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reviews_and_ramblings
The common theme of this anthology are men in drags, for different reason and at different level.About Something by Jet Mykles: Shawn is a cute college guy, maybe even too cute. He is an actor and he has always played in men roles, but now Roscoe, young director and college teacher, wants for him to play a female role. Why on earth he has that idea Shawn doesn't know, all right Shawn is a pretty man, but he is ALL man, he has plenty of ex girlfriend to prove it. Anyway, Roscoe is very good in prospecting to Shawn a big success if he does as he says, and Shawn agrees. On while on stage he dresses as a woman and speaks the words of a woman, his perception of Roscoe is changing: he starts to see the man in a different way than before, he is no more the cool young director who can give to Shawn the chance of his life, he is now a very handsome man that Shawn would like to know better. And so Shawn starts to "bring" home his role, he starts to dress as a woman even outside the theatre and every time is good to tease Roscoe. And Roscoe is easily teased, but he tries to resist, since even if Shawn is not so younger than him for age, he is new to the whole gay life scene, and Roscoe instead knows that he is ready for commitment.
Jet Mykles' story is light and enjoyable, there is not the usual angst of a college affair between a student and a teacher, Roscoe is not so worried to overstep his role, the real big problem for him seems to be that he doesn't want to awaken Shawn's desire for gay sex and then be dumped by the young imp. Shawn is a bit of a teaser, he is set to conquer his teacher and he really doesn't think on the future or on what it will happen if he manages to: he is focused on the moment and on the pleasure he can have; it's quite a typical behavior of a man so young.
Amazon Kindle: About Something
Sometimes, Life's a Drag by J.P. Bowie: Patrick is a young singer who audictions for a role in a drag show. The one man show is Kenny, a forty something drag queen who is all you can expect from a drag queen who passed his prime age: bitch and jeloaus, always searching for reassurance that he is still the only real queen. And when Patrick not only unveal to be a lot better singer than him, but also steals the interest of Ian, a police detective Kenny was set out to conquer, the queen becomes a real bitch. There is also a murder to resolve, but it's not so interesting as to read the bickering between Kenny and Patrick. Patrick will be obviously the winner, but I have to say that I really like Kenny: Patrick and Ian are a good couple, they are right together, but who has really the more interesting role is Kenny. And I really like that, in the end, the author will give also to him a piece of cake.
This is probably one of the best short story I read by J.P. Bowie. It's not so romantic as other stories I read by him, but the small world of a show business made more of sweat than glitters, is skillfully rendered; it reminds me one of my favorite movie, Chorus Line, and all the characters, even the minor ones, were so fascinating... I was so waiting to see what would happen between Laurence and Albert.
Amazon Kindle: Sometimes Life is a Drag
Women's Weeds by Kimberly Gardner: David is a young director who is searching the right actor for a Olivia / Cesario in Twelfth Night, and when Kieran, the young and very pretty man he met the day before, auctions for the role, David knows that he will be perfect. Problem is that Kieran not only like to dress as a woman on stage, he likes to do that also in his everyday life; Kieran is like that, one day he awakens and he feels a man, the other day he feels like a woman, and he dresses up to his feelings. Kieran really likes David, but David has to accept him like he is, since Kieran can't change.
I like this little story, even if for sure Kieran is a lot more of a character than David. David is a nice background role, he plays well along Kieran, but it's Kieran that holds all the story. Kieran is young but I believe he has already clear who he is and what he wants in life. And he is not all over David in a desperate way: yes, he would like for David to be the one, but I believe that, if something would happen against his story, Kieran would have the strenght to close this chapter of his life and open another one.
All three stories are of very high quality, probably all of them would live without problem as independent story, but put them together, and you have a really nice anthology.
Buy Here
http://www.mlrpress.com/ShowBook.php?book=BRAVOCOL
Buy Here
Amazon: Bravo! Brava!
Amazon Kindle: Bravo! Brava!
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
