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mxsallybend's review
3.0
Having never read any of Mykola's work before, I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up Variety, the Spice of Life. The book blurb made it sound like a fairly standard piece of coming-out, transgender erotica, but nothing could be further from the truth.
In many ways, this is a sad tale, one that's tragic in places, and comic in others. There is a significant amount of sex sprinkled throughout, but it's very matter-of-fact sex . . . interesting, and even exciting at times, but not what one would generally consider to be erotic. That's not a complaint - the portrayal of sex fits the tone and setting perfectly - just an observation.
Gritty and nostalgic, I suspect Mykola has presented us with a realistic slice of 1970s life for a gay man in a society that wasn't very open to the concept of homosexuality. Given the time period and the environment, it may just be that our narrator's happy ending with a transsexual prostitute who genuinely seems to care for him may be the best he could hope for.
Overall, once I adjusted my expectations and fell into the flow of the story, I thoroughly enjoyed this one, and I'm definitely looking forward to my next Mykola Dementiuk read.
Full review (with small spoilers) here:
http://bibrary.blogspot.com/2011/02/review-variety-spice-of-life-by-mykola.html
In many ways, this is a sad tale, one that's tragic in places, and comic in others. There is a significant amount of sex sprinkled throughout, but it's very matter-of-fact sex . . . interesting, and even exciting at times, but not what one would generally consider to be erotic. That's not a complaint - the portrayal of sex fits the tone and setting perfectly - just an observation.
Gritty and nostalgic, I suspect Mykola has presented us with a realistic slice of 1970s life for a gay man in a society that wasn't very open to the concept of homosexuality. Given the time period and the environment, it may just be that our narrator's happy ending with a transsexual prostitute who genuinely seems to care for him may be the best he could hope for.
Overall, once I adjusted my expectations and fell into the flow of the story, I thoroughly enjoyed this one, and I'm definitely looking forward to my next Mykola Dementiuk read.
Full review (with small spoilers) here:
http://bibrary.blogspot.com/2011/02/review-variety-spice-of-life-by-mykola.html
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