MEN ON MEN 2: Best New Gay Fiction

Another excellent collection of gay fiction from Stambolian, editor of Men on Men (1986). Once again, Stambolian--a professor of French at Wellesley--does a fine job of picking stories without the usual insular gay clichÉs--almost all these 18 pieces speak powerfully to the world at large. ""My Mother's Clothes"" by Richard McCann is the moving tale of the shame a young boy feels when he's caught trying on his mother's dresses. ""Jungle Dove"" by Joseph Pintauro is the shocking story of a young Italian-American man threatened with rape in prison. James Purdy checks in with ""In This Comer. . .,"" the story of a widower without conscious sexual identity who finds himself attracted to a young boy. And Tim Barrus' ""Life Sucks"" is a blistering indictment of gays who try to ignore other gays with AIDS. With a few exceptions--notably, Christopher Davis' weak, frenetic ""The Boys in the Bars"" and Melvin Dixon's ""Red Leaves"" (about a gang that terrorizes gays)--a strong collection, the best around of gay fiction.