Showing posts with label Stephen Greco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stephen Greco. Show all posts

Friday, July 18, 2014

Now and Yesterday by Stephen Greco

I love books that explore generational differences through intimate relationships and the effects those differences may or may not have on the individuals. Stephen Greco's Now and Yesterday in-depth exploration of aging and the evolution of relationships through queer history from the 70's gay revolution to current times, partly met my personal expectations of this of novel.

Through Peter's character, Greco focuses the romance aspect of his novel on struggles faced by survivors of an aging boomer generation of gay men who lost its vast majority to the AIDS epidemic, limiting choices to those looking for a meaningful relationship to a much-reduced group of contemporaries or men from a much younger generation. Additionally, because Peter's portrayal is largely anchored to the past, it affords Greco the opportunity to incorporate 70's post Stonewall queer liberation details and its resulting history through the same character.

Peter, a man of a "certain age," considers himself forward-thinking with a focus on the now and outlook toward the future. He uses that outlook and innate insight to maintain a successful career as an advertising executive. But musings about aging and the past are triggered by loneliness after he befriends Will, a young bartender for whom he develops a strong attraction that turns to love. It takes Peter a long time to get unstuck while he processes the past to make a grab for the future.

An AIDS survivor and widower, Greco's Peter is aging well and financially successful. In reality, Peter became a victim of grief after the loss of his partner Harold in 1989, and a man who gave up his dreams and settled -- first for a career in advertising and later into a ten year relationship with the wrong man. He struggles with these issues throughout the novel, both the settling and abandonment of dreams, which Greco uses to incorporate (the loss and restoration) of guidance as a theme. A theme explored simultaneously through Peter's past and Will's uncertainty about his future.

Greco portrays the 28 year old Will as a young, beautiful, rudderless man whose search for a future becomes a riddle he can't seem to solve, but who harbors a desire for a "true connection" that keeps bringing him back to Peter.
"So what's the big play now that you're an honest man, Will? A career, a relationship? A family?"
"I don't know, I don't know! I never had to know these things. I don't know how to know them."
In Greco's novel, Will represents a generalized view of a younger generation of gay men who seem lost and looking for success in a New York City where what you do = who you are. This view is clearly stated in a conversation between Peter's friend Jonathan and Will:
"Forgive me for saying so, but your generation is fucked," he said. "And I don't mean in a good way."
"I know," said Will.
"Completely overprotected and underchallenged."
"I know."
"And you've amused yourselves to death. No wonder all of you sit around watching vampire and zombie stories."
Will is not portrayed as a man without a thought otherwise Peter would not be attracted to him. He is interested in a stable relationship and queer history (although sometimes I thought that was his only attraction to Peter), and he succeeds in making a living as a magazine journalist, but he is ambivalent about everything. What makes him an "interesting" man? Why does he seem to have the upper hand in the relationship? The fact that he is young and beautiful? Is he really emotionally invested? Greco's characterization of Will eluded me and unfortunately I never saw him as more than a beautiful, if lucky, young man. Peter's insecurities about the age difference are understandable, yet he has so much more to offer including emotional involvement, leaving questions as to an emotional imbalance in this romantic relationship.

Tightly intertwined with these threads, Greco includes the story of Peter's friend and contemporary Jonathan, another widower and AIDS survivor sadly diagnosed with prostate cancer. Jonathan's vibrant personality, views of life, and witty dialogue, are uplifting and add life to this story. The intimate friendship and love between Jonathan and Peter provide the much needed connection with the reader that is missing from Peter's relationship with Will. I love Greco's characterization of Jonathan, a filmmaker who regardless of mourning his man to the end, unlike Peter, grabbed life by the balls and didn't let go until it was all done. I was particularly riveted by sections featuring Jonathan's film interview with a closeted poet who decides to come out in his 80's.

Greco's novel touched a few unexpected chords. I love the frankness and truth that comes across through his character's musings on aging, as well as how tightly he weaves in the impact, cost and effect of recent queer history. On the other hand, I found the proffered views about the younger generation of gay men to be somewhat bogged down by retro thinking and a tendency toward generalization in their portrayals. Regardless, Now and Yesterday is unquestionably a beautiful piece of writing infused with nostalgia and multiple layers that deserve a reader's time to properly dissect and process.

Category: LGBT/Contemporary Fiction/Romance
Publisher/Release Date: Kensington Publishers/May 27, 2014
Grade: B


Friday, June 20, 2014

LGBT: Great New Releases!

There are some fantastic new releases out there for those of us who love reading LGBT themed books. There's something for everyone, and of course lots for me. Following is a list of the latest or upcoming releases that caught my attention, from a few select publishers (listed in alphabetical order):

BOLD STROKES BOOKS:
Queerly Beloved: A Love Story Across Genders by Diane and Jacob Anderson-Minshall (Queer Memoir)

Imagine if, after fifteen years as a lesbian couple, your partner turned to you and said, "I think I'm really a man." What would you do? How would you respond? For Diane and Jacob (née Suzy) Anderson-Minshall this isn't a hypothetical question. It's what really happened. Eight years later, the couple not only remains together, they still identify as queer, still work in LGBT media, and remain part of the LGBT community. How did their relationship survive a gender transition? The authors explore this question and delve into their relationship to reveal the trials and tribulations they have faced along the way. In doing so, they paint a portrait of love, not only to each other, but to the San Francisco Bay Area, LGBT publishing, and the queer community. Queerly Beloved is a love story that flies in the face of expectations and raises questions about the true nature of identity, sexuality, and love.
There is a great review for this queer memoir at the Chelsea Station online magazine. After reading it, I immediately placed the book on my wish list.

KENSINGTON PUBLISHING:
Now and Yesterday: A Novel by Stephen Greco (Contemporary Gay Fiction)
"An often poignant, and sometimes chilling, romance of the creative class." --Edmund White

In the three decades since Peter first moved into his Brooklyn apartment, almost every facet of his life has changed. Once a broke, ambitious poet, Peter is now a successful advertising executive. He's grateful for everything the years have given him--wealth, friends, security. But he's conscious too of what time has taken in return, and a busy stream of invitations doesn't dull the ache that remains since he lost the love of his life.

Will is a young, aspiring journalist hungry for everything New York has to offer--culture, sophistication, adventure. When he moonlights as a bartender at one of Peter's parties, the two strike up a tentative friendship that soon becomes more important than either expected. In Peter, Will sees the ease and confidence he strives for, while Peter is suddenly aware of just how lonely his life has become. But forging a connection means navigating very different sets of experience and expectations, as each decides how to make a place for himself in the world--and who to share it with.

Beautifully written, warm yet incisive, Now and Yesterday offers a fascinating exploration of two generations--and of the complex, irrefutable power of friendship--through the prism of an eternally changing city.
I love books that explore generational differences through intimate relationships and the effects those differences may or may not have on the individuals. A May release, Now and Yesterday is already available.

LETHE PRESS:
A Shiny Tin Star by Jon Wilson (Western Historical Romance)

On a scorching summer’s day in 1903 the sheriff of Creek County, Eugene Grey, unexpectedly finds himself partnered with feisty young Federal Marshal Forest O'Rourke. The marshal is hell-bent on capturing a wanted man—a man Eugene knows as nothing but an amiable old geezer living quietly in the hills.

But, of course, all is not as it seems. As the manhunt progresses, Eugene slowly works out the true nature of the marshal’s relationship to the old man. And something Eugene has long kept hidden begins to stir inside him. He finds it impossible to deny the desire he feels toward the determined young marshal.

Death and fiery destruction follow, but also passion and stolen moments of joy. Eugene’s journey takes him from his small town of Canyon Creek, Colorado, to the stately homes of Atlanta and Philadelphia. But it also pits him against the very laws he has sworn to uphold. He finds himself risking prison or even death—all in the name of love.
This is a classic western historical romance that was previously published but has been reprinted and released by Lethe. I received the ARC for this book and it is a gorgeous read. Upcoming review.
The Filly by Mark R. Probst (YA Western Historical) 

Escaping into the fantasy of his books when he's not working in the general store, Ethan Keller has lived a sheltered life in his mother's boarding house. One day, an enigmatic cowboy passing through the small Texas town takes an immediate liking to the shy seventeen-year-old. Ethan is intrigued by the attention, and the cowboy eventually charms him into signing on to a 900-mile cattle drive. Ethan soon finds that his feelings for this cowboy run deeper than just friendship. He never knew that this kind of love even existed; and now for the two of them to make a life together in the untamed west, they must face nearly insurmountable odds if they are to survive.
I've been in a western kick lately, and The Filly is a young adult western historical romance. As soon as I saw the book featured at Lethe's catalogue I bookmarked it and will be feeding my Kindle soon. :)

Wingmen by Ensan Case (Historical Fiction/Romance)

First published in 1979, this World War II novel, with overtones of From Here to Eternity, was a precursor to the gay romance genre. Jack Hardigan's Hellcat fighter squadron blew the Japanese Zekes out of the blazing Pacific skies. But a more subtle kind of hell was brewing in his feelings for rookie pilot Fred Trusteau. While a beautiful widow pursues Jack, and another pilot becomes suspicious of Jack and Fred's close friendship, the two heroes cut a fiery swath through the skies from Wake Island to Tarawa to Truk, there to keep a fateful rendezvous with love and death in the blood-clouded waters of the Pacific.
World War II flyboys, Hellcat fighters, and love. I just received the ARC for this classic and can't wait to read this vintage piece.

Butcher's Road by Lee Thomas (Speculative Fiction/Horror/Historical Fiction)

1932: Fortune and celebrity are years behind Butch Cardinal. Once a world-class wrestler, Cardinal now serves as hired muscle for a second-rate Chicago mobster. While collecting a parcel from a gangland lowlife, Cardinal witnesses the man's murder. Though wounded, he escapes the killers and flees into the night carrying the package. In it is a necklace with a metal pendant. Bent and scratched, the thing looks like a piece of junk, but the trinket is the reason a man died. It's the reason a lot of people will die. Finding shelter with another shamed wrestler in New Orleans, Cardinal embarks on search for answers that will reveal a world of metallic charms and weapons, all forged with unimaginable powers. Alone and outgunned, Cardinal must stand against the Chicago mobs, a brilliant and insane hitman, the police, and a mysterious order intent on retrieving their relic.
If you like a little horror with your historical fiction, you can't go wrong with the latest release by Lee Thomas. I already have it in my Kindle.

TRIQUARTERLY BOOKS:
Let Me See It: Stories by James Magruder (Gay Fiction)

James Magruder’s collection of linked stories follows two gay cousins, Tom and Elliott, from adolescence in the 1970s to adulthood in the early ’90s. With a rueful blend of comedy and tenderness, Magruder depicts their attempts to navigate the closet and the office and the lessons they learn about libidinous coworkers, résumé boosting, Italian suffixes, and frozen condoms. As Tom and Elliot search for trusting relationships while the AIDS crisis deepens, their paths diverge, leading Tom to a new sense of what matters most. Magruder is especially adept at rendering the moments that reveal unwritten codes of behavior to his characters, who have no way of learning them except through painful experience.

Loss is sudden, the fallout portrayed with a powerful economy. In Tom and Elliott, readers come to recognize themselves, driven by the same absurd desires and unconscious impulses, subjected to the same fates.
Going by the summary, I have a feeling that this gay fiction novel is going to make me laugh but that it will also break my heart. A must read!

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN PRESS:
Little Reef and Other Stories by Michael Carroll (Collection)

Little Reef and Other Stories announces the arrival of an original voice in literature. From Key West to Maine, Michael Carroll’s debut collection of stories depicts the lives of characters who are no longer provincial but are not yet cosmopolitan. These women and their gay male friends are “B-listers” of a new, ironic, media-soaked culture. They live in a rich but increasingly divided America, a weirdly paradoxical country increasingly accepting of gay marriage but still marked by prejudice, religious strictures, and swaths of poverty and hopelessness. Carroll shows us people stunned by the shock of the now, who have forgotten their pasts and can’t envision a future.
I recently read a fantastic short story by Michael Carroll and of course began looking for more. Fortunately, I found this June release. This book is going on my wish list.

WILDE CITY PRESS:
My Favorite Uncle by Marshall Thornton (Gay Fiction)

Martin Dixon’s carefully constructed peaceful life is turned upside down when his super Christian eighteen year-old nephew Carter shows up unexpectedly on his doorstep and announces he’s gay, Martin’s first impulse is to send him back to his parents. But when he discovers that Carter has been in a mental hospital to cure his gay-ness he realizes he’s stuck with the boy. Unfortunately, the two get on each other’s nerves, each driving the other to distraction. Independently, they each arrive at the same conclusion. The other would be much less annoying if he only had…a boyfriend.
I love Marshall Thornton's writing style and his Boystown series. I love this book's summary and expect the story will be a good one. This is a definite read for me.