Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Lesbian    4. Lesbians    5. Fiction / Lesbian    6. General & Literary Fiction    7. Literature of special Lesbian interest    8. Short stories   

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 (4)

Bananamania continues
I can only say that these two stories are up to par with Banana's older books like Kitchen.Just read it.

Of Stone and Fruit

When death comes along
Yoshitmoto's new book (actually composed of two short stories) is about the human reaction when death comes along. It reveals our weakness to reject it and the urge for bravery and perspective to deal with it, as a living human being.
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Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Lesbian    4. Literary    5. Literature (General)    6. Short Stories (single author)    7. Short Story   

Reviews (4)

Tasty Morsels of Love
Stories of love, loss and affection are finely written in CALLALOO & OTHER LESBIAN LOVE TALES. LaShonda K. Barnett book consists of 17 tasty morsels, each one portraying a distinct flavor of black lesbian love.
Youthful fumbling, adult taboo.
Sixteen shorts are offered to us in LaShonda K. Barnett's first book titled Callaloo & Other Lesbian Love Tales. Many of the lesbian theme books available do not show the positive side of loving another women; the tender moments shared in a way that Callaloo does. Most of the stories in these 197 pages are from another era; a time when it was taboo to love another woman. Each story fills me with pride and appreciation for those who paved the way for us. This is good stuff!
I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading her second book, "JAM!". This book gives you a look into the lives of African American lesbians, and touches on interracial issues as well.Ifound it to be passionate, thought provoking and real. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay/Lesbian Nonfiction    4. Lesbian    5. Lesbians    6. Love stories, American    7. Literature of special Lesbian interest    8. Short stories   

Reviews (1)

funny,lighthearted and truthful
This was the first book I have read since high school. I was so engrossed with the stories and words that I just couldn't put it down. What usually takes me weeks to read only took me 4 days. I always look for more books bythis talented writer. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Lesbian    4. Lesbians    5. Popular American Fiction    6. Short Stories (single author)    7. Young women    8. Modern fiction   

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   

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   

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 (4)

Interesting collection of erotic vampire stories
I'm always on the quest for a good vampire novel. I have read my fair share of good vampire books and atrocious vampire books. My favorite are Anne Rice's vampire chronicle series. I first stumbled upon Pam Keesey with her first collection "Daughters of Darkness". I was curious when I saw a picture of Kim Deal reading this book in a local magazine several years ago. When I came across the book, I thought I would check it out. Being a big vampire fan, I am extremely open-minded about this particular subject matter. In this case, I thought the idea of lesbian vampires was intriguing. Fantastic lesbian vampire fiction!
This book was awesome.The stories were diverse and exciting, all containing the common thread of lesbian vampires.Many were erotic (though that was not the point of the book), and all had good action in them.If you haven't read this book, and its companion Daughters of Darkness, you're missing out on the best lesbian vampire fiction around.

Not scary.Not erotic.Disappointing.
This book was the sequel to Pam Keesey's other lesbian vampire anthology, "Daughters of Darkness", which was actually a better collection.Both books, however, suffer from too much lesbian politics and not enoughraw eroticism.Maybe that's because Pam solicits her stories from theserious "women's issues" oriented writers who are fine in theirway but can't write erotica worth a damn!VAMPIRES DON'T LOOK FORCONSENTING PARTNERS TO SHARE THEIR FEELINGS WITH!They're rapacious andevil and prey on the young & beautiful.These stories could easily becreative & imaginative and incredibly hot... but they're NOT, at leastnot the majority of them.But if you're looking for an ideological studyof feminist lesbian thought, then I heartily recommend you purchase thisbook! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - Horror    3. Horror - General    4. Horror tales, American    5. Lesbian    6. Lesbian vampires    7. Lesbians    8. Lesbians' writings, American    9. Literature of special Lesbian interest    10. Modern fiction    11. Short stories   

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.
Great Collection
As I read through this collection, I kept slowing down to study it, reading it like a writer, not as a reader. I wanted to enjoy it on the reader level first, but some passages were so incredible that I caught myself re-reading them several times instead of moving on.
Thank you, Suspect Thougths Press
If it had not been for Suspect Thoughts Press, I might never have discovered the work of Sam D'Allesandro if they had not republished this collection. His prose is spare and direct, at times darkly erotic, and auto-biographically confessional in tone. What it might lack in polish it makes up for ten fold in blunt force. His micro-fiction is especially intense, with standouts "Walking to the Ocean this Morning" and "All I Want Is To Die Famous", both pieces under three pages with the same impact as being slammed by a truck. A high recommend for readers of non-mainstream queer lit and erotica. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay    4. Gay men    5. Literary    6. Short Stories (single author)    7. General & Literary Fiction    8. Literature of special Gay interest   

Subjects:  1. American Short Story Collections    2. Canada    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - General    5. General    6. Lesbians    7. Lesbians' writings, Canadian    8. Short stories, Canadian    9. Social life and customs    10. Sociology   

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 (2)

Romantic and Hot!
This is the kind of book you want to read with your lover in the room, or better yet, to your lover. You won't be able to finish it. You have 4 novellas that build on each other but are complete by themselves. The editing could have been better and it was a little distracting when "then" was used instead of "than" so many times. But, honestly, the sex was so hot and plentiful that it more than made up for the distraction. This is not erotica but romance in it's purest sense. I loved it.

Four romances - four first times - what's not to love?

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Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Lesbian    4. Romance - Adult    5. Romance - Contemporary    6. Short Stories (single author)    7. Short stories   

Reviews (10)

A Great Story, an Okay Story, and Two REALLY Bad Stories
Four stories, only one that's worth reading.Kenry manages to present himself as a competent writer, with an amusing cast of characters that manage to be only amusing and nothing else.This is only a problem because Kenry tries to make an actual love story, which doesn't work with characters as shallowly drawn as his.The story is a fluffy summer read, and he makes the egregious mistake of forgetting it.Mann's characters aren't even amusing--they're annoying.Four chapters in, the ending is already obvious, and reading the rest of the book simply to find out if some twist of an ending was waiting at the conclusion proved utterly pointless.The final writer in the book, Tyler, is the least competent author of all (and after Mann, I thought it was going to be hard to get any lower).His characters are so poorly constructed that they make Mann's characters seem entertaining in comparison.Somewhere in the story are little glimmers of ideas that might have been creative at first, but Tyler's utter ineptitude destroys any artistic merit the story might have claimed.Why his story ended up last is an utter mystery to me.I not only consider his work the worst in the book, I am loathe to call it professional work at all.Somewhere in the literary world, a piece this bad must be a crime. A CELEBRATION OF GAY LOVE!
All four stories are great and I have a wonderful time reading them. My favorite is "Outline of a Torso". Like one of the reviewers, I wish Schell has extended this unique short story into a novel. Schell has written a gem and one wishes there is more. "Sugar Daddy Summer" is commendable and it is worthy of Kenry. Mann is one of my favorite writers and has proved himeself once again with the relatively light hearted "The Perfect Husband". I never like Tyler's style but "Satisfaction" is a fun read and has less "Hollywood" influence which I dread. Do yourself a favor and get this book.

Frothy, fluffy but with a bit of a bite...
4 simple stories of finding and rediscovering love, gay-style... I find that in 3 of them, they fall in love way too fast and the resolutions are way too pat and too perky.BUt who wants to read a party-pooper of a book in the bright, sunny days of summer anyway.But they are all charming in their own way.Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthologies (multiple authors)    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. Gay    5. Gay men    6. Love stories    7. Love stories, American    8. Short stories   

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   

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 (12)

Great stories, well-chosen
One of the best horror anthologies I have ever come across. Really well-chosen, well-written stories. Starts off with a bang with NIGHTGUARD and keeps getting better. HEY, FAIRY! is a great story. Real imagination here, all through the book. Can't wait for the sequel!

A Superb Achievement!
I loved this book! The stories were first-rate, including work by some of the best-known and accomplished horror writers in the field, including Michael Marano, Douglas Clegg, Caitlin R. Kiernan, and Brian Hodge. The stories ran the gamut from vampires and werewolves and ghosts, to more eclectic supernatural slitherings. The advantage of being the first book of this kind ever ("Bending The Landscape" is also good, though it came later than "Queer Fear") is that it breaks the ground and claims it as its own. This book, after all, was a finalist for two Lambda Literary Awards and a Spectrum Award. On the downside, there's somethingabout a book like this that seems to exacerbate homophobia and jealousy in some readers, some of whom have reviewed it online (proving that if you can't write or edit yourself--or are a bigot--you can always diss a book online). I advise readers to that (...) and get to "Queer Fear," post-haste. I only wish editor Michael Rowe (who also edited the vampire books "Sons of Darkness" and "Brothers of the Night") had contributed some of his own work. I've read his non-fiction in "Fangoria" and "Rue Morgue," and his fiction in the "Northern Frights" series. It rocks! Oh, well...maybe next time...hope there's a sequel!

Bursts of excellence
After reading some of the other reviews I felt compelled to throw in my 2 cents.The various reviewers are all over the map from "LOVED IT ALL" to "IT SUCKED" - which is to be expected in any collection of short stories, and while there were some that I thought should have been omitted, there are others that more than make up for it.I am a fan of the horror genre, and gay which of course means I'm the core audience for this book and probably a little biased - that said, I truly enjoyed most of the stories in this collection... Notably - Genus Loci, Bear Shirt, The Spark and Piercing Men.I also enjoyed The Goodbye, though it was far from Queer Fear and many would argue should not have been included, it was a nice "palatte cleanser" in the mix. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - Horror    3. Gay    4. Gays' writings, American    5. Gays' writings, Canadian    6. Horror - Anthologies    7. Horror tales, American    8. Horror tales, Canadian    9. Lesbians    10. Fiction / Horror    11. Horror & ghost stories    12. Modern fiction    13. Short stories   

Reviews (22)

Land of Enchantment, Land of Pain
Joe Hayes wrote all of these stories in one bunch, like a sustained orgasm of creativity, that spilled over into legend.Now when we think of Southie, we think of Hayes' accomplishment, for even if his details are sometimes a little wonky, or his chronology askew to one degree or another, so were William Faulkner's, and yet Faulkner's fabled Yoknapatawpha County exists in its own right just as much as any other Mississippi place, and so Hayes' anguished and sexually alive and violent south Boston exists shoulder to shoulder to the real-life, family-centered place we know today.Whitey Bolger is on the run, and so is South Boston's soul.That said, there is so much in Hayes' two books to admire one hardly notices the loss.
Courage from Southie
After living in Boston for 30 years, I know better than to tell people from South Boston about my impressions of their neighborhood without being asked. I will leave to others whether Joe Hayes' book, This Thing Called Courage, accurately portrays every Southie nuance and idiomatic expression.As I see it, photograhic realism is not the point of the book in any case.
People like us. . .we get killed every day
How often have you been blessed with this experience?You're walking along a book-strewn sidewalk, and a title or a cover photo catches your eye, and you pay the 25 cents, and you get on the bus and flip to a story, and God knows how much later you realize you've missed your stop because you're crying.
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Subjects:  1. Catholics    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. Gay    5. Irish American families    6. Short Stories (single author)    7. South Boston (Boston, Mass.)    8. Working class families    9. Literature of special Gay interest    10. Modern fiction    11. Short stories   

Reviews (3)

A strong and witty debut
An excellent debut - I'd read Andy Quan's "How To Cook Chinese Rice" in an anthology several years ago, and it struck me as inventive, adventurous and very tightly written.This debut collection more than lives up to the promise.
When I grow up, I want to be Andy Quan
In reviews of this book, much is made of the author's race and sexual orientation; little has been said about his talent for fashioning words and sentences into crystalline, jewel-like stories.Quan explores themes of self-discovery and the search for identity among shifting layers and labels, and accumulates a number of exotic literary passport stamps along the way.This is fiction the way fiction ought to be written.Quan's prose is poignant, taut, and lucid:he finds just the right way to put things, free from excess, and achieves small miracles with this minimalist technique.... his writing is so transparent, non-writers overlook his technical skill to yap about the politics.This does the book a disservice.Check this one out.Andy's a hell of a storyteller, and the themes he explores speak to a broad range of human experience.I had to get a friend to send me this book from Canada well before it was available in the States, and it was worth the effort.This is a writer to watch.

Funny, inventive and punchy: this one's a keeper
A few years ago, a Yale graduate named Eric Liu published The Accidental Asian, an eloquent series of essays tracing the young author's quest to come to grips with his Oriental heritage after growing up under the Euro-dominant influence of continental USA. That book now seems rather quaint beside the Canadian-authored Calendar Boy. It isn't just Andy Quan's value-added "otherness" of queer sexuality that gives this book more edge - although some of the bitchy irony that drives these stories surely arises from that. It's rather that Quan is a lot funnier about cultural disharmony, less forgiving of polite society and more aggressive in taking the piss out of PC earnestness. In "What I Really Hate", there's as much disdain for the cha-cha-cha-ing Chinese dancers as for the drooling rice queens. His take on fetishism is refreshingly inventive, as in "How to Cook Chinese Rice" and "Hair", and yet there's a haunting sort of beauty in the darker subject of a Japanese girl's attempted suicide ("Almost Flying"). With a disciplined, poet's eye - short, punchy sentences and well-rendered visuals - this book's a keeper (review originally published on Red Salamander's website.) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Australia    2. Canada    3. Chinese    4. Fiction    5. Fiction - General    6. Gay    7. Gay youth    8. General    9. Short Stories (single author)