gaymensbookclubbristol

In the anonymity of a large city, people can shape their identities without much reference to others, apart from the constraints of the law. In this book, the lives of three London men across three generations are plaited together. They have lots in common despite their very different circumstances. Unbeknown to each other, what happens when their separate paths cross influences their habits and behaviour for the rest of their lives.

There is the usual defence of prostitution – that we all pay for sex in some way or another: that it’s a challenge to capitalism.

Some parts are implausible, e.g. a talent scout would not need the phone number of one the young hopefuls because he would already have it.

I doubt whether a semi-literate working-class young man from the late 19^th Century would use words like ‘resilience’ nor that he could allude to literary classics, though I did enjoy the pun in his phrase ‘this septic isle.’

I’m not sure what to make of the phrase, ‘Your hair smelt atomic’. Indeed, some members of the group thought the author’s use of language was ‘clunky’, many phrases emotive and his style repetitive. I am also unconvinced by one character’s writing, from prison, to a love who betrayed him in a pale imitation of Oscar Wilde’s de profundis.

Despite these slight misgivings, I found the lure of this book such that I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next and I had to ration myself to so many pages per day. I look forward to the author’s next book which is due out later this month.

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I have now read this book three times: once because I have read the author’s other stuff and then as a convenor of two different book groups.

I wonder whether the bishop is partly modelled on Walter Hussey, who commissioned outstanding modern art and music for St. Matthew’s Northampton and later, when he was dean, at Chichester Cathedral.

There are some interesting theological issues, made simply by being part of a narrative rather than in a text book, for people to get their heads around:  is art sacramental? Do Christians take seriously ‘the word made flesh?’ (This has all been fought out, literally, in the past, between the iconoclasts and the iconodules.) Who created Hell – God, or a god made in humanity’s own image? How can people have already been in Hell? Does Hell diminish God’s love? Liberals don’t like the idea of God being vengeful but should there be some final justice? As myth, is Genesis harmful in placing humanity at the pinnacle of creation? Whatever happens is God’s will?

There is good food for thought about the presenting issue that is rending the Anglican Communion asunder: the ‘issue’ of human sexuality, which is a phrase to obscure the fact that the only issue is homosexuality and that this is about people, not merely an ‘issue’. The novel earths this issue in flesh and blood people whose lives are deeply affected by such a debate. Does God punish people by AIDS? Should gays seek to change their orientation? Should gay marriage be allowed or is marriage ‘a reactionary and oppressive institution?’ Was Jesus less than fully human if he didn’t have a sex life?

For those unaccustomed to inter faith dialogue, there are some thought-provoking insights into Islam and Judaism: Is the Qur’an better, with Adam made from the dust of many lands? Is Judaism, as seen by the popular mind, an ‘escape into a world of “thou shalt nots”’? Or is the Jewish attitude towards the Torah one in which people can find’ freedom in a world of constraints? Does the Hebrew alphabet have radiance? Does the study of ‘comparative religion’ lead to the loss of conviction? Do Eastern religions involve more spirituality than ‘Western’ religions? Are the Bible and Qur’an man-made rules? Regardless of the official teaching of religious leaders, what do adherents realty believe? How widespread among Jews (and Christians) is belief in reincarnation? What is the right attitude towards Holy Writ, given that both Jews and Christians have always held that there are different levels of interpretation? ‘We debate laws rather than them falling out of the sky. The law is an absolute good?

Some people come to God through the heads, others through the heart. What implications does this have for religion?

Fundamentalism is portrayed well, though I think the author overdoes it in the case of the Church of England. As one of the characters says, the job of the C. of E. is ‘to constrain emotion not to ferment it’ (Alpha Course take note). After all, how common are ‘6 dayers’? (This is not America, yet.) Is fundamentalism increasing? What is the difference between ‘taking faith seriously’ and ‘not taking it simplistically?’

The implications for belief as played out in ethical decision-making are displayed with emotion and intellect: What sort of God would be offended at Edwin’s wish to be smothered with pillow? Might not the commandment to honour father and mother be fulfilled by honouring a father’s wishes for euthanasia? The faith of some people leads them to serve in the armed forces. The faith of others leads them to oppose war. Is one more true to faith than the other? Are newspapers a modern form of Inquisition/Confessional and public penance?

However, both groups wondered whether the author was trying to tick boxes regarding topics likely to interest readers: the role of women, fundamentalism, pro-life/pro-choice, sexual orientation, asylum seekers.

Some thought that the characters were cartoon-like, apart from Rafiq, who seems to be true to himself but whose character is never developed. Iris Murdoch dealt with these sorts of issues better. Some thought that the style was too ‘flowery’ and remarked on the sheer implausibility of several of the episodes, for example that only two men would be sharing cells in a category B prison. Many thought that there was an imbalance in the portrayal of Muslims and Jews: that Muslims came across as barbaric whereas that Jews were treated uncritically by comparison.

Many enjoyed the first section but got bogged down after that. ‘It started well, with a man stripping off.! ‘I’m glad I read it but I wouldn’t read any more of his books.’

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Scott Heim portrays slowly recovering memory of trauma by fracturing it among the different characters, particularly the geek and the streetwise kid who later becomes a rent boy who said, ‘Hollywood would never make a movie about us.’ – which of course, they did. His parents return home at 3am and his mother saves cocktail umbrellas. One psychotherapist has suggested that the way the story unfolds is fairly typical of how people deal with traumatic memories, though our own psychotherapist member argues that every one is different in the way that they process information and family secrets.

The subject matter is such that many people would find this book harrowing but I found it, if not ‘entertaining’ absorbing. I did, however, find some Americanisms annoying, e.g. ‘crawl space’ and ‘to touch it (Neil’s hair) would be like touching corduroy’

One of our members read the whole book in one sitting because it was so engaging, another said that it was ‘beautiful and well-crafted.’ One member pointed out that the ‘moral landscape’ of this book mirrors the flat physical landscape of Kansas, where the story is set.

I shall never see folk who believe in UFOs or in devils in quite the same way again. What awful experience have they undergone that makes them believe so irrationally? Is abduction by aliens, one member asked, really to do with the abduction of memories?

The author avoids a ‘victims’ and ‘monsters’ scenario: the paedophile coach is portrayed as an immature adult and there is a telling juxtaposition, at the end, as the innocence of the Christmas carol ‘Silent night…….holy infant tender and mild’ sung outside contrasts with the recollection of innocence violated and stolen inside. One of the children was not completely innocent: ‘Half of me knew if wasn’t right, the other half wanted it to happen.’

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Some groups expect, as a matter of course, that anyone who introduces a book will write a review before the meeting and amend it in the light of comments made from members.

That is not how we operate.

Most of the reviews on this blog are by the convenor of the group who also takes into account the contributions of other members when the book was being discussed.

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I guess this book is aimed at sixteen-year-old boys but I’d want to encourage them to read something deeper than this.

There are some good observations, e.g.  ‘Most of them don’t like to be reminded of how they looked thirty pounds ago’

There also some odd things, e.g. the ‘baddie’ has indestructible testicles and he doesn’t breathe yet he has ‘super breath’.

I only read it because I am part of a book group. Many members didn’t even bother to finish the book.

There are some very poor phrases, e.g. ‘My stomach dropped to my feet.’ And ‘My insides were liquefying.’

There is a powerful description of Ruth’s boyfriend getting beaten up – one of the best bits of the book. Also vividly described is the hero’s father’s place of work.

The book is infused with Christian values and, if the large building at the book’s climax is a reference to the Twin Towers of 9/11, then American values. The ending hints at self-sacrifice and there hints earlier on too, e.g.  “Later, when I looked down at the ring on my finger, the stone sometimes felt so heavy that I could barely lift my hand. It can be an awful responsibility when you’re someone’s only hope..’ Also ‘Your father had been first to respond to the crisis. Despite his lack of superspeed, he was always vigilant that way. It was a last-ditch effort at saving the world. Blowing up a few buildings is a lot better than an exploding planet, but people aren’t very interested in simple arithmetic when there’s blame to assign’ also the sacramental description of the ring as ‘an outward symbol of an inner belief..’

Star Trek, Terry Pratchett, Tolkein and Douglas Adams create a more convincing fantasy world than this book.

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There is something in it

 That the author was raised as a Christian fundamentalist may explain the template through which he sees his clients. His central thesis is that it is not being gay, per se, which damages people’s self-esteem and emotionally disables them. Rather, it is the fact that gay men have to hide from straight society, having been taught that they were unacceptable. This explains the high suicide rate and substance abuse.

The author claims that the damage caused to gay men is unlike that of any other minority group. A distant relationship with a father, compensated by an over-doting mother is not the cause of homosexuality but is caused by it. Really? I would have thought that most people born before the 1960s had a distant father.

Lacking validation from their families, gay men seek it by being the best at their jobs, have superior `fashion skills’ and go `over the top’ if someone else makes them feel invalidated, for example by postponing a lunch date. I think this is a gross stereotype/

Why do so many gay partnerships break up? According to the author, the odds are stacked against two wounded people sustaining a relationship because a life of hiding and splitting makes authenticity, honesty and vulnerability difficult. Is the author not aware of the similarly high number of heterosexual couples who split up?

Gays who seek sex as a form of validation will tire of a partner with a lower sex drive. Is the author unaware that straight couples often have the same `problem’?

Where I most take issue with the author is his statement that homophobia in adolescence is natural. They used to say that about racism. If it is right, all our work in schools to tackle it is doomed to failure.

The book group suggested that the only thing that distinguishes gay from straight men is what they fancy lust/love-wise. However, some went on to say that though the author’s Christian background and his rebound from it have shaped his perceptions, and though this is an American book based on work with clients who encounter more religious fanaticism that here in the UK, there is’ nevertheless, “something in it”. That a gay man’s first love becomes a template for all future relationships, especially if there was rejection, that one will not find an ideal partner from a tick list of desirable qualities and that, controversially, because people who have been abused often abuse others, sado-masochistic sex is a playing out of past injuries – then again, is it not the case that S & M partners play within boundaries and have a code word for `stop now?’

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Drugs and rent boys in……Bridport?

 Well-written, but not as good as his earlier works. Rather vapid gay characters who seem not to have much of a life beyond sex, drugs and partying. I can’t imagine much partying going on in a small village near the small town of Bridport and I am not convinced that a young man would be wearing a tank top in 1999, though I gather they made a comeback for a short time.

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If you want belly-laughs

 The seedy world of TV advertising, jingles and compulsive shoppers, small-time front people for a TV channel deluded into thinking that they have celebrity status and the normal [problems people have make for a very funny book. It’s a send-up of a send-up and the plot has many surprising twists and turn. Not a book for you if you seek the meaning and purpose of life but if you want an easy read and some belly-laughs this is your book.

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