Scan barcode
nkmustdie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Classism, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Police brutality, Cultural appropriation, Confinement, Racism, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexism, Pedophilia, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Violence, Emotional abuse, Outing, Murder, Medical content, Infidelity, Hate crime, and Death
diana_dea's review against another edition
I've been feeling conflicted about this book for a while - I really liked the writing style and some of the themes as observations that were brought up, and I thought the relationship between Will, the protagonist, and Charles, an older man whose life he saves and who then asks him to write his biography, was interesting. I really wanted to see where the plot was going and what mysteries lay in Charles' past, but the little pieces of interesting plot where just buried in so many pointless episodes of Will having sex with basically every man he sees. Seriously, I don't need to know about every character's genitals, neither do I need to know just how horny Will is like all of the time (seriously, how does he get anything done in his life? He literally says himself that he can't take the subway with getting a hard on). There was also some weird sense of fetishising Black men, but since I didn't finish the novel, I can't comment on if that is every challenged or discussed more in depth. Also, in the half of the book that I read theere was literally only one female character, and she was the protagonist's sister who appears for all of one page and doesn't add anything to the story. I get that this is a novel focusing on gay men, but that doesn't mean women don't exist?
I finally decided to dnf the book after the main character basically said that having sex with a child is okay if he's over 14. Yikes.
Thing is, I don't know how much of this might be a realistic portrayal of what life for a privileged gay man in that time and place would have been, which is why it took me so long to decide to stop reading it. I think there is some value in this book, but it's just not for me.
I finally decided to dnf the book after the main character basically said that having sex with a child is okay if he's over 14. Yikes.
Thing is, I don't know how much of this might be a realistic portrayal of what life for a privileged gay man in that time and place would have been, which is why it took me so long to decide to stop reading it. I think there is some value in this book, but it's just not for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, and Rape
More...