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pantehnreads's review against another edition
3.0
Brontez Purcell is a very talented writer, but I admit I could not tell that this was fiction until the end. Purcell gives us honest and blunt characters, but as I was reading I was waiting for the growth. Unfortunately, there is none for any of these characters. They are all the same in doing wrong, and not learning from it. Which is fine, but when I picked up 100 boyfriends I did not think it was gonna be a story (stories) with little to no growth.
readbycallum's review
4.0
Brontez Purnell you wonderful, filthy bastard.
I didn't realise this was a short story collection going in but it was a welcome surprise.
There is so, so much to love in these stories of flawed gay men searching for connection, love, home and (obviously) good dick.
It would be easy to read these on a surface level as smutty tales of slutty men taking drugs and fucking each other (and I don't think that would be a bad thing) but each of the characters, no matter how broken, unlikeable or messy, are deeply loveable and searching for something.
It speaks to a particular kind of modern gay experience (note I say 'a particular kind' of 'the' and also I am referring specifically to cis gay men as that is my only lived reference) where sex is used for many reasons. It's currency. It's distraction. It's sedative and stimulant. It's a past time. It's a way to emulate a sense of belonging. It allows you to feel wanted in that moment.
None of the stories contain great romances (at least not in the traditional sense) and we don't see the characters settling down or meeting the love of their lives. They often end up in the same place they started, or somewhere very similar.
Oh, and this book is also fucking hilarious.
I didn't realise this was a short story collection going in but it was a welcome surprise.
There is so, so much to love in these stories of flawed gay men searching for connection, love, home and (obviously) good dick.
It would be easy to read these on a surface level as smutty tales of slutty men taking drugs and fucking each other (and I don't think that would be a bad thing) but each of the characters, no matter how broken, unlikeable or messy, are deeply loveable and searching for something.
It speaks to a particular kind of modern gay experience (note I say 'a particular kind' of 'the' and also I am referring specifically to cis gay men as that is my only lived reference) where sex is used for many reasons. It's currency. It's distraction. It's sedative and stimulant. It's a past time. It's a way to emulate a sense of belonging. It allows you to feel wanted in that moment.
None of the stories contain great romances (at least not in the traditional sense) and we don't see the characters settling down or meeting the love of their lives. They often end up in the same place they started, or somewhere very similar.
Oh, and this book is also fucking hilarious.
ftjulez's review against another edition
4.0
made me feel like when you’re walking down a set of stairs and you feel like you’re falling down for a split second
philsbookcorner's review against another edition
5.0
This short story collection was unapologetically gay, messy & poignant - I loved every second of it!
Each of the stories found within Brontez Purnell's 100 Boyfriends offers a glimpse into the sexual escapades of a number of Black, queer men. I loved that he touched upon so many aspects of modern queer life here - sex, love, monogamy, racism, body shaming, kinks, drugs, even rock 'n' roll, just to name a few. I honestly enjoyed every story, whether they were ten pages or a single paragraph. These are real men going through real life struggles & facing these struggles in real & relatable ways - this is one of the most honest fictionalized depictions of queer life I've come across in a long time. A little warning for those who are a bit more reserved going in - this is very sexually graphic at times, so if that's not for you then I'd say stay away. I, on the other hand, am not reserved, & I loved seeing sex for queer men depicted honestly & openly throughout these stories.
I thoroughly enjoyed this cover to cover & I highly recommend it to everyone, particularly to those looking to hear from voices who aren't represented nearly enough in queer fiction!
Each of the stories found within Brontez Purnell's 100 Boyfriends offers a glimpse into the sexual escapades of a number of Black, queer men. I loved that he touched upon so many aspects of modern queer life here - sex, love, monogamy, racism, body shaming, kinks, drugs, even rock 'n' roll, just to name a few. I honestly enjoyed every story, whether they were ten pages or a single paragraph. These are real men going through real life struggles & facing these struggles in real & relatable ways - this is one of the most honest fictionalized depictions of queer life I've come across in a long time. A little warning for those who are a bit more reserved going in - this is very sexually graphic at times, so if that's not for you then I'd say stay away. I, on the other hand, am not reserved, & I loved seeing sex for queer men depicted honestly & openly throughout these stories.
I thoroughly enjoyed this cover to cover & I highly recommend it to everyone, particularly to those looking to hear from voices who aren't represented nearly enough in queer fiction!
pearloz's review against another edition
3.0
Hmm. More like 2.5. At page 138, I skipped the rest of the stories--they'd been largely one note for me: sex with a stranger or someone's significant other, sometimes a boyfriend who maybe doesn't want to be a boyfriend, and the consequences of the mismatched desires. The writing was mostly fine, with a couple of stories that I found really really good: Ed's Name Written in Pencil, about a bullied boy and the bully's sexual desires for the much younger victim, and Early Retirement about a former actor who works as a freelance marijuana farmhand. I really liked Early Retirement, but I don't know if I liked it because it was actually good, or because it was good compared to the rest of the book. Those two stories had one other thing in common: they were longer than 5 pages. The rest of the collection lean to the shorter end of "short story" and some are actually micro-stories. Maybe the lack of time and investment did it in for me.
I jumped to the last section of the book, the Epilogue called Rock and Roll is Dead To Me--A European Tour Diary and it's more of the same--save, this time, the protagonist is a musician on tour in Europe but I was just over it.
I jumped to the last section of the book, the Epilogue called Rock and Roll is Dead To Me--A European Tour Diary and it's more of the same--save, this time, the protagonist is a musician on tour in Europe but I was just over it.
coryaitchison's review against another edition
4.0
3.5/5
One sentence summary: Honest vignettes and short stories relating to gay love, sex, and all the ways we fail one another.
One sentence summary: Honest vignettes and short stories relating to gay love, sex, and all the ways we fail one another.
mrsfionnacharming's review
3.0
Not quite what I was hoping for but some really good short stories sprinkled in
dogmp3's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jessica_philli's review against another edition
NR. I never know *exactly* what's going on when I read Brontez Purnell but I always love it. Funny, snappy, made me think Big Thoughts at times, and never dull. Wouldn't recommend to everyone but if you're up for some wild queer stories this is it.