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A review by poultrymunitions
The Epic Love Story of Doug and Stephen by Valerie Z. Lewis
2.0
Promising.
Displays a charming flair for language and humor, but marred by minor excesses and a tiny bit of repetition.
As a character Doug is too stupid to be at all believable; Stephen never quite vulnerable enough to make putting up with his constantly disagreeable behavior worth it.
Compare to J.L. Merrow's [b:Muscling Through|11045338|Muscling Through|J.L. Merrow|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327900692s/11045338.jpg|15966033], which employs nearly the same setup to make nearly the same point—but with far more subtlety and restraint.
A little less of the stupid here, a little more of the vulnerable there, and I'd have been thrilled with this.
Instead, I was taken out of the story, waiting for the button to reappear.
The frequent switches between Doug's former life and his new one were lovely and illuminating, but repetitive, and while they added a lyrical quality to his life that he himself could never articulate, there were too many that were too similar, beautifully juxtaposed as they were.
I suppose I could summarize my feelings this way: too much here, too little there, and the balance of a very promising work was off from the beginning. It needed an editor, basically—someone to say "no, dial it back here."
I look forward to reading more from this author in the future, though. The talent is undeniable, as is the craft applied to the text. I just wish the tone hadn't gotten away from her so many times.
Also:
Bonus points for the incidental drug use. There is typically no need to get hysterical over a joint or a couple bumps of coke, and as a former, future, and enthusiastic abuser of anything from sugar to sangria, I appreciated the sangfroid feel of those scenes.
Displays a charming flair for language and humor, but marred by minor excesses and a tiny bit of repetition.
As a character Doug is too stupid to be at all believable; Stephen never quite vulnerable enough to make putting up with his constantly disagreeable behavior worth it.
Compare to J.L. Merrow's [b:Muscling Through|11045338|Muscling Through|J.L. Merrow|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327900692s/11045338.jpg|15966033], which employs nearly the same setup to make nearly the same point—but with far more subtlety and restraint.
A little less of the stupid here, a little more of the vulnerable there, and I'd have been thrilled with this.
Instead, I was taken out of the story, waiting for the button to reappear.
The frequent switches between Doug's former life and his new one were lovely and illuminating, but repetitive, and while they added a lyrical quality to his life that he himself could never articulate, there were too many that were too similar, beautifully juxtaposed as they were.
I suppose I could summarize my feelings this way: too much here, too little there, and the balance of a very promising work was off from the beginning. It needed an editor, basically—someone to say "no, dial it back here."
I look forward to reading more from this author in the future, though. The talent is undeniable, as is the craft applied to the text. I just wish the tone hadn't gotten away from her so many times.
Also:
Bonus points for the incidental drug use. There is typically no need to get hysterical over a joint or a couple bumps of coke, and as a former, future, and enthusiastic abuser of anything from sugar to sangria, I appreciated the sangfroid feel of those scenes.