. Literature of special Gay interest    11. Modern fiction    12. Short stories   

Reviews (1)

Diverse and Enjoyable
This was a nice break from the usual gay fiction anthology, but some writers were familiar: best Stephen Beachy's "torque", David Dakar, Richard Schimpf and Jim Provenzano, whose collage style shows ahaunting future. robert Patrick's "The War Over Jane Fonda"reveals family disagreements that lead to more.Some of the storiesfulfill the goal of providing dissident voices (Provenzano's the strongestamong that category) others are sweet in their prose stylings (CharlesDerry's "Keeping Track"). the Jack-in-the-Box cover is odd, butwhat can you expect from those wacky Canadians! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthologies (multiple authors)    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. Gay    5. Gay men    6. Gay men's writings, American    7. Gay men's writings, Canadian    8. Short stories, Canadian    9. Fiction / Gay    10. Modern fiction   

Reviews (4)

Real book reviews
"Hallasy writes with a sly wink and wry smile and just the proper dash of rueful bitterness."
Pales in comparison with Auster
I stumbled across this book while looking for Paul Auster's New York Trilogy.Sadly, this novel (or, I suppose, trilogy of novels) is entirely forgettable.The comparison invited by the title does this volume nofavors, because Paul Auster's luminous meditations on time, identity, andmeaning put Paul Hallasy's flat, uninspired prose to shame.Hallasy'snovel is the story of a young man who comes to NYU, encounters the NYCboehmian life, comes to terms with his homosexuality, and confronts thebeginnings of the AIDS epidemic.I have to admit that I skimmed the secondand third sections of this book, having lost any ability to pay seriousattention to the narrative, so there may be other major plot points orthemes that I'm neglecting.The subject matter and time period have beenthoroughly covered elsewhere, and with much more insight and skill.Thebook is published by iUniverse.com, and the error of the title may point toa problem with this "new face of publishing": at a traditionalpublisher, an experienced editor might have been able to steer Mr. Hallasyaway from a title already used by a better author.This trilogy isoverflowing with utterly specific cultural references- songs, place names,celebrities, brands, movies, etc., that fix the story in a particular time,place, and subculture.The allusions may be the greatest asset here- ifthe reader was there then, this could be a sure ticket to nostalgia. There's also some wit to be had, but not much.Oh, and I came acrossseveral spelling errors.The best advice I could offer would be to go readthe other New York Trilogy, the good one, Auster's, and leave this onealone.

Pales in comparison with Auster
I stumbled across this book while looking for Paul Auster's New York Trilogy.Sadly, this novel (or, I suppose, trilogy of novels) is entirely forgettable.The comparison invited by the title does this volume nofavors, because Paul Auster's luminous meditations on time, identity, andmeaning put Paul Hallasy's flat, uninspired prose to shame.Hallasy'snovel is the story of a young man who comes to NYU, encounters the NYCboehmian life, comes to terms with his homosexuality, and confronts thebeginnings of the AIDS epidemic.I have to admit that I skimmed the secondand third sections of this book, having lost any ability to pay seriousattention to the narrative, so there may be other major plot points orthemes that I'm neglecting.The subject matter and time period have beenthoroughly covered elsewhere, and with much more insight and skill.Thebook is published by iUniverse.com, and the error of the title may point toa problem with this "new face of publishing": at a traditionalpublisher, an experienced editor might have been able to steer Mr. Hallasyaway from a title already used by a better author.This trilogy isoverflowing with utterly specific cultural references- songs, place names,celebrities, brands, movies, etc., that fix the story in a particular time,place, and subculture.The allusions may be the greatest asset here- ifthe reader was there then, this could be a sure ticket to nostalgia. There's also some wit to be had, but not much.Oh, and I came acrossseveral spelling errors.The best advice I could offer would be to go readthe other New York Trilogy, the good one, Auster's, and leave this onealone. ... Read more

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

Reviews (2)

What a great read, nothing like it
All I say is what a great read! What a great read, nothing like it
All I say is what a great read!Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay    4. Short Stories (single author)    5. General & Literary Fiction    6. Literature of special Gay interest   

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay    4. Short Stories (single author)    5. FICTION / Gay    6. Fiction / Short Stories (single author)   

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Gay men    3. Popular American Fiction    4. Short stories    5. Fiction / General   

Reviews (1)

Moving tale of Coming Out and Moving to New York
Scanlon takes us through a series of short stories all focusedon Freddy.We watch Freddy grow up, come out, accept himself, and hisfamily's and friends' perceptions of him.Scanlon makes us like Freddy, whether or not you are gay, you can identify with his struggles against his family.He was that unplanned for child born years. His Mom recognizes his being gay at an early age and indulges him and it.His father and grandfather abduct his GI Joe, but Mom buys him a new one and takes him to the toy store to outfit him in the latest Ken Doll fashions.No one thinks it odd that this young guy has always liked show tunes.He owns LPs by age 4!I think its great and record store owners set some aside for him.He grows up in Bethesda, Maryland, outside DC and gets out as soon as can.He lands in NYC, where his warmth and innocence do him harm, but gain him some nice friends.He works in comedy and, of course, as a waiter.This is not a sex-filled work, but a good mix of humor, insight, and asks us to confront our own attitudes with gay teens, men and later AIDS. Well worth a read. ... Read more

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

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

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay    4. Short Stories (single author)    5. General & Literary Fiction    6. Literature of special Gay interest   

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

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay    4. Short Stories (Anthologies)   

Subjects:  1. American Short Story Collections    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. Gay men    5. Gay men's writings, American    6. General    7. Male authors    8. Short stories, American   

Reviews (1)

CUMBERSOME
For such a modest size, this book is overly cumbersome, wordy, and quite frankly boring.The convoluted nature of the writing stalls the advance of the plot. This reader has the impression that Mr.Wells was trying to impress the reader with the complexity of his writing style.If so, he was successful, but in the complexity and attempt to impress, he loss the passion of his stories.Avoid this one unless you are fond of Dickensonian writing. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Literature of special Gay interest    2. Modern fiction    3. Short stories   

Reviews (4)

The best book I read last year
I was very impressed with the quality of writing in this book, and the extraordinary compassion of the author that is evident even in the less likeable characters.The metaphors in the book are richly woven into the stories, especially the two dealing with the friends from the Jesuitcollege whose lives are profoundly affected by their relationships. I hopethis book gets a wider reading public than gay men as several themesexplored in the book- illness, breast cancer, finding the father figure,sexuality and sensuality, loss of traditional spirituality- are issuesfacing many men and women in society. I was distressed to learn that MrBarnett himself had died of AIDS shortly after the book was published. Hewas a very gifted writer of perception and depth, and I mourn this loss tothe literary world.

Sensitive and Powerful!
A most sensitive and yet powerful collection of short stories with 'The Body...' being the best of the lot. With this expressive power how come we didn't hear more from (and on) this VERY talented writer ???

The best work of American fiction from the AIDS pandemic
Put simply, Barnett's "The Body and Its Dangers" is the bestwork of American fiction to come out of the AIDS pandemic--its beautifulprose, its rich and fierce vision.The long story "The 'Times' As ItKnows Us" alludes to and is finally equal to Joyce's "TheDead":it's a story as large as the complexities and sorrows itdescribes. ... Read more

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

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay Studies    4. Gay men    5. Gay men's writings, American    6. General    7. Short stories, American    8. Social Science    9. Sociology   

Reviews (2)

A Good Read
"In this richly varied collection of erotic short stories, the author encounters a sergeant boxer, a Polish laborer, a sadist with an Achilles' heel, and a killed Scot in Havana on a delicate mission for the State Department. � 'Phil Andros, first and foremost, is a good read. His physical descriptions are among the finest I've ever encountered. He knows how to transmute adjectives into flesh; images of his character seem to levitate just above the page, as enticingly defined daydreams. He knows how to skirt the fine line between the immediacy of actual experience and the embellishment of fantasy; and there is a welcome, very subtle sense of humor underlying all.'"--� zebraz

Summary
A richly varied collection of erotic short stories narrated by Androsunder the guise of several personas. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay    4. Gay men    5. Popular American Fiction    6. Modern fiction    7. Short stories