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dee2799d's review
3.0
I've almost finished this book before I realised that I've read one of the author's stories before. (He did say in the introducing remarks that 'Burning Bridges' is one of his more popular stories.) It was in an anthology of Sci-fi/Fantasy Erotica edited by Cecilia Tan, and I might have ignored his story for another one that featured a boy training to be a perfect submissive. :P
I shouldn't have. There's something about Lawrence Schimel's work that is almost innocent in it's sense of wonder. Sure, some of the stories do get really steamy, but it's the underlying happiness of everything--even through heartbreak, the impermanence of love, and even the possibility of death--that makes it a bit child-like. He has this knack at writing stories that I've only encountered in Francesca Lia Block before: he can handle the most serious and taboo themes and make it sound deceptively simple, layered, magical. I liked it.
The collection comprises stories about gay people, about lesbian people, about people in general, fairy tales, magic realism (yes, somewhat like Francesca Lia Block here as well). And let me say first-hand that the relationships in Mr Schimel's stories wouldn't have attracted me too much if not for his narrative voice, because he usually writes about butch/femme dynamics. Dykes or queers alike, it's the sort of dynamic that he likes to explore. And that somehow threw me back at first, because I hate butch/femme dynamics. Why can't the characters just be people and not play into roles that would designate them still as male and female?
Well, it's because some people are butch and some people are femme, that's why. Labels really aren't bad as long as they don't make up the whole length and breadth of the characters. Some gay people like going to the gym and cruising other men there. Some lesbians wear baseball caps and tartan shirts. And I guess it's about time I read about them as well, aside from stories about men sleeping with other people who just happened to be men, too (which, to be fair to everyone, CAN sound a bit like straight people fantasies--sometimes because straight people DO write them).
I shouldn't have. There's something about Lawrence Schimel's work that is almost innocent in it's sense of wonder. Sure, some of the stories do get really steamy, but it's the underlying happiness of everything--even through heartbreak, the impermanence of love, and even the possibility of death--that makes it a bit child-like. He has this knack at writing stories that I've only encountered in Francesca Lia Block before: he can handle the most serious and taboo themes and make it sound deceptively simple, layered, magical. I liked it.
The collection comprises stories about gay people, about lesbian people, about people in general, fairy tales, magic realism (yes, somewhat like Francesca Lia Block here as well). And let me say first-hand that the relationships in Mr Schimel's stories wouldn't have attracted me too much if not for his narrative voice, because he usually writes about butch/femme dynamics. Dykes or queers alike, it's the sort of dynamic that he likes to explore. And that somehow threw me back at first, because I hate butch/femme dynamics. Why can't the characters just be people and not play into roles that would designate them still as male and female?
Well, it's because some people are butch and some people are femme, that's why. Labels really aren't bad as long as they don't make up the whole length and breadth of the characters. Some gay people like going to the gym and cruising other men there. Some lesbians wear baseball caps and tartan shirts. And I guess it's about time I read about them as well, aside from stories about men sleeping with other people who just happened to be men, too (which, to be fair to everyone, CAN sound a bit like straight people fantasies--sometimes because straight people DO write them).
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