While the writing lacks a subtlety that would suit many of these tales, this volume’s exhaustive approach to elevating queer...
A collection of short stories examines the diversity of global LGBTQ communities and their common challenges.
Pathan’s (Classics, 2017, etc.) incredibly varied collection of 21 stories covers the gamut of LGBTQ issues and the hurdles individuals face. Spanning different generations and cultures, the book takes readers around the world to illustrate that queerness and gender fluidity are not restrained by borders. In England, principal Margery must confront her own prejudices and a growing mob mentality against a young transgender student; in 1950s India, the young Sreekanth tries to escape an arranged marriage to be with another man; and in modern-day Bangkok, Poi works tirelessly to teach safe-sex practices and distribute condoms to the Kathoeys—more commonly known as “ladyboys.” It’s a remarkably inclusive approach to an already broad subject, and Pathan highlights the somewhat lesser-known topics of asexuality and intersex identities with the tender tales “isher” and “(a)sexual story.” As a nod to those well-versed in queer literature, the author has thrown in plenty of references to her inspirations, peppering the book with Oscar Wilde quotes and having characters read Christopher Isherwood or Radclyffe Hall. Pathan also tackles one of the most volatile topics for not just LGBTQ communities, but also the entire world with the tense tale of Salam, Akram, and Nafisa—a gay couple and their Jewish female friend who are trying to hide from Islamic State group rule in Syria. That story, “people of raqqa,” is the collection’s clear standout. But in its final lines, the tale also suffers from a consistent issue—too many moments feel contrived or unnatural for the characters. Pathan often follows a pattern: introduce an LGBTQ issue, bring in some form of bigotry, and then rush to conclude with a terrible act of violence. This problem is most evident in “the books on his lap,” in which an elite NYU professor murders his own child after learning he has befriended lesbians. Although the story offers one of the compendium’s many preposterous twists, readers should still appreciate Pathan’s underlying point that intolerance and danger lurk where they are least expected.
While the writing lacks a subtlety that would suit many of these tales, this volume’s exhaustive approach to elevating queer issues remains commendable.Pub Date: Nov. 30, 2017
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 428
Publisher: Fiza Pathan Publishing
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.
Are we not men? We are—well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z(2006).
A zombie apocalypse is one thing. A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks’ latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, “it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people.” Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. Brooks places the epicenter of the Bigfoot war in a high-tech hideaway populated by the kind of people you might find in a Jurassic Park franchise: the schmo who doesn’t know how to do much of anything but tries anyway, the well-intentioned bleeding heart, the know-it-all intellectual who turns out to know the wrong things, the immigrant with a tough backstory and an instinct for survival. Indeed, the novel does double duty as a survival manual, packed full of good advice—for instance, try not to get wounded, for “injury turns you from a giver to a taker. Taking up our resources, our time to care for you.” Brooks presents a case for making room for Bigfoot in the world while peppering his narrative with timely social criticism about bad behavior on the human side of the conflict: The explosion of Rainier might have been better forecast had the president not slashed the budget of the U.S. Geological Survey, leading to “immediate suspension of the National Volcano Early Warning System,” and there’s always someone around looking to monetize the natural disaster and the sasquatch-y onslaught that follows. Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes, one involving a short spear that takes its name from “the sucking sound of pulling it out of the dead man’s heart and lungs.” Grossness aside, it puts you right there on the scene.
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-2678-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.
A woman accused of shooting her husband six times in the face refuses to speak.
"Alicia Berenson was thirty-three years old when she killed her husband. They had been married for seven years. They were both artists—Alicia was a painter, and Gabriel was a well-known fashion photographer." Michaelides' debut is narrated in the voice of psychotherapist Theo Faber, who applies for a job at the institution where Alicia is incarcerated because he's fascinated with her case and believes he will be able to get her to talk. The narration of the increasingly unrealistic events that follow is interwoven with excerpts from Alicia's diary. Ah, yes, the old interwoven diary trick. When you read Alicia's diary you'll conclude the woman could well have been a novelist instead of a painter because it contains page after page of detailed dialogue, scenes, and conversations quite unlike those in any journal you've ever seen. " 'What's the matter?' 'I can't talk about it on the phone, I need to see you.' 'It's just—I'm not sure I can make it up to Cambridge at the minute.' 'I'll come to you. This afternoon. Okay?' Something in Paul's voice made me agree without thinking about it. He sounded desperate. 'Okay. Are you sure you can't tell me about it now?' 'I'll see you later.' Paul hung up." Wouldn't all this appear in a diary as "Paul wouldn't tell me what was wrong"? An even more improbable entry is the one that pins the tail on the killer. While much of the book is clumsy, contrived, and silly, it is while reading passages of the diary that one may actually find oneself laughing out loud.
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-30169-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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