Reviewer: Alan Chin
Publisher: Chelsea Station Editions
Pages: 220
David Pratt—who won a Lambda
Literary Award for his delightful novel, Bob
The Book—has published this anthology of fourteen short stories. Many of
these stories have appeared in periodicals and other anthologies over the
years, and the lion’s share of these tales feature young gay men coming to
terms with being queer, which makes My
Movie a look back on our own past of learning to deal with love and lust
and isolation.
As with most anthologies I’ve read,
I connected with several of these stories and didn’t connect with others, but
each story carries Pratt’s unique voice and is pushed over the top by his superb
imagination. The reader never really knows what will happen next, nor how far
to extremes the story will take them.
Some of my favorites in this collection
are: “Calvin Gets Sucked In,” where the hero who loves porn gets swept into a
porn flick, only to realize the fictitious life in the movies is not all it’s
cracked up to be, or is it?; and “One Bedroom,” about a young man who’s first
sexual experience is answering an ad that says “Use My Face For A Toilet”; and
“Ulmus Americana,” the tale of a long-term relationship between two trees in a
city park; and best of all “The Addict,” where a guy takes a beautiful man home
for sex, but the trick is too strung out on drugs.
The author writes about love
between men, and the yearning, loss, and loneliness that brings. These are not
happy stories, but the author does use his distinctive brand of humor in the
telling. He writes with unyielding perception with a precise, controlled voice.
Pratt has an amazing attention for
detail, which is always a blessing and sometimes a curse—blessing because it
brings each story to vivid life, a curse because some stories occasionally drag
the reader down, like wading through quicksand.
My Movie showcases the versatility
of David Pratt, confirming that he is an important voice in LGBT literature. I
can recommend My Movie to all readers.
http://www.chelseastationeditions.com/Pratt-MyMovie.html
http://www.chelseastationeditions.com/Pratt-MyMovie.html
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