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reviews_and_ramblings
Jasper Lane is a middle-class wealthy neighborhood. At first it appears like the neighborhood from the '50's american fiction, with pretty wifes who bake cakes, handsome husbands who trim the grass and All American teenagers who ride a bike and help the elders to cross the street. But Jasper Lane is not your classical neighborhood and behind the doors, but above all, in the front lawns all type of events take place.
And so here you meet Melinda, a forty something housewife, with an husband you never see and a bithcy mother who lives with her. And since she married so young to escape her mother clutches, to be again under her hold is an hell. And then she worries for her son, that like all teenagers, is in that phase when he no more speaks with her and he always tries to hide things and above all thoughts.
Meet Rick, a sweet guy who is just out from an abusive relationship with a gambling man, a man who not only spent all his money, but also put Rick in a dangerous situation which ended with Rick loosing an eye. Now he is moving in with his friend David, who offers him a shelter for all the time he needs.
Meet Terrence, the epithome of flamboyant queer guy, with a love for antiquites and for expensive clothes. Also Terrence lives in the impromptu gay's shelter of David's house and he thinks to have an happy and careless life. But then he receives the "phone": the only girl whom he slept years ago told him he has a son, Christian, a sixteen years old guy who now wants to meet his father. And so we witness to Terrence who tries to change himself in the role of the perfect father, with pipe and sport newspaper in hand.
Meet David, a free-lance journalist in health and fit matters, and his lover Cliff, a huge bodybuilder with a side career in gay porn industry, who likes to be the bottom of the couple: don't miss them dressed as husband and wife, with Cliff in white tulle.
Meet James, a former army man, new in the neighborhood having inherited his uncle's old big house, who wants to meet Rick, but doesn't know how, above all since he is not out of the closet, nor with friends or family.
Meet Cassie, the wealthier lady of the neighborhood, who lives in the biggest house with a drag queen as lady in waiting.
Meet Steve and Sandy, the most perfect couple of the neighborhood, perfectly in love and perfectly pretty, who risk to fall apart when Steve looses his job and decides to accept to filming gay porn movie to avoid telling his wife that they are out of money.
Have you have an idea on how much absurd is this book? and how much in its absurdity it's genial? I was laughing like a nut for all the book, there are some funny scenes, and I continued to imagine all these scenes with fluorescent colours, pink, yellow, green, all vivid and brigh, happy and strong. It's like a Baz Luhrman's movies, one of his first, like Ballroom: all the characters have their colours, and they are so alive.
SubSurdity is another stunning book I will read often, and it's even better than Slight Details & Random Events, which was very good. I will continue to follow Eric Arvin's career since I think he will gift us with other wonderful stories.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/currenttitles/subsurdity/subsurditybuynow.htm
Amazon Kindle: SubSurdity: Vignettes from Jasper Lane
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
Cover Art by HvH
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Date: 2009-08-21 03:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-21 05:15 pm (UTC)Thanks
Date: 2009-09-05 07:18 pm (UTC)Re: Thanks
Date: 2009-09-05 07:57 pm (UTC)