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oraclebykittie's review against another edition
4.0
this was really good! a good way to capture the strangeness and quiet devastation of reflecting on your life and the lives of your family members while being super hornygay and - in some ways - part of the problem. i cry as much as deshawn did and for the same reasons
meghan111's review against another edition
4.0
DeShawn lives in San Francisco and goes back to Alabama for his uncle's funeral. This novel follows his journey and reflections on people he's known both growing up and after he moved to San Francisco. It's sort of rambling but engaging, and has the best qualities of personal zines - funny in unexpected ways, emotional in places, authentic and raw but still polished writing.
jimmydean's review against another edition
My second Brontez Purnell novel - love the way he writes, his wicked sense of humour and his ability to explore both the tenderness and raw impulses in sex.
tuc03229's review against another edition
4.0
loved, more please, it's kind of unfair how great brontez is at everything!
eadiem's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the flow of memories being entwined with present. So so gay. Generational grief, strong women and early dead men.
But. The casual way the main character keeps up the cycle of predatory relationships between older gay men and young boys is fucked.
But. The casual way the main character keeps up the cycle of predatory relationships between older gay men and young boys is fucked.
connorgirvan's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 / 5 stars
Again, Purnell is such an easy read I flew through this book. Fun story about a young black man returning home following a death in the family and navigating how his lifestyle fits in with his families religion.
Enjoyable read and will still buy more Purnell even if it's just for a fun easy read.
Again, Purnell is such an easy read I flew through this book. Fun story about a young black man returning home following a death in the family and navigating how his lifestyle fits in with his families religion.
Enjoyable read and will still buy more Purnell even if it's just for a fun easy read.
tawny_lekytt's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mateusjobim's review against another edition
challenging
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
starwitness's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
ashar_allaire's review against another edition
2.0
Non spoiler review- I get it, and actually really liked most of it for its rawness and honesty, but one specific part was handled so poorly that, for me, it ruined the whole book.
I could not get past how they handled the final relationship, it really made me feel sick.
It wasn't because of descriptiveness, it was about how nonchalantly it was played and how they gave it no weight or resolution. Like I walked away feeling so disappointed, the insight was almost there but instead it just put the problem in front of us like "well that's just the way it is." I don't feel sympathy or understanding or insight at that point, it just loses me.
I've also seen a lot of queer books treat this topic too nonchalantly, like a fact of life, and a part of gay culture which I'm just so sick of. Gay people are more likely to be traumatized, childhood trauma leads to abusive behavior, but it's just not portrayed as abuse so much as an inevitability, which to me is just absurd and extremely insensitive. This book gave it slightly more nuance than I've seen in the past but still not nearly enough.
It doesn't need to be cut because it's a very real thing that happens, and something that should be talked about, but a simple acknowledgement of how horrible it was would have been SOMETHING. He's 33 and doesn't seem to even take a second to consider it might be wrong and continues like it's no big deal even after being confronted about it, like what? He didn't seem to lose all sense of right and wrong from trauma, like he knows enough to condemn the people who did it to him. I don't know it just didn't work for me.
It wasn't because of descriptiveness, it was about how nonchalantly it was played and how they gave it no weight or resolution. Like I walked away feeling so disappointed, the insight was almost there but instead it just put the problem in front of us like "well that's just the way it is." I don't feel sympathy or understanding or insight at that point, it just loses me.
I've also seen a lot of queer books treat this topic too nonchalantly, like a fact of life, and a part of gay culture which I'm just so sick of. Gay people are more likely to be traumatized, childhood trauma leads to abusive behavior, but it's just not portrayed as abuse so much as an inevitability, which to me is just absurd and extremely insensitive. This book gave it slightly more nuance than I've seen in the past but still not nearly enough.
It doesn't need to be cut because it's a very real thing that happens, and something that should be talked about, but a simple acknowledgement of how horrible it was would have been SOMETHING. He's 33 and doesn't seem to even take a second to consider it might be wrong and continues like it's no big deal even after being confronted about it, like what? He didn't seem to lose all sense of right and wrong from trauma, like he knows enough to condemn the people who did it to him. I don't know it just didn't work for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Grief, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Death, Rape, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Classism and Drug abuse