Showing posts with label Homosexuality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Homosexuality. Show all posts

Sunday, 31 December 2017

Saving Montgomery Sole

Finished December 31
Saving Montgomery Sole by Mariko Tamaki

This young adult novel has 16-year-old Montgomery Sole at the center. Monty, as she is known to her friends, lives in a small town in coastal California with her two moms, Jo and Kate and her little sister Tesla. Coming from Canada, Monty feels like a misfit in her school, that is until Thomas arrived. Thomas is a year older and a grade above her, but also a bit of a misfit. He is gay, and a thinker and drama enthusiast. The two formed a Mystery Club, which is not about mystery books, but about discussing things they don't understand, or that are mysterious. When new girl Naoki, also part Canadian arrives, she migrates to their group for all the right reasons and as the book opens, the three are fast friends.
There is the usual bullying behaviour by some of the cool guys and gals at school, led by Matt, for the guys, and Madison for the gals. Monty has a bit of a history with Matt, and the betrayal by him makes his actions more personal for her. When another new kid arrives, and Monty finds that his father is the infamous Reverend White, who preaches against the sins of homosexuality, she immediately takes against him.
Monty sees an ad on the internet for something called the Eye of Know and, since it is cheap, decides to order it. When it comes, it isn't what she expected, and she isn't really sure how to use it, but when she tries, it seems to have violent effects.
This is a story of friendship, of families, of the power of belief, and of things and people not always being what they seem.
I loved it.

Wednesday, 18 March 2015

The Paying Guests

Finished March 16
The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters, read by Juliet Stevenson

This historical fiction novel takes place over several months a few years after the end of World War I. Frances Wray lives with her mother in a large house in the Champion Hill neighbourhood of London. Frances' brothers were both killed in the war, and her father died more recently, leaving behind a little financial resources to support them. The two have decided to take in lodgers to get enough income to allow them to stay in the house.
Frances had a brief, but intense relationship with another woman that ended after the parents' of the two young women became aware of it. She has resigned herself to a life as a spinster, living with her mother.
However, once Mr. and Mrs. Barber move into the upstairs rooms in the Wray's house, Frances finds herself making a connection with Mrs. Barber, that renews her feelings of hope for happiness and love.
In this time period, relationships between two people of the same sex were definitely not acceptable, and Frances is well aware of the challenges facing her, especially after her parents' reaction to her earlier relationship, a reaction that caused her to retreat from that lover. She is a few years older now, and the war has made her more aware of the uncertainty of life, and she feels more willing to take such risks. Lilian Barber however, is of the lower clerk class, and has much more to lose through her relationship with Frances. Her married status is an additional barrier, and although she cares deeply for Frances, she is more uncertain of moving from a secret relationship to an open one.
This novel is definitely of its time, giving the reader a real sense of the lives of these characters within their social context.
I found the characters deeply interesting, particularly their development after a major event changes their lives forever, although I didn't particularly like Frances or Lilian.

Friday, 13 June 2014

And the Dark Sacred Night

Finished June 11
And the Dark Sacred Night by Julia Glass, read by Mark Deakins

This novel has early forties husband and father Kit Noonan having a bit of a mid-life crisis. He lost his job a few months back and is having difficulties finding a new one. His family is experiencing financial challenges as a result of this and the relationship between him and his wife Sandra is strained.
Kit's mother had him very young and has never revealed to him the exact circumstances of her pregnancy or who his biological father is. She married when Kit was nine or ten and he was absorbed into the home of Jasper Noonan and his two sons, both older than Kit. Sandra urges Kit to see Jasper as the first step in a real search for his biological roots, and he complies.
Kit's reintroduction into Jasper's life has Jasper reevaluating his life and his relationship with his sons, as well as his love life. Kit does find the family of his biological father and connects with them, but this connection brings unexpected knowledge as well.
The reader gets taken from Kit's life into the life of his mother the summer she got pregnant, and the life of his paternal grandmother Lucinda, as she struggles with her feelings about her son's paternity and her new chance at connection with Kit's reappearance in her life.
This is a complex novel of relationships, the need for connection with others, and the insights of hindsight.

Sunday, 12 February 2012

Lake on the Mountain

Finished February 11
Lake on the Mountain by Jeffrey Round
This is a Dan Sharp mystery, the first one I've read. Dan is a private investigator specializing in missing persons. He has a great track record on finding people. Dan is also gay, and this plays a big role in his book. He's been dating Bill, a doctor, for around a year, but still doesn't feel part of Bill's life. A trip for the two of them to a wedding in Eastern Ontario marks the first real public outing for the two of them. Dan's best friend Donny tries to get him to see that Bill isn't a real partner to him. Dan's teenage son Ked is a strong presence, the one person around which Dan's life is built, and a call to reason. Ked has a good head on his shoulders and tells Dan when he is out of line.
This book takes Dan back to his beginnings in Sudbury and also helps him look into a long-time missing persons case. Another of Dan's clients reminds him of his own early life in Toronto, escaping a home that made him feel unwanted. There is a lot of character development here, and it is needed as Dan has a lot of developing to do. He's been lucky in his life overall to get him where he is now, but he isn't entirely happy and needs to figure out what would make him happy.
An interesting book, with some interesting themes

Sunday, 25 December 2011

The Better Mother

Finished December 24
The Better Mother by Jen Sookfong Lee
A wonderful novel, moving between years. The main character is Danny Lim. Danny grew up in Vancouver's Chinatown, but left as soon as he became 18, not wanting the life his parents envisioned for him. Danny is struggling to come to terms with his homosexuality and remains in the closet to all but his sister and close friends. He works as a wedding photographer but dreams of a photography exhibit of his personal work. When Danny was a child he had an encounter with an exotic dancer that he has never forgotten. When something reawakens that memory, he is determined to find out more about her. So part of this book is Val's story too. Her act was the 'Siamese Kitten' and her story is also one of not facing up to her truth. The two bolster and encourage each other to move forward in their lives by being open about who they are and what made them that way. A novel of secrets, and of self-awareness, this book is hard to put down.

Saturday, 24 September 2011

Natural Order

Finished September 24
Natural Order by Brian Francis
This is a touching novel that explores a woman's feelings around motherhood, acceptance and regret. Joyce is in her eighties and living in a seniors' care facility. The appearance of a young man as a volunteer causes her to dig into her memories and think about the past. She thinks about the young man she had a crush on as a teenager and the sad end to his life she was told. She thinks about her own son, who died years ago, and her relationship with him. She thinks of the various times in their relationship that she had the opportunity to treat him differently than she did, and she struggles with the guilt she has over her relationship with him.
Through these memories and talking to the young volunteer, she finally admits the truth of her son's life and death, a truth she has denied even to herself for years.
This book reaches inward as Joyce sees how she failed her son even as she loved him and tried to do what she thought was best. Touching, honest and heartrending, this novel fills a void in Canadian literature.