mixxie67's review against another edition
4.0
I haven't read this book since it first came out in my early bookstore days but I read it a few times back then. I think I finally sold it at a yard-sale in '92. This book has some genuinely laugh-out-loud, read-aloud-to-a-friend (in my case my husband) moments. Particularly those involving the author's large family of brothers.
haldoor's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting study of the people one man meets on his journey through gay New York. A little high-brow for me, but some fascinating characters and interesting stories told along the way. Semi-autobiographical.
eriknoteric's review
4.0
The second title in Ethan Mordden's "Buddies" series, and its namesake, is, though not quite as striking as its predecessor, still an intimate and unafraid engagement with end-of-century gay life and friendship.
In this collection of stories, Mordden again uses the stories and perspectives of his same cast of characters to talk about topics ranging from S&M culture to intergenerational conflicts. What is even more moving about the stories here, though, is the ways in which Mordden is unafraid to cast a spotlight on aspects of gay culture that everyone is aware of but few want to talk about because of cultural power dynamics, privileges, and the hope that it "won't happen to me." These topics - from the ways wealthy gays often exploit the needs to young, recently out and fresh to the city gays, to topics about the true challenge of feeling a sense of community even if you are gay - show the yin and yang of being gay.
The one downside to this collection that took away from its storytelling merit was in Mordden's attempt in the early chapters to rely on first-person introspective storytelling rather than the traditional disconnect from direct storytelling from his own narratorial perspective he usually uses. His direct attempts at autobiography are, admittedly, less compelling and harder to connect with emotionally than his stories of the friends and men in his life from their perspectives.
Nonetheless, another triumphant from Mordden and must read for all readers of gay lit.
In this collection of stories, Mordden again uses the stories and perspectives of his same cast of characters to talk about topics ranging from S&M culture to intergenerational conflicts. What is even more moving about the stories here, though, is the ways in which Mordden is unafraid to cast a spotlight on aspects of gay culture that everyone is aware of but few want to talk about because of cultural power dynamics, privileges, and the hope that it "won't happen to me." These topics - from the ways wealthy gays often exploit the needs to young, recently out and fresh to the city gays, to topics about the true challenge of feeling a sense of community even if you are gay - show the yin and yang of being gay.
The one downside to this collection that took away from its storytelling merit was in Mordden's attempt in the early chapters to rely on first-person introspective storytelling rather than the traditional disconnect from direct storytelling from his own narratorial perspective he usually uses. His direct attempts at autobiography are, admittedly, less compelling and harder to connect with emotionally than his stories of the friends and men in his life from their perspectives.
Nonetheless, another triumphant from Mordden and must read for all readers of gay lit.
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