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seeinghowitgoes's review against another edition
2.0
So, this was my venture into the fiction realm. This was a recommendation from the Book Swapping website underneath Gay Literature. But seriously, it could have been about any type of sexuality and still have been boring.
Set in the aftermath of 9/11, the main character William Collins a 44 year old Gay man who currently works in Real Estate, has a cleaning obsession and no steady relationship starts worrying about his life. The past year of his life has consisted of any number of meaningless sexual encounters and in an attempt to enrich his life decides to take on a vow of celibacy. The problem is, I'm not interested in this type of novel.
Written in the first person it's a rather meandering look at William's life as he confronts celibacy (not very well mind you, as the actual celibacy only really kicks in during the last 2 or so weeks of the novel), love and life. Side characters are introduced who seem equally folorn in their lives, the wife Charlotte and her cheating husband, William's best friend Edward who is fatally in love with Will all combine together to create a rambling novel which culminates in a twist worthy of a cheesy romantic comedy.
Set in the aftermath of 9/11, the main character William Collins a 44 year old Gay man who currently works in Real Estate, has a cleaning obsession and no steady relationship starts worrying about his life. The past year of his life has consisted of any number of meaningless sexual encounters and in an attempt to enrich his life decides to take on a vow of celibacy. The problem is, I'm not interested in this type of novel.
Written in the first person it's a rather meandering look at William's life as he confronts celibacy (not very well mind you, as the actual celibacy only really kicks in during the last 2 or so weeks of the novel), love and life. Side characters are introduced who seem equally folorn in their lives, the wife Charlotte and her cheating husband, William's best friend Edward who is fatally in love with Will all combine together to create a rambling novel which culminates in a twist worthy of a cheesy romantic comedy.
jimmybobby's review against another edition
3.0
fast read. typically, everything ends conveniently and happily enough. the straight couple shouldve been a gay couple. actually i should get over it. i just wanted a big gay book and instead the characters were mix. like real life. oh, will he come vacuum my house?
randalm's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Despite being set a year after 9/11 happened, this book felt rather dated, more so than other gay literature I've read from earlier periods.
It had some mildly clever banter and observations. But its core was made up entirely of the characters' flaws. That made it hard to like anyone. It was slightly cynical about *everything*--yet not fully defeatist or nihilistic.
But it left me wondering why I should care about any of the people in it.
All that said, I did enjoy its flow and some of the settings and Chara came across vividly.
It had some mildly clever banter and observations. But its core was made up entirely of the characters' flaws. That made it hard to like anyone. It was slightly cynical about *everything*--yet not fully defeatist or nihilistic.
But it left me wondering why I should care about any of the people in it.
All that said, I did enjoy its flow and some of the settings and Chara came across vividly.
sethwr's review against another edition
5.0
maybe i’m easy to please but i found this to be a wonderful, captivating read. it’s a pretty huge deviation from what i typically enjoy, but something about this book really engrossed me. it’s fairly simple, a bit two dimensional, but still very well written. even though we are reading williams perspective, he’s still a hard guy to truly understand, and it isn’t until the last few pages that it all really clicks. this book isn’t perfect, but it was so much fun to read.
natalie_bog's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
suzmac's review against another edition
4.0
Real estate agent, compulsive housecleaner and lenient landord in Boston with dating hang-ups, personal issues, and interesting friends. Worthy follow-up to earlier work!
djrmelvin's review against another edition
3.0
William Collins, single, 43, Boston real esate agent, and addicted to tricking via the internet decides that that last thing might be a bad thing. His attempt to go cold-turkey is a massive failure, but one of the alternatives he tries to distract himself with leads him to discover that, like Dorothy, his heart's desire was always within reach. That aspect of the story is sweet and fun. However, the novel uses the events of 9/11 and how everyone said it made them realize how fragile life was and then went right back to being what they always were, and to a point that's a nice jumping off point for what's basically a RomCom. But when it belabors the point, trying to be a deeper story than it needs to be, the story becomes tedious
writerlibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
Post 9/11 slice of life novel. William, a middle aged gay man can't seem to find a purpose in his life. Selling houses and apartments in Boston doesn't fill his soul, nor does trolling the internet in search of one night stands. This is a first person account of his day to day life, his friends, his clients. His clients are the best parts of the novel. How William tries to «analyze» his clients, the university professor/writer, the middle aged couple in crisis. The rest is pretty much like watching paint dry.
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