tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15047535226730100002024-02-02T15:06:25.260-08:00Gay/Lesbian Fiction Book ReviewsThis blog features book reviews from current and forthcoming books by leading gay and lesbian authors. To find out more about the books being reviewed, please go to the individual author's website. The link is given at the end of each review and on the sidebar. New book reviews will be posted to this blog as they become available.AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.comBlogger379125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-39744120777005457792023-09-10T16:18:00.005-07:002023-09-10T16:20:30.877-07:00Book Review: A Season in Delhi by Scott Alexander Hess<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghRLmIN6bxsVmDKjdbMNk_UCvrGj2PLFlZkT_dCIuDG49ByKwoD2JV-GzoO5LoLC4DptMD0RHLK0ZDomfI7NKvnOif-Vb39K3mUnx5gA_7e-eNuhciL1IxKPtEzkfPS-ONxDRSFMXoj24JXYIS9rchf9v2SPTorOtdmXzk2eNwYgjgttcxmZmntg/s1829/season-in-delhi.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1829" data-original-width="1185" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghRLmIN6bxsVmDKjdbMNk_UCvrGj2PLFlZkT_dCIuDG49ByKwoD2JV-GzoO5LoLC4DptMD0RHLK0ZDomfI7NKvnOif-Vb39K3mUnx5gA_7e-eNuhciL1IxKPtEzkfPS-ONxDRSFMXoj24JXYIS9rchf9v2SPTorOtdmXzk2eNwYgjgttcxmZmntg/w259-h400/season-in-delhi.png" width="259" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Reviewer: Alan Chin</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Publisher: Rebel Satori Press (Nov, 2023)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Pages: 129</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Rating:</span><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol", sans-serif" style="color: #1f2327;">★★★★★</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background: repeat white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; letter-spacing: 0.15pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Coming Soon - November 12, 2023 from Rebel Satori Press<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background: repeat white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; letter-spacing: 0.15pt;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background: repeat white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; letter-spacing: 0.15pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">New Yorkers Brant and Lloyd settle into a posh neighborhood in Delhi to live while Lloyd works a new job that transplanted them to India. While Lloyd travels the country for his business, Brant is left alone much of the time with only a servant to keep him company. During his solitary time, Brant discovers the diary of a former diplomat’s wife, which chronicles her torrid affair with an Indian hoodlum. As Brant reads Carol’s scandalous tale of daring and woe, he can’t help bonding with this lady because of his own infidelity. The more Brant reads Carol’s diary, the greater the attachment he feels with this woman, and the greater his curiosity grows to find out what happened to her. They become kindred souls, sharing feelings and emotions across time. His journey thru Carol’s past beautifully creates a bond that transcends time and culture, empathy and absolution.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is a tale of temptation, infidelity, loss, and redemption. But ultimately, it is a taut story of crushing loneliness and the fragility of human connections. It also delves into the desperate need we feel to cling to anything that lessens that loneliness. The characters are brutally authentic, and Hess handles them with sympathy and honesty. The reader so easily feels compassion, even becomes them as they face morally difficult choices. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The author asks the reader to delve deeply into the human nature of illicit love affairs, those complex feelings of yearning, guilt, excitement, pleasure, fulfillment, wonder, and possibly even regret.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">With sparse prose, Hess describes the sensual feel of Delhi and Agra. I have visited these fascinating destinations many times, and I can justly say the author took me back there, so rich and true were his descriptions. This is a quick read, but one that resonates in the heart. I treasured each page of this story.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p>AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-78747801373947036622023-01-13T16:00:00.000-08:002023-01-13T16:00:07.487-08:00Book Review: I was Better Last Night by Harvey Fierstein<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTScKACFVA-mROlfPEOcefaM9l3hD3_iD7LwvELWWrvrX2P7G8sPgKuXK1hJiGT37IjOEEsdBwmH65ItAx1lg_gHhnKjDQP-hQr0yxeAzd6Si79rypIMtRo5eFnZhVatMqZ81F1XkVLW1YNJlhnusabc0kygxyaSIhY-poHRMGMx9vaMUc7g/s500/41o7NFVV2dL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTScKACFVA-mROlfPEOcefaM9l3hD3_iD7LwvELWWrvrX2P7G8sPgKuXK1hJiGT37IjOEEsdBwmH65ItAx1lg_gHhnKjDQP-hQr0yxeAzd6Si79rypIMtRo5eFnZhVatMqZ81F1XkVLW1YNJlhnusabc0kygxyaSIhY-poHRMGMx9vaMUc7g/s320/41o7NFVV2dL.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reviewer: Alan Chin</span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Publisher: Knopf (Mar, 2020)</span><span style="color: #474b4e;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Pages: 400</span><span style="color: #474b4e;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Rating:</span><span style="color: #1f2327; font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol", sans-serif;">★★★★★</span><span style="color: #474b4e;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">Harvey Fierstein’s career began at community theater in Brooklyn and then advanced to the experimental Andy Warhol theater company where Harvey was encouraged to let his eccentric, nonconforming inner-being thrive. And he did just that. Working with Warhol’s Theatre of the Ridiculous company, Harvey honed both his acting and writing skills, which propelled him to write and perform his first mega hit, Torch Song Trilogy. Torch Song started as three separate plays, but was later combined into one moving play for an off Broadway run. Torch Song’s success thrust Harvey into the big time, winning him the first of four Tony awards. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">I was, of course, aware that Harvey Fierstein wrote and performed Torch Song on Broadway and made a Hollywood movie, because that movie changed the way I saw myself, a young gay man who was looking for a long-term, monogamous relationship. That movie showed me that there were other gay men who wanted the same thing, and that it was possible to find that. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">What I wasn’t aware of, because I’ve never been a theater person, was the extraordinary career of Mr. Fierstein. Torch Song was only the first of a string of hit Broadway plays. He wrote the playbooks and performed Hairspray, Fiddler on the Roof, La Cage Aux Folles (which won him his second Tony), Newsies, and Kinky Boots. I had no idea Fierstein was such a giant of the stage. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">But this book is not only about Harvey’s career. He describes his personal struggles and conflicts, his romances and sex during the AIDS crises, his decades of addiction, and the rich New York gay culture of the seventies and eighties. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">I loved this read. Its pages are filled with the wisdom which comes from living a bewilderingly colorful life. It’s the most entertaining book I’ve read in years. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">I Was Better Last Night is and engaging, outrageously funny triumph.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-76112090946071570422023-01-02T13:18:00.001-08:002023-01-02T13:18:23.500-08:00Book Review: Shuggie Baine by Douglas Stuart<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy90PMbBaaQfSZanxVJuj7b9ULP2XU5wEvk2aBH9s0DSxPYDQNGbsue1yUbmWo4e_K6wSEtbxF4sIUfm-4tRGSOyseydUnqgtQDvazCyr3kQRPfsx3hkLyFLsjMQj7kfTTnEK0KUdGIenFPrYD-cpUwC5fLiK7ac-zhWed-qWgj1Gedz0mXAbEwS0/s2560/91TGrLtu3TL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #d6a0b6; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1690" height="479" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy90PMbBaaQfSZanxVJuj7b9ULP2XU5wEvk2aBH9s0DSxPYDQNGbsue1yUbmWo4e_K6wSEtbxF4sIUfm-4tRGSOyseydUnqgtQDvazCyr3kQRPfsx3hkLyFLsjMQj7kfTTnEK0KUdGIenFPrYD-cpUwC5fLiK7ac-zhWed-qWgj1Gedz0mXAbEwS0/w316-h479/91TGrLtu3TL.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(227, 228, 228); margin: 0px; padding: 2px;" width="316" /></a></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12.87px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Reviewer: Alan Chin</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Publisher: Grove Press (Oct, 2020)</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Pages: 448</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12.87px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Rating:</span><span style="color: #1f2327; font-family: "Menlo Regular";">★★★★★</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Shuggie Bain is the story of a lonely boy growing up gay in a run-down public housing area of 1980s Glasgow, Scotland. His broken family, due in large part to his alcoholic mother, is on the dole and trying to survive the mother’s destructive lifestyle. Shuggie’s mother, Agnes, dreams of a better life, a life of money and love and beautiful things, but her drinking only digs her and her children deeper into debt and misery. Shuggie is the youngest of three children, and the only one who accepts and tolerates his mother. He understands his mother because he is very much like her—someone who takes pride in her looks while all of her peers ridicule her. He does everything he can to keep Agnes going, hoping that someday his philandering taxi-driving father will return to lift them up into a better life. But as Agnes increasingly finds solace in drink, the older children abandon their home to find their own way, leaving Shuggie to care for his mother as her alcoholic binges bring on more destructive mood swings. Agnes is supportive of her son, even knowing the boy is gay. But her addiction eclipses everyone around her, including Shuggie.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">A distressing story of surviving in an unsympathetic world where addiction, betrayal, sexuality, loneliness, and love assault you every day. Shuggie Bain is a portrayal of a working-class, dysfunctional family that is rarely seen in fiction. It is a searing debut by a talented novelist who tells an honest and powerful story.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">I loved and hated this story. It is a heartbreaking tale that kept reminding me of my own lonely dysfunctional childhood, bringing up one painful memory after another. And yet, the voice was so unique and so compelling that I fell in love with this story. I could not put it down. I’ve heard many people say this book was too repetitive, and there is much of that. However, having lived in a dysfunctional family, that repetition rings true. Over and over as one sees hope, one is knocked down again. That’s why I think this is a story of survival. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">This debut novel was a well-deserved winner of the Booker Prize and a finalist for the National Book Award. </span></p>AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-18631362424835936842022-11-30T11:53:00.001-08:002022-11-30T11:53:12.327-08:00Book Review: The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Tx3aprV3kZSdK13O6dJCu8auxY8bTGpyCy1p1aV8BYyv4xn41fIxlzYInc64wHEVWZNx0o8dPW1VYr_iPslwc_Pf-Rgj_tBLvRfQOy4lp4FWq9IdWVYKuah5J_4GdLTTWl49LE31nlEYb6dXumB0bMnarCVpI3ZEF-l1plhgaI6UTv1H6QO1MRc/s1738/Screen%20Shot%202022-11-30%20at%2011.34.02%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #d6a0b6; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12.87px; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1738" data-original-width="1152" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Tx3aprV3kZSdK13O6dJCu8auxY8bTGpyCy1p1aV8BYyv4xn41fIxlzYInc64wHEVWZNx0o8dPW1VYr_iPslwc_Pf-Rgj_tBLvRfQOy4lp4FWq9IdWVYKuah5J_4GdLTTWl49LE31nlEYb6dXumB0bMnarCVpI3ZEF-l1plhgaI6UTv1H6QO1MRc/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-11-30%20at%2011.34.02%20AM.png" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(227, 228, 228); margin: 0px; padding: 2px;" width="212" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); clear: both; color: #474b4e; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12.87px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reviewer: Alan Chin</span></div><p style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12.87px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12.87px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company (July, 2021)</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12.87px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Pages: 358</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12.87px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12.87px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Rating:</span><span style="color: #1f2327; font-family: "Menlo Regular";">★★★★★</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12.87px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12.87px; margin: 0in 0in 10.5pt;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the waning days of the Civil War, brothers Prentiss and Landry—freed by the Emancipation Proclamation—seek refuge on the homestead of George Walker and his wife, Isabelle. The Walkers, wracked by the loss of their only son to the war, hire the brothers to work their farm, hoping through an unexpected friendship to stanch their grief. Prentiss and Landry, meanwhile, plan to save money for the journey north and a chance to reunite with their mother, who was sold away when they were boys. But when the white town’s folk of Old Ox hear that the brothers are being paid good wages for their toil, trouble begins, and grows, and violence follows. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12.87px; margin: 0in 0in 10.5pt;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span style="font-size: large;">Parallel to their story runs a forbidden romance between two Confederate soldiers. The young men, recently returned from the war to the town of Old Ox, hold their trysts in the woods. But when their secret is discovered, the resulting chaos, including a murder, unleashes convulsive repercussions on the entire community. In the aftermath of so much turmoil, Isabelle emerges as an unlikely trailblazer, proffering a healing vision for the land and for the newly free citizens of Old Ox.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12.87px; margin: 0in 0in 10.5pt;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span style="font-size: large;">I adored this extraordinary debut novel by Nathan Harris. He has created a cast of unforgettable, sympathetic characters who are multifaceted, absorbing, and well-crafted. Each main character is vulnerable, yet also holds an inner strength and a desire to survive. They quickly captured my heart and carried me through all the explosive plot twists to a very satisfying ending. What I loved most about this story was the refined voice the author captures which propels the story along with elegance and grace.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12.87px; margin: 0in 0in 10.5pt;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span style="font-size: large;">Setting the story in Georgia just as the Civil War is ending gives the read a view into the white-supremacist world of the old south, and shows with candor the uncomfortable truth of human cruelty, and also human compassion. This view reflects race relations today. The author weaves emotion into every page, and every word holds significance. This story will keep you guessing, and keep you yearning for a positive ending for each main character. Harris writes with the skill of a master storyteller.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12.87px; margin: 0in 0in 10.5pt;"><span style="color: #0f1111;"><span style="font-size: large;">Haunting and powerful, <i>The Sweetness of Water</i> is an engaging, beautiful read that will stay with you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><h3 style="background-image: url("https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/snapshot/bg-header1_left.gif"); background-position: right bottom; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: #11593c; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 18pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; padding-bottom: 2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0f1111;">About the Author: </span><span class="a-text-bold"><span style="color: #0f1111; font-weight: normal;">Nathan Harris</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #0f1111; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: #0f1111; font-weight: normal;">holds an MFA from the Michener Center at the University of Texas.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #0f1111; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span class="a-text-italic"><span style="color: #0f1111; font-weight: normal;">The Sweetness of Water</span></span></span><span style="color: #0f1111; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">, his first novel, was a selection of Oprah’s Book Club, was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and won the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. Harris was a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree in 2021. He lives in Seattle, Washington. </span></span></h3>AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-85218817388088496402020-03-21T10:51:00.004-07:002020-03-21T10:54:51.273-07:00Book Review: The End of Billy Knight by Ty Jacob<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">Reviewer: Alan Chin</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Publisher: Lucky Pony Press (may 2017)</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">A rocky tale that explores the relationship between a gay hustler and an aging drag queen, set in the world of 80s porn stars. This is not erotica, but a weak attempt at literary fiction. The characters are tired stereotypes, and because of that they fail to be convincing. The plot is a string of one gay cliché after another. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The one positive thing I can say is that author must have done a great deal of research into both the 80’s LA porn industry, as well as what it takes to be a drag queen. That said, I was not only disappointed in the story, but doubly so because this same author wrote another book, non-fiction using his real name, titled: <i>An Olive Grove at the Edge of the World</i>, which I loved. After reading his non-fiction story, I built up my expectations very high, and then was disheartened. All the freshness and humor I found in Olive Grove was sorely missing in Billy Knight. The only reason I finished the story was because it was selected by my book club, and I needed to read it all in order to properly discuss the book at the next meeting. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-15723017442912828722020-01-09T10:00:00.001-08:002020-01-09T11:07:47.192-08:00Book Review: Shortest Way Home by Pete Buttigieg<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Reviewer: Alan Chin</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Publisher: Liveright, (Feb 12, 2019)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">In its heyday, South Bend, Indiana had been one of the industrial revolution’s brightest achievements, a factory town that produced everything from cars to watches. But then like much of the Midwestern rust belt, it fell into hard times, lost almost all its industry, and the young people were escaping to larger cities for better opportunities. The leadership Pete Buttigieg displayed as mayor of South Bend, steered the people of South Bend to rebuild their city into a thriving community. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">In this entertaining and insightful book, Buttigieg lays out a blueprint of modern political ideas for transforming and revitalizing our communities. I enjoyed learning about his insights, and how he approached problem solving. And against this backdrop of how Buttigieg renovated the city he grew up in, was the even more enjoyable personal story of how Pete Buttigieg grew into the man who is now altering the landscape of the American political scene by becoming the first openly gay man to run for the highest elected office in the country. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">In my view, the biggest thing to turn the tide on LGBT issues wasn’t theological or political evolution. It was the discovery that many people whom we already know turn out to be part of this category. The biggest obstacle wasn’t religion, or hatred. It was the simple fact that so many people believed, wrongly, that they didn’t even know anyone who was gay. At my high school in the late 1990s, I didn’t know of a single gay student. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">It is easier to be cruel, or unfair, to people in groups and in the abstract; harder to do so toward a specific person in your midst, especially if you know them already. Gays have the benefit of being a minority whose membership is not necessarily obvious when you meet one (or love one.) Common decency can kick in before there is time for prejudice to intervene. Of course, humans can be cruel to people we know, too, but not as often—and we’re rarely as proud of it.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">In the struggle for equality, we do well to remember that all people want to be known as decent, respectful, and kind. If our first response toward anyone who struggles to get onto the right side of history is to denounce him as a bigot, we will force him into a defensive crouch—or into the arms of the extreme right. When a conservative socialite of a certain age would stop me on the street with a mischievous look, pat my arm, and say conspiratorially, “I met your friend the other day, and he is fabulous,” it was not the time for a lecture on the distinction between a partner and a “friend.” She is on her way to acceptance, and she feels good about her way of getting there; it feels better to grow on your own terms than to be painted into a corner.</span></i><span style="font-family: -webkit-standard;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">This well-written, insightful book is a mosaic of growth and hope, both for South Bend and for Buttigieg. Pete delves into his childhood growing up in a decaying industrial town, his attempt to escape that town and the promise that brought him back. He describes his experiences being a Harvard and Rhodes Scholar, Mckinsey alumni, and a talented musician. He tells of his military service, gives a frank and interesting account of coming out at age thirty-three, and also about finding love. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">I found this a fascinating read. I didn’t find him as “presidential” as Barak Obama or Bill Clinton, but I did see a very intelligent, capable, and positive role model who transcends the “gay” stereotype. What comes shining through is his integrity and altruism. </span></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Shortest-Way-Home-Challenge-Americas/dp/1631494368/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Shortest+Way+Home&qid=1578591960&s=books&sr=1-1">https://www.amazon.com/Shortest-Way-Home-Challenge-Americas/dp/1631494368/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Shortest+Way+Home&qid=1578591960&s=books&sr=1-1</a></div>
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AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-90919971480921466082019-12-21T10:26:00.003-08:002019-12-21T10:27:30.129-08:00Book Review: The Fourth Courier by Timothy Jay Smith<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Reviewer: Alan Chin</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Publisher: Arcade (April, 2019)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Pages: 320<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f2327;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">★★★★<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Set in 1992 Poland, Jay Porter, an American FBI agent, is asked to assist in a multiple-murder case in Warsaw. He teams up with a gay, African-American, CIA counterpart, Kurt Crawford to investigate three murdered Russians that may have links to stolen nukes. When a fourth Russian body is found, new clues allow Jay to piece together a complex puzzle that involves high-ranking officials, local police, and even Jay Porter’s new Polish love interest. The deeper Jay digs, the more sinister things appear, because all clues point to someone assembling a nuclear bomb capable of wiping out a city and undermining the stability of the entire region. Jay’s biggest problem: he doesn’t know who he can trust.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Smith excels at crafting a post-Cold War Warsaw. The descriptions are vivid and mesmerizing, making the location one of the main characters. The writing was crisp, the dialog spot on, and the plot has all the twists and turns to keep the reader, at least this reader, guessing what will happen next. Indeed, clues and information are doled out in a very tantalizing way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I found some of the investigative methods and situations implausible, but they did make for an interesting read. My only serious complaint is that I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likable. I found some rather interesting, which kept me reading to the end, but my lack of attachment in the characters put me at a distance from them, and thus at a distance from the story. That said, it is a complex puzzle that I enjoyed solving.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Fourth-Courier-Timothy-Jay-Smith/dp/1948924102/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3OV1LNUXZR0E9&keywords=the+fourth+courier+by+timothy+jay+smith&qid=1576952537&sprefix=the+fourth+tour%2Caps%2C400&sr=8-1">https://www.amazon.com/Fourth-Courier-Timothy-Jay-Smith/dp/1948924102/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3OV1LNUXZR0E9&keywords=the+fourth+courier+by+timothy+jay+smith&qid=1576952537&sprefix=the+fourth+tour%2Caps%2C400&sr=8-1</a></div>
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AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-29486831482458894912019-05-02T09:59:00.001-07:002019-12-21T09:13:57.214-08:00Book Review: Willa Goodheart by Edward C. Patterson<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Reviewer: Alan Chin</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Publisher: Dancaster Creative (March 1, 2019)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Rating:</span><span style="color: #1f2327; font-family: "menlo regular"; font-size: 14pt;">★★★★★<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Set in San Francisco in 1995, the story follows the joys and troubles of Willa Goodheart as she balances her new administrative assistant job with her family obligations of cooking and cleaning for her father and two brothers. But as events unfold, Willa is linked to a string of recent murders. She soon finds herself sucked into mysterious events that all seemed connected to the murder investigation. Grabbing the bull by the horns, Willa undertakes her own investigation, connecting the dots in an attempt to clear her name. But she soon finds more than she bargained for, like a few family skeletons lurking in the closets, and perhaps even a love interest. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">I know I can rely on a stimulating collection of characters whenever I open a book by Edward Patterson, and <i>Willa Goodheart</i>is no exception. Crooked businessmen, old Chinese fortune tellers, ritualistic cults, drag queens, crazy mothers, and crazier grandmothers fill the streets of San Francisco. And of course, Willa Goodheart herself is a fascinating character who is able to engage the reader throughout the story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">I’ve read several of Patterson’s books, but this is the first mystery I’ve read by him. He handles this genre with a deft touch, keeping the reader guessing until the last few pages. And even though it is a dark mystery, with characters being murdered left and right, the author brings his special brand of humor to every page, keeping the story light and entertaining. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Lovely prose. Snappy dialogue. Enchanting characters. Fiendishly inventive. Edward Patterson has written an utterly delightful mystery. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Willa-Goodheart-Edward-C-Patterson-ebook/dp/B07PBMLMGV/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?keywords=Willa+Goodheart%2C+Ed+Patterson&qid=1556816743&s=books&sr=1-1-fkmr0">https://www.amazon.com/Willa-Goodheart-Edward-C-Patterson-ebook/dp/B07PBMLMGV/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?keywords=Willa+Goodheart%2C+Ed+Patterson&qid=1556816743&s=books&sr=1-1-fkmr0</a></div>
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AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-63855206113823173782019-04-13T14:15:00.003-07:002019-04-13T14:17:51.455-07:00Book Review: Surviving Immortality by Alan Chin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEYR4UUU8a7aWLqV_AS6I8Y7opDkAKrAQ324cy9DTW24tE8OIrwjgq5CWJuo1WTLE0z8uUdQetTWOMeox7ng1K-SVANbalvB_RXLSKG7c_jtIedQ6tTxJiK9gLGwKvhEulbZoKvas/s1600/SurvivingImmortality_RGB_NO-BLEED_ORIG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="424" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEYR4UUU8a7aWLqV_AS6I8Y7opDkAKrAQ324cy9DTW24tE8OIrwjgq5CWJuo1WTLE0z8uUdQetTWOMeox7ng1K-SVANbalvB_RXLSKG7c_jtIedQ6tTxJiK9gLGwKvhEulbZoKvas/s320/SurvivingImmortality_RGB_NO-BLEED_ORIG.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #474b4e; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Reviewer: Edward C. Patterson</span><br />
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<span style="color: #474b4e; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Publisher: DSP Publications (June 2018)</span><span style="color: #474b4e; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #474b4e; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Pages: 432</span><br />
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<b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Powerfully fast-moving with now-relevancy</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;">I know I can rely on a good read whenever I open a book by Alan Chin; and Surviving Immortality </span><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;">is no exception, except it is</span><i style="text-indent: 0in;"> </i><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;">exceptional. With a believable spark, Mr. Chin presents us with a world devouring itself when promise has given it its greatest loss for hope. All the inchoate faults of humanity, ready today to strike our civilization to the core, leeches out when confronted by a mind shattering development and a simple, lethal condition. </span><i style="text-indent: 0in;">Surviving Immortality </i><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;">is masterfully rendered into a work long lingering after the last pages.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The characters are complex, each with their own demon, but honest to their convictions; so much so, there are no heroes, and those who appear villainous can be redeemed by their good intentions. The main thread of the story his told through Matt Reece’s point of view, although all the characters get their turn; but it is Matt’s intense purity, a purity despoiled by circumstances, which unfolds like a night flower in moonlight. Alan Chin crafts an action adventure and psychological political philosophical tale, if there could be such a genre, keeping the pages turning until those pages disappear and time is lost. The elements in the work, and those effecting Matt Reece, are all about us today just waiting for the spark to ignite them. Mr. Chin strikes that spark.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I am a fan of Alan Chin’s other works, but this one combines all the signature touches of them all — ranch life, storms at sea, tropical islands, police procedural, Buddhism, sexuality and a lust for travel. He even includes doffs to his latest wanderlust — Machu Picchu. The world he presents is <i>his</i>world as much as <i>our</i>world. The arguments are current ones, and I’ll not spoil your read by mentioning them, but whatever opinions you have on those topics, <i>Surviving Immortality</i>will not fail to engage you, even if you wind up talking to your night light at midnight in bed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Needless to say (but I will say it), I highly recommend this book if you enjoy a powerful fast-moving work with now-relevancy from a major author who contributes to our contemporary literary legacy.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Immortality-Alan-Chin-ebook/dp/B07BC7N5MC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1533505237&sr=8-1&keywords=surviving+immortality" style="color: #de7008; text-indent: 0in;">https://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Immortality-Alan-Chin-ebook/dp/B07BC7N5MC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1533505237&sr=8-1&keywords=surviving+immortality</a></div>
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AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-81983033836753136362019-01-13T13:30:00.000-08:002019-01-13T13:30:33.122-08:00The Sparsholt Affair by Alan Hollinghurst<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Reviewer: Alan Chin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Pages: 417<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This epic presents the arc of English gay history from the 1940s to 2012, particularly the changing attitudes of the British public toward the LGBT community during that time. The story covers three generations of friends who meet at Oxford in 1940, and the people who come into and go out of their lives. These characters have affairs with each other, go to war, marry, divorce, remarry, raise children, all within the backdrop of dealing with bigotry and intimidation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Although the title is named for David Sparsholt, the protagonist turns out to be David’s son, Johnny Sparsholt, who shows up in part two. Much of the story is Johnny having to deal with living with the shame that his father’s affair with another man became a national news scandal. In fact, Dave Sparsholt is almost always seen through the eyes of other characters rather than being on the page himself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The core of enjoyment for me was the gorgeous language and detailed writing style the author brings to all his works. Hollinghurst is a master of the written word, and that shows in every paragraph. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">That said, I (and several others in my book club) felt that much of the story was too slow paced, to the point of being boring. There is very little conflict throughout the story, and what there is tends to be very subtle. It was a struggle to finish it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Sparsholt Affair is not for the lazy reader. It is a complex story where many blanks are given for the reader to fill in. The author adroitly captures the lives of gay men, from the longing of adolescence to the acceptance of old age. It is a story beautifully told.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-46409624174944891942018-12-31T10:49:00.000-08:002018-12-31T10:49:02.581-08:00Fabulous! An Opera Buffaby Laury A. Egan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzk3a3_UV31bM2r4MTmd4Ne99fucC0-iWtuGUBTZ_NETIcHkl6P88cabOjLbcyGjs9HF7xnZejXxK-VUaNXsYl_gsq0yxtRNFzTpBl6JRu2vZ5q8dUEHP_WejyCXKnNPUaxndl3cY/s1600/51Na5rlOQUL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="331" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzk3a3_UV31bM2r4MTmd4Ne99fucC0-iWtuGUBTZ_NETIcHkl6P88cabOjLbcyGjs9HF7xnZejXxK-VUaNXsYl_gsq0yxtRNFzTpBl6JRu2vZ5q8dUEHP_WejyCXKnNPUaxndl3cY/s320/51Na5rlOQUL.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Reviewer: Alan Chin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Publisher: Tiny Fox Press (sept. 2018)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Pages: 254<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This novel begs the question: Is there such a thing as too much of a good thing? And also: Be careful what you wish for. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Gilbert Eugene Rose is a single, lonely drag queen who sings both cabaret and operatic numbers at a New York City nightclub. His drag name, Kiri De Uwana, is a takeoff from an opera diva because he has aspirations of one day becoming a star on the grand operatic stage. A psychic medium puts Gilbert’s love and career yearnings out into the universe, and within days Gil lands the lead role as a soprano in a production of <i>Così fan tutte</i>. Before Gil—or the reader—can catch his breath, Gil lands a tenor role across town in <i>Rigoletto</i>. To top it off, he is also hired to sing Handel arias at a notorious gangster’s private home. But the fun really begins when it seems everyone Gil meets—men and women—wants to become romantically involved with him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Thus begins a campy, rapid-fire juggling act that gets quirkier and funnier as the pages turn. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Just as Gil seems to have everything in hand, he realizes that getting involved with a gangster may not have been his shrewdest move. Suddenly, Gil turns from reaching for the stars to running for his life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Well written prose. Snappy dialogue. Delightful characters. Fiendishly inventive. And ultimately profound. Laury A. Egan has written an utterly enchanting book about reaching a bit too far. It’s the kind of light, entertaining read that lends itself well to summer, to a breezy day at the beach. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-71981656027555968952018-09-13T10:32:00.000-07:002018-09-13T10:32:07.782-07:00Gay Authors/Books that Inspire Me: Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: medium;">In autumn 1943, the unnamed narrator (a gay writer, so we assume it’s Capote himself) befriends Holly Golightly. The two are tenants in a brownstone apartment in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Holly (age 18–19) is a country girl turned New York café society girl. As such, she has no job and lives by socializing with wealthy men, who take her to clubs and restaurants, and give her money and expensive presents; she hopes to marry one of them. According to Capote, Golightly is not a prostitute but an "American geisha”. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Holly likes to shock people with carefully selected tidbits from her personal life or her outspoken viewpoints on various topics (patterned after Christopher Isherwood’s Sally Bowles in <i>The Berlin Stories</i>). Over the course of a year, she slowly reveals herself to the narrator, who finds himself fascinated by her curious lifestyle.</span></div>
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<span style="caret-color: rgb(71, 75, 78); color: #474b4e; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #151515; font-family: "times new roman";">No writer creates more interesting characters than Capote. He strikes the notes between quirky, uncommon people and their actions and simple touching stories. His characters aren't quite lovable (not people you would want to invite over to dinner with the folks) but they are nevertheless very human and often touching, not off-putting. </span><i style="color: #151515; font-family: "times new roman";">Breakfast At Tiffany's</i><span style="color: #151515; font-family: "times new roman";"> is much grittier than the rather sanitized Audrey Hepburn-George Peppard film version.</span></span></div>
AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-53449273072702752272018-08-30T10:49:00.000-07:002018-08-30T10:49:04.120-07:00Gay Authors/Books that Inspire Me: The Empty Family by Colm Tóibín<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Colm Tóibín, a gay author and the Leonard Milberg Lecturer in Irish Studies at Princeton University, is one of my favorite storytellers. His prose is superlative and his imagination captivates me. One of his best works, in my opinion, is his collection of short stories called <i>The Empty Family</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">These exquisitely written stories, set in present-day Ireland, 1970s Spain and nineteenth-century England, are about people linked by love, loneliness and desire. Tóibín is a master at portraying mute emotions and intense intimacies that remain unacknowledged and unspoken. His characters are often difficult and combative, compelled to disguise their vulnerability and longings until he unmasks them.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Empty-Family-Stories-Colm-Toibin/dp/143919596X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535650916&sr=8-1&keywords=the+empty+family">https://www.amazon.com/Empty-Family-Stories-Colm-Toibin/dp/143919596X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535650916&sr=8-1&keywords=the+empty+family </a></div>
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AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-46753646617332572712018-08-23T11:08:00.001-07:002018-08-23T11:09:10.346-07:00Gay Authors/Books that Inspire Me: A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">A Single Man is the story of George, a gay, middle-aged expatriate Englishman now teaching at a California university. Consumed with grief of the recent death of the young man he has lived with and loved, George resolutely persists in the routine of his daily life, which includes becoming very close with one of his students. Behind his British reserve, tides of grief, rage, and loneliness surge—but all this emotion reveals a man in love with being alive despite all the everyday injustices. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">This is an undeniably overwhelming, unnerving, brilliant book. I found it a moving portrayal of a gay man in maturity and also a meditation on life as an outsider. Isherwood writes about love, loss, acceptance, and grief in a way that is as profound as it is engrossing. It eloquently speaks a message of accepting the uniqueness of each individual and living each day as if it is your last. Each time I read it I discover something new and wonderous. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Single-Man-Novel-FSG-Classics/dp/0374533873/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1535045914&sr=8-2&keywords=A+Single+Man">https://www.amazon.com/Single-Man-Novel-FSG-Classics/dp/0374533873/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1535045914&sr=8-2&keywords=A+Single+Man</a></div>
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AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-57393490164624522472018-08-17T10:05:00.006-07:002018-08-17T10:06:10.536-07:00Gay Authors/Books that Inspire Me: Maurice by E.M. Forster<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">Forster completed <i>Maurice</i>in 1914, but it was not published until 1971. It tells the story of Maurice Hall, an undergraduate at Cambridge before World War I who discovers that he is homosexual. The manuscript was found in Forester’s rooms at Cambridge after his death in 1970. “Publishable,” a note on the manuscript in his own handwriting said, “but worth it?” Acclaim for the novel on its publication firmly answered Forster’s question, but perhaps it was fortunate that it didn’t come out until general attitudes toward homosexuals became more enlightened.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">Forster was one of the greatest writers of our time, a true craftsman of the modern novel. And <i>Maurice</i>is one of his most powerful works. It’s an extraordinary work to have been written when it was, honest, compassionate, and sympathetic, with rich and beautiful prose that was common in all of Forster’s novels. <i>Maurice</i>is rich in its subtle intelligence, beautifully controlled in its development, deeply moving. It is a masterpiece of an exceptional artist working at the peak of his creative powers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14pt;">It is a book I’ve read several times, and will no doubt continue to read again and again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Maurice-Novel-M-Forster/dp/0393310329/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1534524720&sr=8-2&keywords=maurice">https://www.amazon.com/Maurice-Novel-M-Forster/dp/0393310329/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1534524720&sr=8-2&keywords=maurice </a></div>
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AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-48617040424348533132018-08-02T10:43:00.003-07:002018-08-02T10:43:38.686-07:00Book Review: Less by Andrew Sean Green<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZdzOE5G43B41mTkgr65fdzSE4E2OhHU9sbg9opwHPRcIHYpbKT45p6rX_qjcHMDA_yZ4tzAF6WswJQSUd1BXUKc_vH87zgG4ra4CpgUQ-6elJlb-coo9FzULnkEfFOkMqEUfpm0/s1600/41SdL441MFL._SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZdzOE5G43B41mTkgr65fdzSE4E2OhHU9sbg9opwHPRcIHYpbKT45p6rX_qjcHMDA_yZ4tzAF6WswJQSUd1BXUKc_vH87zgG4ra4CpgUQ-6elJlb-coo9FzULnkEfFOkMqEUfpm0/s320/41SdL441MFL._SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Reviewer: Alan Chin</span></div>
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<span style="color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Publisher: Back Bay Books / Little, Brown and Company (May 2018)</span><span style="color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Pages: 261<br /></span><span style="color: #1f2327; font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol", sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">★★★★★</span><span style="color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /><br /><b>A Magical Adventure</b><br /><br />Arthur Less is a little-known novelist about to turn fifty. He receives a wedding invitation from his ex-boyfriend of nine years, a younger man who he is still in love with. He decides it would be too painful to attend the wedding, yet if he doesn’t it will be an admission of defeat to his ex and to all their friends. What to do? Accept a handful of half-baked literary events scattered around the globe so he’ll be out of town when the wedding occurs. What could go wrong?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The answer, Arthur Less finds as he journeys to Mexico, Italy, Germany, Morocco, India, and Japan, is everything!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">A romance, a satire on Americans abroad, a musing on success, aging, and the human heart. <i>Less</i>shows a man blundering through a low point in his life, and along the way he continually raises the curtain on our shared human comedy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Being both an aging writer and a world traveler, I became engrossed in this Pulitzer Prize winning novel on page one, and had to slow my reading because I wanted to savor the experience for as long as possible. I can’t remember the last time I’ve enjoyed a book this much. Greer seamlessly blends humor with sharp poignancy. The writing is elegantly laced with wit, as much as the story is fortified with wonderfully interesting characters. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Less goes on my shelve containing all the beloved books I read over and over.</span><span style="color: #474b4e; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Less-Winner-Pulitzer-Prize-Novel/dp/031631613X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1533231704&sr=1-3&keywords=the+imperfectionists">https://www.amazon.com/Less-Winner-Pulitzer-Prize-Novel/dp/031631613X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1533231704&sr=1-3&keywords=the+imperfectionists</a></div>
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AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-13551476241427303912018-07-26T10:20:00.004-07:002018-07-26T10:21:38.241-07:00Gay Authors/Books that Inspire Me: Death in Venice by Thomas Mann<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Death in Venice</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">is Thomas Mann's novella concerning the dangers of sexual obsession. Gustav von Aschenbach, a famous middle-aged author travels to Venice. He takes up residence on Lido Island, and during dinner one evening at his hotel he sees a family at a table nearby and becomes fascinated by the beauty of their adolescent fourteen-year-old boy named Tadzio. His interest in Tadzio at first enlivens in him an uplifting and artistic spirit, however as the days pass his interest grows into an unhealthy obsession. As the weather in Venice turns hot and humid, an outbreak of cholera overtakes the city. Gustav, feeling his health to be in decline, decides to travel to a cooler locale, however a mix up with his luggage, draws him back to the hotel and Tadzio, which he inwardly rejoices. Though Gustav never acts on his feelings regarding the boy he nevertheless feels himself drawn down a path of ruinous inward desire. A classic depiction of emotional suffering, <i>Death in Venice</i>brilliantly depicts the tragic intensity of inner psychological torment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">In my opinion, the true subject of his story is the artist’s search for perfection and the impossibility of ever possessing it. At the moment he achieves absolute fulfillment, the artist’s life is snuffed out. It is a story where the quest for perfection leads to physical and moral decay. He knows he must escape the putrid atmosphere of a city steeped in cholera, but instead of fleeing to save his life, he is held captive there by his own desire. He cannot bear to absent himself from the Tadzio. Thomas Mann leaves the cause of death open. Does the protagonist succumb to the disease, or is he simply not able to live without the beauty he has fallen in love with?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">A masterpiece in both plot and language. In my opinion, it is a must read for anyone interested gay fiction. Mann is one of the greats, and this is perhaps his greatest story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Death-Venice-Dover-Thrift-Editions/dp/0486287149/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1532625088&sr=8-2&keywords=Death+In+Venice">https://www.amazon.com/Death-Venice-Dover-Thrift-Editions/dp/0486287149/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1532625088&sr=8-2&keywords=Death+In+Venice </a></div>
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AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-8801804392812236662018-07-18T10:10:00.002-07:002018-07-18T10:10:28.823-07:00Gay Authors/books that Inspire Me: Dream Boy by Jim Grimsley<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">First love is never easy for a gay boy. But when the new kid in town is secretly being abused by his father, first love may be the only thing that can save him. Two teenaged boys living in a countryside setting, commit themselves to one another and are assaulted for it by an abusive father and the blistering meanness of rural bullies. But through the force of their passion for each other—and with a confirming grace that love comes from the universe itself—they and their hopes are miraculously saved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">A heartwarming love story marred by violence which seems all too real. I love this story, both for its beautiful prose and its compelling story where love overcomes all, even death. It is heartbreaking and also uplifting. It is a well-crafted story that flows exquisitely into a breathtaking ending. Grimsley shows the power a simple story can fashion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The story’s power and poetry continues to astound me every time I read it. It is my favorite in Grimsley’s impressive stable. </span></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Jim-Grimsley-Dream-1995-01-24-Hardcover/dp/B001IP6MDA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1531933348&sr=8-2&keywords=jim+grimsley+books">https://www.amazon.com/Jim-Grimsley-Dream-1995-01-24-Hardcover/dp/B001IP6MDA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1531933348&sr=8-2&keywords=jim+grimsley+books</a></div>
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AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-84884369252742744372018-07-11T11:00:00.000-07:002018-07-11T11:11:17.310-07:00Gay Authors/Books that Inspire Me: The Hoursby Michael Cunningham<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPfzQjt85PGSuRFysJo-rptjV0M51EbyeA4FMJUkUc-P2t3AOUpEXc0JS7ZMAsNIZ4qT5Om0wAHr5Ag2maVMa3HmCf2ZiIYNGUuPul85SNFVawGigAWAJ4lTPiWdNpBe1URkvyII/s1600/91%252BFm%252BGOPhL._SY679_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="479" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPfzQjt85PGSuRFysJo-rptjV0M51EbyeA4FMJUkUc-P2t3AOUpEXc0JS7ZMAsNIZ4qT5Om0wAHr5Ag2maVMa3HmCf2ZiIYNGUuPul85SNFVawGigAWAJ4lTPiWdNpBe1URkvyII/s320/91%252BFm%252BGOPhL._SY679_.jpg" width="224" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Hours </span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">interweaves the lives of three women from three different times: Clarissa Vaughan, who one New York morning goes about planning a party to honor a beloved poet/writer; Laura Brown, who in a 1950s Los Angeles suburb begins to feel the constraints of a “perfect” family and home; and Virginia Woolf, recuperating with her husband in a London suburb, and beginning to writer her beloved novel <i>Mrs. Dalloway</i>. These three tales come together in an act of subtle and haunting grace that few gay authors could have pulled off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Of all the gay-themed books I’ve read, I believe this is not only my favorite, but also the finest example of gay literature we have. The author’s deep empathy of his characters as well as the extraordinary resonance of his prose continues to astound me every time I read it. It is, in my opinion, Cunningham’s most mature and masterful work. I can think of no other work by a gay author that has influenced and inspired me more.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hours-Novel-Michael-Cunningham/dp/0312243022/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1531331587&sr=8-1&keywords=the+hours+michael+cunningham&dpID=51nJi6kvjrL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch">https://www.amazon.com/Hours-Novel-Michael-Cunningham/dp/0312243022/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1531331587&sr=8-1&keywords=the+hours+michael+cunningham&dpID=51nJi6kvjrL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch </a></span></div>
AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-46308220167412690702018-07-07T09:37:00.004-07:002018-07-07T09:38:12.915-07:00Author Laury A. Egan reviews Surviving Immortality by Alan Chin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">A Propulsive, Suspenseful, Dystopian Novel: <i>Surviving Immortality</i></span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Reviewed by Laury A. Egan</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Surviving Immortality</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">—a provocative title (an oxymoron?) that raises a myriad of questions, chiefly: How can someone survive immortality if one is already immortal, i.e., there is inherently no need to survive if a person already will live forever? How can the state of immortality exist? What would create such a state? As I approached Alan Chin’s new book, these were my initial thoughts. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">The novel is a cautionary tale about how society and, indeed, our civilization has been poisoned by people’s need “to convince themselves that they are relevant in an irrelevant universe.” Chin cites three pernicious threats that are destroying us: Religion: “The myth of God and a hereafter [that] gives [people] a false sense of importance.” Greed: “the idea that we are what we own…that gluttonous pigs want not only the best of everything…but they don’t want others to have what they’ve got.” The third is that “people [are] willing to defend themselves and their cause at all costs. Their sense of heroism gives them relevance. They have a deep distrust of governments, other religions, and other tribes.” In our present times, these insidious menaces are eating at the fabric of our humanity, eroding our democracy, our belief in truth, our feelings of empathy, our trust and morality, and our system of justice and government. <i>Surviving Immortality</i> is a serious warning about where the human race is headed and a very relevant one.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Although the book deals with weighty themes and edges into the category of dystopian fiction, it is primarily a fast-paced thriller wrapped around a coming-of-age story about Matt Reece Connors, an eighteen-year-old boy who, over the course of events, becomes a man. The beginning chapter sets us on a ranch in Nevada. Matt Reece is a fine horseman and cowboy who lives with his father, Jessup, and his stepfather, Kenji—the two are married. Matt Reece himself is gay, though without any sexual experience. At first, the reader may expect that a western—perhaps in the mold of <i>Brokeback Mountain</i>—is about to unfold. Then, suddenly, as we are settling in to life on the ranch, a tornado of events engulfs Matt Reece, and he is forced to rush headlong into a journey that takes him to multiple exotic places and thrusts him up against a cast of villains who embody all that is wrong with our world. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Alan Chin writes with an impressive knowledge of science, medicine, technology, sailing, horsemanship, and also masterfully describes numerous national and international locations. The action is propulsive and suspenseful, yet never loses sight of Matt Reece’s personal challenges: his quest to overcome his fears and to find his identity.—Laury A. Egan, author of <i>Fabulous! An Opera Buffa</i> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Published by Dreamspinner Press. Available in paperback and eBook.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1b1b1b; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Additional Information<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Format<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">ebook and print<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Length<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Novel, 446 pages/154331 words<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Publication Date<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">05-June-2018 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">$6.99 ebook, $19.99 paperback, $19.99 bundle<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="color: #416ed2; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://www.dsppublications.com/books/surviving-immortality-by-alan-chin-457-b" style="color: #de7008;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #416ed2;">https://www.dsppublications.com/books/surviving-immortality-by-alan-chin-457-b</span></a></span></u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-77395806658213098832018-07-01T10:24:00.000-07:002018-07-01T10:24:04.243-07:00Little Vin at Dreamland by Edward Patterson<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Reviewer: Alan Chin<br />Publisher: <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Dancaster Creative (April 21, 2017)</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /><br /><b>An Enchanted Adventure </b><br /><br />Every once in a while a book comes along that has a unique voice, a fresh and vibrant set of characters, and has the ability to transport me into another world for an adventure beyond my limited imagination. I recently experienced a writer who took me on an adventure filled with history and wonder and valor found in unexpected places. The author is Edward C. Patterson and the story is called <i>Little Vin at Dreamland</i>.<br /><br /><i>Little Vin at Dreamland</i> takes the reader back into 1910 during the zenith of Coney Island’s Dreamland amusement park. Out of this rich history comes the journey of one young man, Vincent Grainger, who dreams of breaking free of the hard-toiling life in the Irish immigrant community, and expanding his acting/dancing talents in Dreamland Park’s Congress of Oddities.<br /><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Vincent (Little Vin) starts his journey mucking out livery stables while keeping an eye open for opportunities to bringing in pocket change and keep aspirations afloat. And he finds opportunities - posing for artists and waiting tables and dancing for dimes. It’s a time to sparkle for those with ambition; and little Vin has the spark to get him through the best and worst of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Although Little Vin is the protagonist, the main character in this novel is the dazzling world of Coney Island in its heyday, and the wide spectrum of Brooklyn society, ranging from the posh to the seedy. Little Vin takes the reader on a journey through this interesting and vivid landscape, from the thousand lights of Dreamland, Luna and Steeplechase Parks to the early days of the silent film industry at Fort Lee, NJ. </span><br /><br />This is a story about loyalty, duty and determination. Loyalty to family, to friends, but mostly loyalty to that dream that burns within. It follows Little Vin’s efforts to balance family duty with his burning aspirations, and the stakes are raised when love blossoms in the most unexpected way.<br /><br />This story is a vivid, imaginative, and often humorous romp through a pivotal point in American history. I found it a delightful read, a feel good story where love and hope and all that makes American society great eventually triumphs. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This is a character driven story (I do consider the location a character), and Patterson skillfully presents these characters with marvelous depth, using an excellent blend of tragedy and humor.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></div>
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The author’s consummate skill at crafting prose and his well-researched details kept me fully engaged until the last page. I would recommend this read to anyone who enjoys multifaceted characters, humor, and a well-crafted story.<o:p></o:p></div>
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http://www.dancaster.com/<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span class="post-author vcard">Posted by <span class="fn" itemprop="author" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><a class="g-profile" data-gapiattached="true" data-gapiscan="true" data-onload="true" href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761" rel="author" style="border: none; color: #968a0a; text-decoration: none;" title="author profile"><span itemprop="name">AlanChinWriter</span> </a></span></span><span class="post-timestamp">at <a class="timestamp-link" href="http://glfictionreviews.blogspot.com/2017/06/little-vin-at-dreamland-by-edward.html" rel="bookmark" style="border: none; color: #968a0a; text-decoration: none;" title="permanent link"><abbr class="published" itemprop="datePublished" style="border: none;" title="2017-06-22T15:52:00-07:00">3:52 PM</abbr></a> </span><span class="reaction-buttons"></span><span class="post-comment-link"><a class="comment-link" href="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1504753522673010000&postID=3548476884281632588&isPopup=true" style="border: none; color: #968a0a; margin-left: 0.6em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">1 comment: </a></span><span class="post-backlinks post-comment-link"></span><span class="post-icons"></span><div class="post-share-buttons goog-inline-block" style="display: inline-block; margin-top: 0.5em; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;">
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AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-27037611558888777982018-06-12T07:42:00.000-07:002018-06-12T07:43:39.008-07:00Book Review: Surviving Immortality by Alan Chin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Reviewer: Rainbow Book Reviews at </span><b style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="http://www.rainbowbookreviews.com/book-reviews/surviving-immortality-by-alan-chin-at-dsp-publications" style="color: #954f72;">http://www.rainbowbookreviews.com/book-reviews/surviving-immortality-by-alan-chin-at-dsp-publications</a></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Publisher: DSP Publications (May 05, 2018)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Pages: 446</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1b1b1b; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">This is the story of the fountain of youth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1b1b1b; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">When Kenji Hiroshige discovers a formula that will keep people youthful and healthy for several thousand years, he tells the world he will not divulge his secret until every gun, tank, battleship, and bomb has been destroyed. When the world is free of weapons, everyone can live forever. And then he goes into hiding.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1b1b1b; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Before he disappears, his son Matt Reece is exposed to the formula. Kenji takes Matt Reece on the run with him, but as they struggle to elude both government agencies and corporations who will do anything to profit from Kenji’s discovery, Matt Reece learns that world peace might not be his father’s only goal. But what can a young man who’s barely stepped foot off his isolated ranch do in the face of something so sinister?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1b1b1b; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">This is the story of human greed and the lust for violence. It’s the story of a world on the brink of destruction, but it’s also a tale of one young man who finds in himself the will, courage, and compassion to stand against the darkness—both outside and within himself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1b1b1b; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">This is a story of hope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1b1b1b; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Book Review<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #1b1b1b; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">At first glance the title sounds like a contradiction because immortality, by definition, means survival. And maybe it does on a purely physical level for each individual, but for humanity as a whole? It would require entirely different survival strategies than the ones we have developed over the millennia since we stopped living on trees. Immortality, for humans so far, is a philosophical construct. Its consequences, beyond what it might mean for an individual, are hard to imagine – and Alan Chin does a good job of speculating about the effects it might have. Religion might cease to exist since no fear of death means no need for an afterlife so no more funding for any religious organization. The pharmaceutical industry would be gone overnight. The medical profession – wiped out except for a few doctors needed for occasional reapplication of the formula. And what about the threat of overpopulation with everyone surviving? It requires a lot of imagination to think through the effects of immortality on humanity, and Alan Chin has done an amazing job at presenting one possible scenario. He takes a kernel of (unproven but not impossible) science as a catalyst that explains how the formula for immortality is discovered, uses a range of characters to illustrate various possible reactions, and spins a tale that includes murder, secrets, deception, betrayal, and more twists and turns than should be legal in one novel. The resulting story is breathtakingly spellbinding, to say the least.<br /><br />Matt Reece is only eighteen when the proverbial sh*t hits the fan, has lived on his family’s ranch since he was born, and has been pretty much a recluse for the last two years. Like his father Jessup, he is gay and the bullying in school got so bad after his older brother left two years before the story starts that he has been homeschooled. In no way does any of this prepare him for what is to come – though I would argue that nothing can prepare anyone for having to face immortality, not to mention every single political, military, and religious group on the planet being after you for the secret. Matt Reece feels the burden of responsibility to “do something great” with the gift he has been given, but, at first, he has no idea what that might be. Combined with being on the run and fearing for his life, he faces terror from so many different angles that it’s a miracle he remains sane.<br /><br />Kenji has invented the immortality formula but he is a shifty character almost from the start. While he seems to have commendable goals – like ending war, poverty, and disease – I did not like his attitude toward his husband, Jessup, and that was before the blackness of his soul emerges. The things he does to achieve what looks like a noble goal expose his ruthless side, and in that sense, he is a perfect incarnation of the principle that “the end justifies the means” which has terrifying consequences for his family and, ultimately, for him.<br /><br />The story is told from different points of view, revealing a variety of perspectives offered up like puzzle pieces. Nobody knew everything at any point in time, nobody had any sort of control, and most characters were out to save their own behinds. Pretty realistic on any given day, but with the bombshell of immortality affecting everyone’s world view all of a sudden, this was particularly true. Alan Chin does not pull his punches with criticism on religious leaders, multinational corporations, the corruption of governments and politicians worldwide (but particularly in the US), and the military and law enforcement are shown from their worst side as well. As a whole, this novel offers an assessment of the worst side of the human race, and the emergence of the potential of immortality worsens the greed, infighting, and ruthless power-grabbing about a thousandfold. The situation changes the world as we know it to the point where it becomes a postapocalyptic situations where new rules emerge from the rubble that used to be civilization.<br /><br />Despite the overall darkness shown by exposing humanity at its worst, there are a few flecks of hope and light throughout. Matt Reese is young and naive and seems helpless at first. He suffers both emotionally and physically as Kenji tries to drag him down into the moral abyss that is Kenji’s soul. But there is a stubborn goodness in Matt Reece that gradually grows stronger as he finds his way. Finding love gives him purpose, his family members join him in his fight, and when courage grows out of fear, Matt Reece emerges like a phoenix from the ashes, a very different person than he was before.<br /><br />If you like thrillers with a global scale, if you want to watch a family go from peaceful ranchers to the only guys who can save the world (with the help of a few good men), and if you’re looking for a suspenseful read that explores human nature in a mesmerizing story with a surprisingly hopeful ending, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. I found it emotionally draining yet utterly captivating!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1b1b1b; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by DSP Publications for the purpose of a review.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Length<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Novel, 446 pages/154331 words<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">05-June-2018 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">$6.99 ebook, $19.99 paperback, $19.99 bundle<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="color: #416ed2; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://www.dsppublications.com/books/surviving-immortality-by-alan-chin-457-b" target="_blank"><span style="color: #416ed2;">https://www.dsppublications.com/books/surviving-immortality-by-alan-chin-457-b</span></a></span></u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-16808467771852208072018-06-10T08:22:00.003-07:002018-06-12T07:44:54.388-07:00Book Review: Vagrants Hollow – Southern Swallow Book V by Edward C. Patterson<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Reviewer: Alan Chin<br />Publisher: Dancaster Creative (May 11, 2018)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Pages: 406<br /><br /><span style="caret-color: rgb(31, 35, 39); color: #1f2327; font-family: "menlo regular";">★★★★</span><br /><br /><b>The Magical Adventure Continues</b><br /><br />Every so often a book comes along that has a unique voice, a fresh and vibrant set of characters, and has the ability to transport me into another world for an adventure far beyond my limited imagination. Tolkien certainly did that for me, as did Frank Herbert and several other fine writers. Edward C. Patterson is another author who fills each page with adventure and history and magic and valor found in unexpected places. I’m talking about his Southern Swallow series, now a complete five-volume set. I was delighted while reading the first four books, and now I’ve completed the fifth and last book in the series, called <i>Vagrants Hollow</i>, which concluded a touching love story that spans thousands of pages. But it is also a tale of intrigue, loyalty and honor.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Vagrants Hollow</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"> takes the reader back into China during the Sung dynasty, when the Emperor was considered the “Son of Heaven” and vast armies trembled at his every whim. Out of this rich history comes the journey of Li K’ai-men, who must out maneuver government intrigues to bring order and solid leadership to the throne, and then battle bizarre forces in the land of the dead in order to fulfill his magic warrants which will determine the destiny of the world.<br /><br />Li K’ai-men utilizes the magic power of the Jade Owl to form a supernatural force that binds and protects his small group of followers as they battle traitors to the throne, and then journey into the land of the dead in order to reunite with his ever-faithful lover, Fu Lin-t’o, and complete his warrants. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">As with all previous books in the series, this story is a vivid, imaginative, and often humorous romp through a pivotal point in Chinese history. It quickly blossoms into a tense tale of intrigue, court politics, and treachery, and then transforms into a quest to complete Li K’ai-men’s life mission to bring order to the future of the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">And, of course, K’u Ko-ling, Li K’ai-men’s rather clownish manservant, has matured and become a key player in protecting the realm. As narrator, he starts and finishes each chapter with his 1st person point of view, but the bulk of the story is told in 3rd person. I found these POV switches to be seamless and greatly added to developing the depths of the main characters. This is a character driven story, and Patterson skillfully presents these characters with an excellent blend of grace, tragedy, and humor.<br /><br />Because of the many different characters and magic powers that are explained in earlier books, I advise readers to read the other four volumes before undertaking this one. Much like <i>Lord of the Rings</i>, these five books are a continuous story that spans a great deal of territory and needs to be read in order to fully appreciate what this author has accomplished.<br /><br />The author’s consummate skill at crafting prose and his untamed imagination kept me fully engaged until the last page. I would recommend this read to anyone who enjoys multifaceted characters, humor, and a well-crafted story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="http://www.dancaster.com/" style="color: #d6a0b6; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">http://www.dancaster.com/</a></span></div>
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AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-31413812633004932402018-02-03T13:40:00.001-08:002018-02-03T13:40:27.763-08:00Book Review: Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt;">Reviewer: Alan Chin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt;">Publisher: <o:p></o:p></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif;">Holtzbrinck Publishers; Media Tie In edition (October 3, 2017)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f2327; font-family: "Menlo Regular"; font-size: 14pt;">★★★</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt;">I saw the movie when it first hit the theaters and love this slow-burn love story. I loved it so much I bought the book and plowed through it. This is one of the few times when I thought the movie was much better than the book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt;">The protagonist, Elio, a precocious seventeen year-old becomes infatuated with Oliver, a twenty-four year-old staying at their house as a summer intern for Elio’s father. Elio and Oliver, through several intellectual and esoteric conversations, become attracted to each other, and eventually fall in love. It is a simple love story. During this time, Elio constantly analyzes and second-guesses every innuendo-laden exchange with Oliver. This scrutiny was subtly done in the movie, but in the book it is relentless to the point of becoming annoying, and making Elio appear to be a self-absorbed, distressingly obsessed twit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt;">Yes, I get that </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;">a</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt;"> teenager can be self-absorbed and obsessed over love. I’m not so old I can’t remember what that was like. But that doesn’t mean I want to read page after page of it throughout an entire book. It gets overly tedious after the first fifty pages.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt;">The prose is very well written and most often a joy to read. There were moments between the lovers that were poignant and relatable, sweeping me up into their relationship, but those moments were often swamped by page after page of Elio’s internal dialogue, worrying his feelings like a dog worries a bone. It is a beautiful story, yet it never reached the height or splendor of the movie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt;">Had I not loved the movie so much, I’m not sure I would have finished the book.</span></div>
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AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504753522673010000.post-37264822708536713692018-01-09T09:49:00.004-08:002018-01-09T09:49:52.769-08:00Book Review: Boy Erased, a Memoir by Garrard Conley<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5xEqMOfbttzR68Jtq_Y1YMcnCJwE87qkv3vwSjJ3XjZy31YI1pgtnlsKcxjk8eQRCAMrDoS7MPV9HJlfXTPU0sy98PyGtmJZWz6SxgFqnVvgN52SF1Koelk6bYV8JcBUM_IO2EJo/s1600/51EB1mQSC3L._SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5xEqMOfbttzR68Jtq_Y1YMcnCJwE87qkv3vwSjJ3XjZy31YI1pgtnlsKcxjk8eQRCAMrDoS7MPV9HJlfXTPU0sy98PyGtmJZWz6SxgFqnVvgN52SF1Koelk6bYV8JcBUM_IO2EJo/s320/51EB1mQSC3L._SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt;">Reviewer: Alan Chin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt;">Publisher: Riverhead Books<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f2327; font-family: "Menlo Regular"; font-size: 14pt;">★★★</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">This
was not a book I picked to read, as I’m not interested in reading about anything
as grotesque as conversion therapy. It was selected by my book club.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s
a story about a gay son of a Baptist minister who got outed to his parents.
They placed him in a conversion therapy camp to “cure” him, and things didn’t
go well for the young man.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Although
the prose is extremely well written, I found the pacing and content numbingly
boring. What I did find interesting was the total Christian brainwashing that
the author had suffered as a young man. I find it both horrifying and amazing
that, in this age of science, people still take the bible literally. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Boy Erased</i>, in my opinion, is a book of
sadness. A story of people who rebuff nature to pursue a myth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">This book reinforced every
negative stereotype I have of organized religion and modern-day Christians.</span><!--EndFragment-->
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AlanChinWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01391204766858688761noreply@blogger.com0