Jay Quinn

.75 stars because there is value in a story (especially a gay story) where the character learns that who he is is just who he should be, and that who he is brings other people love and joy. but that's about it as far as finding value here.

this is so badly written. it might have gotten just slightly better as it went on, or maybe i got more used to it, but this is just not good. from the first paragraph the writing was convoluted and confused, and i had to go back over a sentence a few times to understand if he meant what it sounded like he was saying, or the exact opposite. this continues through the book, along with generally poorly written characters. there is no emotional content here, in a story that is supposed to be all emotion. not one character is well drawn, and all throughout they are each doing things that make no sense emotionally, or that seem to contradict who we are told they are. their emotions often came from nowhere or were the opposite of how we were told they'd feel, which makes their actions/reactions seem totally arbitrary to me, and so inconsistent and often irrational that no one is a clearly delineated character in this book.

i would have liked the book better - but still not all that much - if he'd ended it early on. there was a chance, at page 137, for him to end it all decently. there was just the right hint of hope and change and things to come and it actually would have all been wrapped up then. everything that came after was unnecessary after that one scene that could have ended the book right then.

poorly, poorly done all around, on so many levels. (plus there's a hit-you-over-the-head christianity in it that's annoying to me, but that's a personal preference. another mild annoyance is the inadvertent sexism, like when he calls someone "a cunt of a man.")

an example of a sentence that trips you up when you're reading along: "I did as I was told and also fetched with my pack of cigarettes and the bottle of bourbon to sit on another napkin between us."

an example of contradicting himself, literally from one sentence to the next: "I knew better than to believe we'd always be like this. I couldn't see any problems ahead we couldn't solve."

where was the editor here??… (altro)

Not the best writing, but the subject matter is so deliciously rare it's well worth the read. There are so few books written about mature gay men and alternative family arrangements. This book stands out as the story of a man (already 48) figuring out that no traditional labels could define him. Through dissolution of a 22-year relationship and the rebuilding of his life, he learns that he is who he is, that he likes who he is, and that he brings great value to the lives of others because he is who he is. In the end, the labels don't matter. It's the effect he has on others, even as they struggle to find words to describe their relationship with him.… (altro)

Compelling characters.

However, at times it appears we are reading a draft of Quinn's story and not a final printed version which was distracting as I was immersing myself in the story and characters.

For instance, Kai finishes a job on Friday at 5PM and then, he has a doctor's appointment on that same Friday a few pages later. The first two paragraphs of Chapter 15 have Maura nauseated, eating crackers and then, answering the telephone. It seems Kai has a manic episode if he has painted as many pictures as he did between moving in his new home at Lighthouse Point and reuniting with Robin.

My final pet peeve is the tired cliche of a gay man being good looking..."Not only was he good-looking enough to be gay himself..." argh. hate that.… (altro)