Helpful Score: 3
Michael is an Aussie man whose long-time lover David has died. Michael is now turning forty and his closest friends have decided to throw him a birthday party. At the bar where his friends have met to plan the party, Michael meets a young man whose real name we never learn. He's simply "the boy" or "the butterfly boy."
This is definitely a book for a more mature reader. It's reminiscent of Death in Venice with touches of the Ganymede legend (or maybe Nemesis) thrown in.
Michael's not the first aging gay man who discovers that beautiful young boys are aging queen Kryptonite. Zeus had his Ganymede, Aschenbach had his Tadzio and our Michael has his "butterfly boy."
Plus, Kryptonite isn't always deadly. Sometimes it just changes you. Sometimes change is good but the ending here is ambiguous. Sometimes even ambiguity is good but here I needed more of a resolution. I'd have rated this tale more highly if the author had told us a bit more of the ending of this story. Has Michael learned anything? And what of Bruno, and the aging actress? Just as we have responsibility for the people we interact with, an author has some responsibility to his characters. I'd like to have seen some of these loose ends tied up. Even knowing more about Michael's ex would have made this a more satisfying story for me. Was Michael David's "butterfly boy?"
Overall, the prose is workman-like and the author does tell us a compelling story but some of the loose ends were a bit troubling for me. Also the pointed omission of the kid's name sometimes felt like a brilliant device to reduce him to a plot point and at other times felt more like the affectation of a first-time novelist. The storm and it's effect on the aging actress and her old dog was also a bit too much for me. It felt heavy handed.
I was also a bit disappointed at the quality of the proof-reading. I spotted a number of obvious typos and that's usually not the case with books from an established press like GMP.
Bottom line: I liked it but I'm in no hurry to read another book like this. I tend to have a taste for lighter fare. Others may find literary value in this that I missed but I'll leave that for you to decide.
This is definitely a book for a more mature reader. It's reminiscent of Death in Venice with touches of the Ganymede legend (or maybe Nemesis) thrown in.
Michael's not the first aging gay man who discovers that beautiful young boys are aging queen Kryptonite. Zeus had his Ganymede, Aschenbach had his Tadzio and our Michael has his "butterfly boy."
Plus, Kryptonite isn't always deadly. Sometimes it just changes you. Sometimes change is good but the ending here is ambiguous. Sometimes even ambiguity is good but here I needed more of a resolution. I'd have rated this tale more highly if the author had told us a bit more of the ending of this story. Has Michael learned anything? And what of Bruno, and the aging actress? Just as we have responsibility for the people we interact with, an author has some responsibility to his characters. I'd like to have seen some of these loose ends tied up. Even knowing more about Michael's ex would have made this a more satisfying story for me. Was Michael David's "butterfly boy?"
Overall, the prose is workman-like and the author does tell us a compelling story but some of the loose ends were a bit troubling for me. Also the pointed omission of the kid's name sometimes felt like a brilliant device to reduce him to a plot point and at other times felt more like the affectation of a first-time novelist. The storm and it's effect on the aging actress and her old dog was also a bit too much for me. It felt heavy handed.
I was also a bit disappointed at the quality of the proof-reading. I spotted a number of obvious typos and that's usually not the case with books from an established press like GMP.
Bottom line: I liked it but I'm in no hurry to read another book like this. I tend to have a taste for lighter fare. Others may find literary value in this that I missed but I'll leave that for you to decide.
