The Voting Booth After Dark: Despicable, Embarrassing, Repulsive by Vanessa Libertad Garcia

Reviewed by Alan Chin
Published by Fiat Libertad Co.
Pages 60

This slim book (about 60 pages) is a collection of twenty-three vignettes. Most of these pieces are poems, some are micro-stories, and others seem to be simply ramblings and gibberish. Each entry illustrates a few moments or hours in some person’s rather miserable life.

It took me almost half the book to begin liking the images that popped out at me like a Warhol painting. These are a gritty and unapologizing glimpse of the underbelly of a society gone mad. These characters are desperate, disenchanted, alcoholic, drug addicted, and some are suicidal. Yet, woven within this fabric of stark wretchedness is a glimmering hope for finding love, or a successful job, or simply being able to pay the bills or show up for work on time. It is a reminder that even so close to the gutter, there is always hope, that we strive to be good. That seems to be the human condition, striving against the overwhelming tide.

This book is not for everyone. No one here is finding love, or even comfort. Yet there is a certain honesty to the characters who struggle to find meaning in a world that is moving too fast for them. They are filled with raw tormenting emotions, but seem to lack self-pity. They accept their sexuality, yet can’t seem to navigate to a place of comfort with it. Reading this book was like watching a drunken bag lady passed out on a doorstep; I wanted to look away, but found myself fascinated by the descriptions thrown at me.

Let me leave you with some of my favorite images:

“Celebrities. Human beings turned deities by a society of sleep walking spectators. From the alarm to the car to the office to happy hour and back home to a bottle of wine and TIVO. Bought images engulfing us in a web of stories passed off as convictions that turn religion. So forms the pattern of an American mind”

“it was gonna be a fun night. It was Wednesday and I was unemployed. Last 20 bucks in the bank, but it doesn’t matter because life will work out. Life is working out. I should go work out. Life’s not the problem, I a . . . FUN! We gonna have fun tonight, baby! I should be reading a book about Georgia O’Keeffe and how much she liked pussy. Pussy inspired her success, maybe I’ll be cultured after that book. Really cultured, not half cultured the way being raised in LA makes--- Tonight is going to be fun, I can feel it.”


And my personal favorite:

“Today, November 4th, 2008, dawns a different morning.

The North American continent, excluding Canada, Mexico, and the others, decides the 44th president of The United States. Conservative Republican John McCain vs. Middle of the Road Democrat Barack Obama. The marketing campaigns of a Hard Knocks Nam’ Vet and a Charismatic Black Idealist duke it out for the top spot in this nation’s hierarchy. Traditional Values climb in the ring with the Eve of Change.

Vice Presidential running mate, Joe Biden, sits back, as the other Vice Presidential running mate, Sarah Palin, sends feminism back 5 decades. California debates gay marriage as church goers reflect on the terms “inherent worth” and “equal rights.”

The suffocating economy struggles to release itself from the greedy grip of a Republican Dictatorship dropping to its knees.”

http://tinyurl.com/4v8c6jc

First Person Plural by Andrew W.M. Beierle

Reviewed by Alan Chin
Published by Kensington Books
Pages: 322

Owen and Porter Jamison are conjoined twins—one body, two heads, two functioning brains, and definitely two very dissimilar hearts. Growing up, they see themselves as a single entity, but as they near adulthood they metamorphose into completely opposite personalities. Porter is pure jock, outgoing, and charismatic. He compensates for his abnormality by being the best red-blooded, all-American football hero in the town. Owen is cerebral, artistic, and a romantic. He compensates by withdrawing into his own world.

As Porter begins dating a high school cheerleader, Owen becomes painfully aware that he has no interest in girls. As Owen explores his feelings, he admits to himself, and then to Porter, that he is gay, which causes a riff between the brothers, but of course, sharing one body, they can’t very well ignore one another. At first Owen is content to settle for unrequited crushes, but soon finds himself exploring his desires with other gay guys. This, naturally, widens the riff between the brothers and expands Porter’s fear that people will assume he is also gay. To survive, they must somehow learn to give and take, to be supportive as well as take what they need. But when it comes to something as personal as sex, can they do that?

I had a love/hate relationship with this book. On the one hand it is exceedingly well written, the characters are deeply drawn and sympathetic, and the situation is fascinating from the first page. I particularly loved the way the ending brought all the issues together without being overly sentimental. This book has all the elements of a really great, highly emotional drama, yet I constantly struggled with my suspension of belief—the idea that a two-headed boy could be the star quarterback at school and date the cheerleader was too much for my imagination to overcome. And that is only one example. These characters were constantly getting into situations where the rest of the world didn’t seem to notice they were a two-headed body. Had they been two bodies joined at the hip or chest—like the brothers in the movie Twin Falls Idaho—then I could have more easily been absorbed into the story, but as it was I heard a nagging voice all the way through the story, a voice whining: no way!

As hard as that issue was to swallow, I actually had a bigger issue with this tale. Once Owen determines he is gay, this tale becomes a series of coming out vignettes. First Owen tries to hide it from Porter, and has to come out to him. Then to their parents, then to Porter’s girlfriend, then to the girlfriend’s family, then…on and on it goes. I lost count of all the times the brothers attempted to hide Owen’s sexuality and then had to come clean to whoever it was they were hiding from. It didn’t take long to become tedious, and in some cases boring.

Still, those two issues aside, the last third of the books saves the day and I ended up pulling for both brothers. It is a unique plot that pushes all the right buttons at all the right times. I truly enjoyed this story, and I can highly recommend it. I look forward to reading more from Mr. Beierle, who I consider to be an exceptional talent.

http://andrewbeierle.com/

My Uncle’s Wedding By Eric Ross, Illustrated by Tracy Greene

Reviewed by Alan Chin
Published by CreateSpace (Feburary 2011)
Pages: 19

When an author pens a manuscript, the first thing s/he needs to do is determine the intended audience. In a children’s story, I suspect it becomes rather difficult to adjust the language to a particular age range. Knowing little about children, I can only guess that this book targets children from ages three to six, and in my opinion, does so masterfully well.

It is the charming story of the preparations for, and the ceremony of, a marriage of two loving men, as seen through the young eyes of Andy, the nephew of one of the men getting married. From Uncle Mike’s announcement that he plans to marry Steve, this story steps through each stage—ordering flowers, food, a cake, a new suit for Andy, and the ceremony itself—with simple prose and delightful illustrations.

Of course, this story is intended to do more that entertain; it also educates. It subtly illustrates to impressionable minds that there is no difference between same-sex weddings and hetrosexual weddings, and there is joy to be shared by everyone involved.

That’s it. Within the bare framework of this tale, beneath the surface of its colorful illustrations and simple phrases, lies a loving message of equality, a suggestion of acceptance. It is a parent’s responsibility to teach their children tolerance of all people, and I have yet to find a better tool to begin that lesson than My Uncle’s Wedding.

For more information about his book, go to http://tinyurl.com/6eqcup3
.

A Woman Like the Sea By Anne Brooke

Reviewed by Victor J. Banis
Published by Untreed Reads

When an author pens a novel, it’s pretty much up to him to tell the reader what he wants the reader to know. In a short story, however, the author must seduce the reader into becoming a participant in the process. The short story allows only so many words, so many lines. It becomes the reader’s role to read between the lines, to fill in the blanks from what the author has given him.

There are few authors who illustrate this point more effectively than Anne Brooke, and perhaps nowhere better than in this brief, nearly perfect story. Sometime in the past, the woman telling the story, a good but not great artist who painted the sea, met another woman and they loved. Now her love is gone, and the narrator waits by the ocean for her to return.

That’s it. But within the bare framework of this tale, beneath the surface of its elegant phrases, its impeccable rhythms, its haunting familiarity, lies an ocean of feeling, of suggestion and unfathomable menace. The author gives us a breathtaking palette of shadings, of sounds and scents—but it is up to the reader to provide the nuance, the feel of it, the sense. These come from our own deep fathoms, borne on the tide of our love, our hate, our loss. Because the author is wise enough to know that we have them too.

The sea is a mystery—as the author puts it, “a primeval force like anger or fear or love.” Ultimately we must all of us stand at the shore of those deep emotions and remember—and wait.

http://annebrooke.com/

The Immortals by Victor J. Banis

Reviewed by Alan Chin
Published by Amber Quill Press, LLC
Pages: 29

Jason was quite surprised when Peter took a fancy to him and immediately wanted them to move in together. Not only was Peter far better looking and successful than the men Jason dated, but he expressed feelings of true love. Jason didn’t consider himself a catch. He was rather ordinary looking and, because he was a student, had no income. None of that mattered to Peter, who had the looks and income to keep them both happy.

They set up house together and everything was going great until a fantastic career opportunity opened up for Peter in Los Angeles. Against Jason’s better judgment, the lovers moved to L.A., and temporarily moved into Peter’s father’s house until they could find a place of their own.

Peter’s father, Alders, had been widowed for several years. He was a man eaten by loneliness, and he welcomed the young men into his house. At first Jason couldn’t fathom how this ugly little man could have fathered such a handsome, desirable son, but over time, Jason began to peek beneath Alders’ unpleasant facade, and caught glimpses of a complex and intriguing man. Alders seemed to have that richly stimulating personality that his son totally lacked. Father and son were indeed opposites. And there lay the rub. As the days progressed, Peter’s image began to tarnish.

As always, Mr. Banis has drawn a set of noteworthy characters to enjoy. They are delightfully complex, as is the situation they find themselves in. I particularly relished Alders, with whom I wholly identified with. I felt he was painted by a master artist.

I could almost call this a coming-of-age tale, except that the protagonist was already of age. In this short but potent story, however, Jason comes to a definite maturity, a realization of what kind of foundation a satisfying relationship is built on. And once the light illuminates in his head, he has the courage to change his life in a most appropriate way.

The ending is not exactly what I define as happily ever after, but it is by all means a satisfying one. The author leads his characters, as well as the reader, down a path to where no other ending would gratify the reader, which is the mark of a gifted writer.

I can highly recommend this story to all readers.

http://www.vjbanis.com/

Dead of Night by Victor J. Banis

Reviewed by Alan Chin
Published by MLR Press
Pages: 215

Newly released from a mental hospital, Calvin Sparrow returns home to resume life in the house he was raised in, which is also the house his parents were brutally murdered in. Calvin’s years or therapy were an attempt to heal him of the traumatic psychological wounds of his being in the house that deadly night, of witnessing the killings. But Calvin has lingering issues.

With the help of his brother, Bobbie, and a maid/cook, Mrs. Hauptman, Calvin begins to take to his new life, living alone in that grand and empty house. On the first full moon, however, Calvin hears sounds, voices from that deadly night so many years ago. He finds himself reliving that night all over again. But then the voices go away, until the next full moon. And each time they come back, they grow stronger and more sinister, and Calvin grows weaker and more desperate to free himself of his past.

I’m not a fan of horror or ghost stories, but I say must have this tale had me hooked from the first few pages. Is it a ghost story, or is it a study of a man’s insanity slowly taking him over? I can’t answer that question. The author skillfully leaves that up to the reader to decide.

This story clearly demonstrates why Victor Banis has become one of my favorite authors. He delves into his characters, pealing back the layers as he ratchets up the tension. As the story anxiety intensifies, more of the character’s deeper psyche is exposed. It’s really quite brilliantly done here.

About halfway through this story, I began to wonder how in the hell it would end. I’m usually very good at anticipating how an author with wrap up all the loose ends and bring a story to a close, but not this time. Not only did Mr. Banis keep me guessing all the way to the thrilling last pages, but he left it up to me to decide how it ended. Without giving any of the story away, I can say that I was both surprised and delighted when I read that last page. It was much more than I had hoped for.

Like all the tales I’ve read from Victor Banis, Dead of Night is a superb story that I can highly recommend to anyone who loves impeccable prose, wonderfully complicated characters, and a delectably teasing plot.

http://www.vjbanis.com/

YU by Joy Shayne Laughter

Reviewed by Alan Chin
Published by Open Books Press
Pages: 226

Ross Lamos has built a successful career in dealing with Asian art and antiquities. His specialty is jade carvings, and his astonishing gift is his psychic touch, that is, whenever he holds jade, the stone’s yu (its internal chi power) reveals its history to Lamos. He sees visions of what the stones have witnessed.

The story begins when a mysterious woman enters the antique shop where Lamos works, asking him to appraise three carved jade stones. The stones are all from the same period, Han Dynasty, and worth millions on the black market. Lamos has never worked with such exquisitely crafted carvings before. They are the work of a master craftsman. But more than the stones’ value, Lamos is intrigued by their history.

One by one, he holds the stones, and they tell three connecting stories of a forbidden love in China’s Imperial Court during the Han Dynasty. Within this unfolding tale, Lamos comes to realize that both he and this mysterious woman, in their former lives, played a part in this unfolding drama.

Each stone presents a piece of the puzzle that tells of a love between a prince and his father’s concubine, and the poet caught up in the middle of a deadly game of intrigue. But which former life did Lamos play? He will do anything to find out.

This story is so smart and so polished that I found it nearly impossible to believe that it is Joy Shayne Laughter’s debut novel. It is one of the most delightful books I’ve read in several years. I truly loved every scene, every page, every character.

Each character is richly drawn and complex, as are the relationships between the characters, both in contemporary times and ancient past. Interlaced with the three views of the past, are Lamos’s own tribulations with his career and gay love life. The author delicately weaves the past and present stories together, enticing the reader into this mystery, giving only glimpses of the whole, until it all comes together in a shocking and unpredictable ending. It left me stunned.

Joy Shayne Laughter has, with this one novel, risen to the top of my favorite authors list. Her delectable prose carries the reader along in an enchanting dream. She has demonstrated the power to captivate me with wonderfully unique characters, effortlessly drawing me into their drama, and then crushing my senses with an overwhelming love story.

My only complaint with this novel is that I have to wait until the author’s next release in order to enjoy more of her superb talent. For anyone who relishes romance novels or mysteries, this is a must read. Brava!!!

www.joyshaynelaughter.com