A review by gerhard
In the City of Shy Hunters by Tom Spanbauer
5.0
"You're going this way and then shit happens and then you're going that way." This is the story of William of Heaven, how he was wounded by a blow of love, and his search for Charlie2Moons, redemption and enlightenment in New York in the dark days of the AIDS epidemic.
What an extraordinary novel this is, brimming with pain and joy, life and death, heartache and grace, anger and pathos. It is the sort of larger-than-life canvas of a novel that you live in rather than read, that tears at your heart, messes with your head and makes you feel sexy, often all at the same time.
Spanbauer's writing style is not for the faint of heart: he uses phrases, sentences and words like musical motifs, repeating them in various patterns and refrains. This makes for an often choppy, yet densely coded, reading experience that you just have to surrender yourself to, in order to gain the full effect. Magnificent.
What an extraordinary novel this is, brimming with pain and joy, life and death, heartache and grace, anger and pathos. It is the sort of larger-than-life canvas of a novel that you live in rather than read, that tears at your heart, messes with your head and makes you feel sexy, often all at the same time.
Spanbauer's writing style is not for the faint of heart: he uses phrases, sentences and words like musical motifs, repeating them in various patterns and refrains. This makes for an often choppy, yet densely coded, reading experience that you just have to surrender yourself to, in order to gain the full effect. Magnificent.