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

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

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

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Friendship    3. Gay men    4. Man-woman relationships    5. Relations with women    6. Short stories, English   

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

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay men    4. General    5. Nineteen nineties    6. Short stories, American   

Reviews (14)

Searching For A Complete Love Life
In all of the twelve short stories contained in "The Silicon Valley Diet", the reader encounters men who range in age, as well as race, culture, sexual orientation, and insecurities. Being a straight white female raised Souther Baptist; I was a little apprehensive of reading such a new age type of book. However trying to identify with the characters was not as hard as I thought it would be. Grayson has a remarkable ability to let the reader feel as if he/she has known the characters for years, or at least encountered such affectionate characters in their lifetime. Confusion
"The incessant familiarity of the writer's secret self makes his world entertaining and bizarre.The dialogue is consistently, even ingeniously funny" (The New York Times Book Review).Well, the only thing in this quote that I agree with is that his world is bizarre.Okay, it is entertaining also.But, there was nothing at all consistent about the dialogue.At some parts of the collection, I felt that there was a different speaker than the original point of view.For example, the last section from The Five Stages of Eating at Cuban-Chinese Restaurants.It seems as though only this section of the entry comes from Terence's point of view.Is this done on purpose or unintentionally?I found myself asking these types of questions throughout the entire collection of short stories.I became so worried about trying to find a hidden message or something along those lines, most likely due to the structure and sarcastic tone of the story, that I became even more confused.However, it is obvious that this author has a talent in writing familiarity.No matter how different a middle aged, gay man's world is from mine, I still felt a familiarity in his thoughts.Not a book that I would read every day. (...)

Worth the read
I really enjoyed this unique collection of short stories with an overall unifying theme--people and their wonderfully amusing idiosyncrasies.This quirky and slightly eccentric book is composed of twelve shorter pieces that make up the whole. As the narrator experiences each new love or each seemingly unrelated experience, he takes an inimitable approach to fitting all the pieces together. It reads like nonfiction, like a memoir of a [non straight] man's truly crazy existence as he moves from one place to another.The characters are so real and the situations so poignant that this is one book that can be read cover to cover in a single sitting.The author plays with some interesting techniques in a few of the stories like in "Moon Over Moldova" that I'm not sure worked quite the way they were supposed to.The story was interwoven with some jargin-layden paragraphs about the land of Moldova that seemed totally unrelated to the story itself (I ended up skipping most of them), but when the author stuck to the characters, he had a winning voice.One technique, that seemed to have named the book, involved a diet plan that the narrator was concocting,and amazingly enough, worked quite well.It also was a device to act as a metaphor for much of what the narrator said throughout the book and tied it all together.I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a witty and intelligent narrator with some great stories to tell. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Baby boom generation    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. Gay    5. Gays    6. Generation X    7. Humorous    8. Humorous stories, American    9. Short Stories (single author)   

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

Editorial Review

This handsome volume is a reprint of Felice Picano's early story collection, Read more

Reviews (5)

A marvelous collection
Bringing together two previous books, "An Asian Minor" (1981) and "Slashed to Ribbons in Defense of Love" (1983), "The New York Years" is a marvelous collection of stories not only showcasing Picano's deft style, but also gay lives in the late 1970s and early 1980s. "A Stroke" is about a gay man and his family as they deal with their ailing father. "Hunter" is a potent and erotic story about a young writer dealing with the ghost of a writer he admired. "And Baby Makes Three" explores the love in a gay male couple whose age difference could make or break their future. And his remarkable "An Asian Minor" is a retelling of the Ganymede myth as he meets and romances Hermes, Apollo, and finally Zeus. The dozen tales in this slim volume still resonate truth decades later.

Gay writing at its best
An engaging collection that belong's in everyone's library.

Looking at old photographs in the company of strangers
Felice Picano has demonstrated almost yearly that he can spin tales about memorable characters and convince us that even the most bizarre of these are people he actually has encountered.This collection of early short stories, while not up to his current polish as a writer, suggest writing traits that indeed have blossomed into a now mature man of letters.There is much to be scanned in some of these tales, but there is equally much to savour.His intimate gossip (or is it reportage?) is evident here and for those who keep up with Picano's prodigious output, there are suggestions of characters we are only now encountering in fully fleshed out detail.These stories remind me of the feelings of insecurity we have when we pull off the shelf old photo albums of how we were trying to become ourselves in the trying times of youth.Well, this time the Picano in the photos is a success story....and these stories might well be food for future biographers. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay    4. Gay men    5. General    6. New York (N.Y.)    7. Short Stories (single author)    8. Social life and customs    9. Literature of special Gay interest    10. Modern fiction    11. Short stories   

Subjects:  1. American fiction    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. Gay    5. Gay men    6. Gay men's writings, American    7. Men authors    8. Short Stories (Anthologies)    9. Literature of special Gay interest    10. Modern fiction    11. Short stories   

Reviews (3)

Neither Bent, nor all that Sinister
The stories in this book are - by the vast majority - neither bent nor sinister. Indeed, out of the full selection of twenty-seven short stories and one poem, two stories (and the poem) merit comment: Fine Anthology of Off-beat Stories
"Bend Sinister: The Gay Times Book of Disturbing Stories" is an outstanding collection of one poem and twenty-seven short stories depicting gay male characters and themes in gothic or [unusual] situations.The book cover touts the presence of Neil Bartlett ("Ready to Catch Him Should He Fall"), Christopher Bram ("Father of Frankenstein" and "The Notorious Dr. August"), Francis King, Michael Wilcox, and Richard Zimler, all of whom do a fine job, as do most of the rest.There are stories set in locations around the world, although the U.K. is prominent.The poem ("The Changeling Lover" by Ian Young) is one page long; the stories range from four to thirty-one pages. Although there are variations in themes and styles, the authors eschew gimmicky formats and diction, sticking to storytelling. This anthology is the best of its type I have ever read. SCARY!
I love this book.It's really scary and creepy and it's refreshing to read some horror stories with gay characters.My favourite story is "T@ngled" by Stuart Thorogood as I love his other book, "Outcast".It's a horrible tale about the internet and internet chat rooms.Almost makes you too scared to go into one again.Buy 'Bend Sinister' and you won't regret it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthologies (multiple authors)    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. Gay    5. Short Stories (Anthologies)    6. Fiction / Gay    7. Literature of special Gay interest    8. Modern fiction    9. Short stories   

Reviews (2)

The Best of the Best
Ever since Yom Kippur I've been reading this book of stories as though my life depended on it, and strangers have gotten used to the sight of my walking down the street, boarding the cable car, and poking my way through the alleys of San Francisco with Lev Raphael's book propped up in front of my face.I might as well have a cane because I'm blind to everything else when I'm reading one of his books.And this one, i think, must be the best of them all, for as a collection of stories this improves on his earlier DANCING ON TISHA B'AV by abstracting the best of them and then adding as many more.The first book came out perhaps 15 years ago, and since thenhe has only gotten even more into writing, and his wisdom about people has only grown, exponentially as it happens, so when you read one of his stories, it is like having a new life to live.
Small press, big book
PW has it all wrong.I totally agree with the Kirkus review which says in part:"Raphael writes from a highly distinctive perspective: a compassionate celebrant of souls squeezed by mainstream pressures and fighting for pride. Concerned ultimately with the struggle for love both human and divine, these are searing stories."The full review can be found on Raphael's web site and it's clear this is an important and must-read book for fans of the short story and contemporary literature.Secret Anniversaries of the Heart is a quiet blockbuster, as important in its own way as Raphael's Writing a Jewish Life, also out this winter.What a gift for his fans! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American fiction    2. Children of Holocaust survivors    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - General    5. General    6. Jewish authors    7. Jewish gays    8. Short Stories (single author)    9. Fiction / General   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. English fiction    3. English-speaking countries    4. Gay men    5. History and criticism    6. Homosexuality and literature    7. Intellectual life    8. Literary Criticism    9. Literature - Classics / Criticism    10. Sexuality In Literature    11. Short Stories (Anthologies)    12. Influence    13. Literature: History & Criticism    14. Sexual behaviour    15. Wilde, Oscar   

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Literature of special Gay interest    3. Modern fiction    4. Short stories   

Reviews (2)

Sons of the Violet Quill
In the early 80's, after Stonewall and before the holocaust of the AIDS epidemic, a group of gay writers formed a literary club in New York called the Violet Quill and changed forever gay literature in the U. S. Sadly only three of them are still alive, Edmund White, Andrew Holleran and Felice Picano. In this first rate anthology edited by David Bergman, Holleran and Picano are included. Holleran's "The Married Man" may be the best story here and is as good as anything he has written. His view of the world is not rose-colored as his characters rarely find much happiness in long term relationships. What is one to expect, however, from a writer who almost 25 years after the publication of his fine first novel DANCER FROM THE DANCE-- by anyone's standards a gay classic-- and almost as many years since the first reported AIDS cases in New York still refuses to use his real name in his writings.
A satisfying roller-coaster
This collection of gay-themed short stories is, as it's 6 predecessors, a very good sample of what's going on in the gay literary world. Men on Men offers a delicious buffet of varied styles, stories and characters. Some ofthem are excellent and leave you hungry for more, some are forgettable butnot one is simply bad ! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. American fiction    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - General    5. Gay    6. Gay men    7. Gay men's writings, American    8. Popular American Fiction    9. Sexuality In Literature    10. Short Stories (Anthologies)    11. Modern fiction    12. Short stories   

Reviews (1)

recommendable book
This is a very interestig and readable book, therefore Irecommend it not only for the gay people but also the bisexual or heterosexual inclined people , including young students. However, I was astounded at the scantiness or absences of the classical Greek & Latin, Sanskrit literature, Arabian et Persian poetries, archaic Chinese and Japanese texts. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Gays    3. Homosexuality    4. Short stories   

Reviews (1)

Utterly believable, interesting characters
I read this book 3 yrs ago and have been waiting anxiously for Mr. Huston to write something else.He masterfully, deftly renders characters.Jane would have been 2 dimensional and awful in the hands of any other writer,but she seemed wonderful and alive and completely insane."Freud'sBig Trouble" was my favorite, though;it seemed one of the mostcomplete and well done short stories I've read in a long while.I'm verytempted to compare Mr. H. with Flannery O'Connor, and to my mind therewould be no higher compliment.Does anybody know when/if he will publishagain? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. California    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. Gay men    5. General    6. Mothers and sons    7. Modern fiction    8. Short stories   

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

Reviews (1)

If this is anything like his column in Xtra!
It should be a spooky laugh riot. Can't wait! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Black humor (Literature)    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. Gay    5. Humorous stories, Canadian    6. Short Stories (single author)    7. Fiction / Gay   

Subjects:  1. Australia    2. English Short Story Collections    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - General    5. Gay men    6. Gay men's writings, Australian    7. General    8. Short stories, Australian    9. Social life and customs    10. Modern fiction