Insight/Out
A couple of quickie reader's book reviews:
How I Paid for College by Marc Acito
Very funny, but oddly non-homoerotic
For musical theatre mavens, this novel is a must-read. It's wildly funny, with great comic observations and a unique tone—imagine Booth Tarkington's Penrod stories updated to the '70s, and with sex. But there's the rub, so to speak: although the narrator is slowly coming to grips with his latent homo (or at least bi-) sexuality, ALL of the sex in the book, save an alluded-to bit of felatio (and one moment of felatus-interruptus) is of the heterosexual variety. Gay theatre-queen boys hoping to see a bit of their own high school experience will be disappointed, or at least naggingly aware of the lack. That said, it's still a highly amusing ride and a very promising debut novel.
—7 June 2005
Light Before Day
by Christopher Rice
When is a "literary thriller" not a "literary thriller"?
Answer: when someone as prodigiously gifted as Christopher Rice produces his take on modern L.A. noir, slightly tongue-in-cheek. Not his best work (I think The Snow Garden is his finest novel so far) but ambitious, and vastly entertaining.
—20 May 2005
Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire
Maguire, the Magician
With the curious exception of "Lost," Gregory Maguire's novels are nearly perfect examples of writerly genius laced with expert popular craftsmanship. "Wicked" was an extraordinary feat of literary legerdemain -- one of the most beautifully imagined and thematically brilliant books of the last decade. "Son of a Witch," although briefer and less complex, is nonetheless equally superb in its way. Liir makes a great protagonist -- sharp, intelligent, seemingly passive yet capable of great courage and kindness. As an added treat, like "Wicked," homoeroticism in "Son of a Witch" burbles just below the surface, finally emerging in the most surprising (and pleasing) way. Critics used to call William Kotzwinkle "The Magician"; I think the mantle has passed to Gregory Maquire.
—11 October 2005
How I Paid for College by Marc Acito
Very funny, but oddly non-homoerotic
For musical theatre mavens, this novel is a must-read. It's wildly funny, with great comic observations and a unique tone—imagine Booth Tarkington's Penrod stories updated to the '70s, and with sex. But there's the rub, so to speak: although the narrator is slowly coming to grips with his latent homo (or at least bi-) sexuality, ALL of the sex in the book, save an alluded-to bit of felatio (and one moment of felatus-interruptus) is of the heterosexual variety. Gay theatre-queen boys hoping to see a bit of their own high school experience will be disappointed, or at least naggingly aware of the lack. That said, it's still a highly amusing ride and a very promising debut novel.
—7 June 2005
Light Before Day
by Christopher Rice
When is a "literary thriller" not a "literary thriller"?
Answer: when someone as prodigiously gifted as Christopher Rice produces his take on modern L.A. noir, slightly tongue-in-cheek. Not his best work (I think The Snow Garden is his finest novel so far) but ambitious, and vastly entertaining.
—20 May 2005
Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire
Maguire, the Magician
With the curious exception of "Lost," Gregory Maguire's novels are nearly perfect examples of writerly genius laced with expert popular craftsmanship. "Wicked" was an extraordinary feat of literary legerdemain -- one of the most beautifully imagined and thematically brilliant books of the last decade. "Son of a Witch," although briefer and less complex, is nonetheless equally superb in its way. Liir makes a great protagonist -- sharp, intelligent, seemingly passive yet capable of great courage and kindness. As an added treat, like "Wicked," homoeroticism in "Son of a Witch" burbles just below the surface, finally emerging in the most surprising (and pleasing) way. Critics used to call William Kotzwinkle "The Magician"; I think the mantle has passed to Gregory Maquire.
—11 October 2005
posted by Scott Ross at 9:35 AM
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