reviews_and_ramblings | Visible Lives, Three Stories in Tribute to E. Lynn Harris

Even if I have to admit that I haven’t read many books by E. Lynn Harris, it’s also true that he is probably the first gay romance authors I noticed, well before I started reading this genre. I remember to have noticed the nice cover of I Say a Little Prayer and thinking, mmh, interesting. E. Lynn Harris was probably the only gay romance author at the time that was able to reach the top selling lists with the various ladies of romance. And so it was with sadness that I read of his sudden death, when still so many years where in front of him, and many books and stories and possibilities. I have never thought who E. Lynn Harris was for his colleagues, black gay men who were fighting with double/triple prejudices, being of colour, being gay and writing romance. Apparently E. Lynn Harris was a lighthouse for all of them, the man who was able to, able to write, able to come out, able to have success, always remaining one of them. In this tribute, three different black men are telling their version of the story, but it’s always the same story, how you can be gay, black and in love with romance.

The Intern by Terrance Dean: this story is all about fashion and romance, glitter and love. Chase was always used to be the boy, the one other macho men pursued, the prized arm candy. But now Chase is pushing forty, and sincerely he is tired to be someone else little secret: Chase has a successful career and a beautiful house, he is still an handsome man and he is still able to pick his choice among men. His best girl friend tells him to stop to search for the macho man of his dream and to play “cougar” with his pretty, and very young intern, Quincy. Indeed Chase surrenders to temptation, but sincerely there is not much difference, since Quincy, even if young and a subaltern of Chase, is for sure very self-confident and able to well balance the difference in age with his positive attitude.

The feeling of this story is young and fresh, like a glossy magazine, well highlight but the almost obsessive pointing up to all the fashion brands.

Is It Still Jood To Ya? By James Earl Hardy: Raheim and Mitchell have a past together, a past made of good and bad days, of bringing up together two sons, of family parties and knowing everything of each other; when the story starts Raheim and Mitchell are not together, but sincerely the reader doesn’t understand why and so do Raheim, that is indeed trying to woo Mitchell back in his bed and life. Above all, Raheim is worried since Mitchell is leaving for a business trip that will give him the chance to meet someone else, and Raheim doesn’t like the competition. A blackout will allow Raheim to block Mitchell in his apartment for a few days, and the forced cohabitation will also prove that they are still good together, as and better than before.

The strength of this story is the time construction and the double writing style: in the first part the reader is plunged in the middle of Raheim and Mitchell’s story without much notice, and I tried to collect little pieces of info here and there to build the structure; in the second part Rahein and Mitchell are interviewed together, and basically they give you all those info all together, in a constructed way.

House of John by Stanley Bennett Clay: Jesse has an enviable life and a job he likes, but he is not lucky in love. At 38 years old, he is so desperate for love that he easily mistakes sex for the real thing, only to be bitterly awakened soon after. Since he is slow to learn the lesson, he decides to join a group of friends at Santo Domingo, with the only purpose of finding cheap sex without string attached. On the island, he meets Etienne, but the young man is not what Jesse was expecting: romantic, with strict and old fashioned principle, Etienne doesn’t believe in the easy sex, and Jesse has to woo him, at the same time being the joke of his friends who are enjoying as much as possible the natural “beauties” of the place.

This is probably the most romantic of all the three stories, the romance is all around in the air, and basically when there is love, everything seems easier.

E. Lynn Harris plays the role of the fairy godmother in all above stories, the one who is able to give the right advice to set the men on their right path towards love, being always truthful to themselves and the men they love.

http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/finditem.cfm?itemid=16878

Amazon: Visible Lives: Three Stories in Tribute To E. Lynn Harris

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