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yellowswagger's review against another edition
5.0
9/10 - There were many things that I wanted this book to be, but I have so much appreciation for what it was. I was thrown off by the first chapter since it focuses on an entirely different character/family and acts as sort of a prologue or separate short story, but it ties itself in near the end and feels pretty rewarding. There were many explicit sex scenes that weren’t prolonged or remotely steamy (and I do love steam), but rather written in a way that narrates the complexities of navigating life as a queer sex worker in a black body.
Being queer, black, and also growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness, I can relate to so much of Jesse’s story and reflect on many similar or identical positions I’ve been put in. Reading this book felt like reading an alternate timeline of what my life could’ve been, and frankly I’m very satisfied with my choices and my heart pours for the protagonist.
I think anyone that wants to understand the complexities of being black and queer while escaping an abusively religious past should check this book out. It reads in a way that feels real/close to memoir- or perhaps I just felt that close to the main character.
Being queer, black, and also growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness, I can relate to so much of Jesse’s story and reflect on many similar or identical positions I’ve been put in. Reading this book felt like reading an alternate timeline of what my life could’ve been, and frankly I’m very satisfied with my choices and my heart pours for the protagonist.
I think anyone that wants to understand the complexities of being black and queer while escaping an abusively religious past should check this book out. It reads in a way that feels real/close to memoir- or perhaps I just felt that close to the main character.
daja57's review against another edition
4.0
At the age of nineteen, Jesse, a young black man from Dudley in the UK, is disfellowshipped from the Jehovah's Witnesses for being gay. He moves to London and becomes a drug-fuelled rent boy. This book chronicles his experiences. He is befriended by a supportive network of gay men and women, and people of colour, all struggling against a world they see as controlled by straight white males.
I presume that this novel is largely autobiographical. This raises a problem for a critic. My comments are not meant to undervalue in any way the reality of the lived-in experiences described. The authenticity of the narrative was often overwhelming. But it seemed to be more of a memoir than a novel.
The main character is defined mostly by his opposition to his context. He is bitter and resentful about his birth mother and white stepfather; he is very angry about the Jehovah's Witnesses and their version of God. He works as a waiter at a posh London restaurant and sees almost all of the diners as spoilt and self-centred; he feels they look down on him or see him as a threat (There are several wonderful pages of hugely realistic dialogue presented as snippets overheard by an overworked waiter which are the best in the book). His customers as a rent boy divide into those who are kind and those who are exploitative. He is angry and bitter, particularly against white men (the irony being that he is sexually attracted "to lick, suck and fuck white male ass" ). Almost the only positive side to his character is his deep love of and knowledge of music. Unfortunately, since one of my many failings is that I am more or less totally ignorant of any music post-1970, I was unable to appreciate the pages and pages of musical hagiography.
Other characters seemed stereotypical. The gay white poet, published by a gay white contemporary from Cambridge who was easily monied, descending from landed gentry, the pair of them part of the "horrible, toxic, racist, complacent, inbred, white supremacist homosexual world of high poetry" (Brixton, Ch 4) While the author's past is represented by the industrial proletariat, his present and future are worlds where there are few shop assistants or warehouse workers or lorry drivers, or even research scientists and engineers; everyone he knows now is creative or academic.
The author is very good at capturing the speech patterns of different dialects but too many of the dialogues are dominated by speeches in which the characters represent points of view as if this novel is a sociological essay. These moments undermine the authentic feel of the rest of the novel. Perhaps in the author's world people really do speak so coherently but not in mine.
I felt too often I was being preached at, rather than being captivated by the story.
A fascinating, bitter, portrayal of a segment of contemporary London life.
I presume that this novel is largely autobiographical. This raises a problem for a critic. My comments are not meant to undervalue in any way the reality of the lived-in experiences described. The authenticity of the narrative was often overwhelming. But it seemed to be more of a memoir than a novel.
The main character is defined mostly by his opposition to his context. He is bitter and resentful about his birth mother and white stepfather; he is very angry about the Jehovah's Witnesses and their version of God. He works as a waiter at a posh London restaurant and sees almost all of the diners as spoilt and self-centred; he feels they look down on him or see him as a threat (There are several wonderful pages of hugely realistic dialogue presented as snippets overheard by an overworked waiter which are the best in the book). His customers as a rent boy divide into those who are kind and those who are exploitative. He is angry and bitter, particularly against white men (the irony being that he is sexually attracted "to lick, suck and fuck white male ass" ). Almost the only positive side to his character is his deep love of and knowledge of music. Unfortunately, since one of my many failings is that I am more or less totally ignorant of any music post-1970, I was unable to appreciate the pages and pages of musical hagiography.
Other characters seemed stereotypical. The gay white poet, published by a gay white contemporary from Cambridge who was easily monied, descending from landed gentry, the pair of them part of the "horrible, toxic, racist, complacent, inbred, white supremacist homosexual world of high poetry" (Brixton, Ch 4) While the author's past is represented by the industrial proletariat, his present and future are worlds where there are few shop assistants or warehouse workers or lorry drivers, or even research scientists and engineers; everyone he knows now is creative or academic.
The author is very good at capturing the speech patterns of different dialects but too many of the dialogues are dominated by speeches in which the characters represent points of view as if this novel is a sociological essay. These moments undermine the authentic feel of the rest of the novel. Perhaps in the author's world people really do speak so coherently but not in mine.
I felt too often I was being preached at, rather than being captivated by the story.
A fascinating, bitter, portrayal of a segment of contemporary London life.
chaoticbookgremlin's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
bookwormbecks's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
ismeco's review against another edition
5.0
Completely immersive, beautiful, delicate and brutal. A jewel of a book.
pmrichard1's review against another edition
3.0
Probably a 3.5. Quite intense but a really beautiful story in the end. Thought it did a great job of deeply explaining characters who only appeared briefly. Loved Jesse so much and loved reading how things went for him despite everything he went through.
coralcrab77's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jojobirrd's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
bowa_books's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
everywordasymphony's review against another edition
reflective
sad
medium-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
3.75