The only book I've read twice and cried both times. ( )

This book is very hard to write about without spoiling the story, so I'll stick to general comments as I think the reading experience may be greatly enhanced by not knowing what's coming next. Having said that, I just finished reading this book for the third time and each time I am totally lost in the narrative, each time my emotions are totally engaged, and each time I find something new.

What struck me as I read it this time was that the flaws in the prose are almost its strength. The urgency and passion with which it is written are totally justified and, in fact, readers would have every reason to be suspicious if such a memoir were written in a careful, polished, controlled style. Adolescent lust can't be conveyed by subtle allusions and delicate imagery; it better communicated by short sentences, repetition and rapid changes of subject. The same goes for the rest of the content.

Similarly, the unreliability of the narrator is never a failing in a memoir.

This is one of my favourite books of all time. A classic of gay literature and a classic of Australian literature. John will always have a place in my heart as the gorgeous, athletic boy who is in everyone's adolescent fantasy and who actually turned out to be gay. ( )

Having watched the movie twice, I felt a desire to read the original book. Although the movie is strong, the book is infinitely better. The full details make for a more compelling, realistic narrative of a relationship between two men. They can be envied for having found one another at the age of fifteen, and although they endured growing pains, spent their final years where they belonged--together.

The road they traveled in as their AIDS progressed sounded too familiar. I especially appreciated how they spent no time seeking to blame one another for infecting the other. At least through Tim's eyes, John's love was pure and true almost since the moment they first met, for the next fifteen years. The reader will shed tears for the sad tragedy of their deaths, but some of those tears will be regret that they will probably never have experienced a bond as unquestioned as this. ( )

This book is devastatingly beautiful, and was very difficult to get through on several levels.
This book served as a coming of age story, memoir, and love story all in one. What made the memoir so powerful, to me, was that Conigrave wrote so openly and honestly, and did not shy away from shining a light on his own flaws, infidelities, or unpopular thoughts during the course of his life discussed. Rather then painting himself a saint or a perfect partner, he wrote openly about the man he was, and the man he loved.
At the heart of the memoir though, is his love story with John Caleo, the man he would meet in high school and be with for 15 years. A love story, that ultimately ends in tragedy.
The last third of the book was the most difficult part for me, as Conigrave continues to lay everything bare, including all the un-pretty and grousome details of both his and John's battle wtih AIDS as well as John's eventual battle with cancer. He does not sugar coat, or leave out many of the details that are difficult to read about or imagine. This level of brutal openness made me have to put the book down often because while I appreciate his candidness in terms of telling his story, it tore at my heart and I found it draining me and depressing me. This, in itself, makes this a powerful read. It elicited physical and emotional responses from me.
Still, while this was difficult read, Conigrave was able to write a memoir that while clouded in sadness, felt somehow positive and uplifting, even in the final chapters. Through the sadness Conigrave expresses while watching the love of his life die, there is still a sense of beauty, as you are allowed witness to a man so in love, against all odds, and how beautiful love can be no matter the sexuality.
At its core, this was not only Conigrave's memoir, but Caleo's as well. What a beautiful love story, that touches on so many issues gay men faced and still face. ( )

DNF 42%

1.5 stars

I was looking for some nice, fluffy LGBT in order to lighten my mood, and when I read the blurb I thought:"This is the perfect book for me."
What a shame that it wasn't nice not fluffy at all.
Here 3 reasons why:

1) it's confusing.
In stories like this one writing in the 1st person narrator and with a diary-style can be a good choice... as long as the story remains understandable. Unfortunately this wasn't the case, since the narrator jumped from a scene to the other without even clearly signaling it.

2) the plot.
Well, it seems like there's none. At the beginning I thought I would follow the main character taking awareness of his homosexuality and trying to accept it, but in reality he simply "had fun" with almost all the guys he met. It was rather annoying because it wasn't at all about feelings but just sexual drives.

3) the characters.
As you can understand by the paragraph above, I simply can't stand the main character. Every time he presents a new male character he just uses words like "handsome", "hot", "cute" without even describing something about his personality. Moreover even the other characters are totally flat with no psychological analysis. They're just like the members of a male harem.
( )