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A review by bluepigeon
Chicken: Self-Portrait of a Young Man for Rent by David Henry Sterry
4.0
I received this book from Goodreads First Reads. Thanks!
Chicken is a slice of sparkling, sizzling, up-and-down nightmare of an adventure. Perhaps the best thing about it is that it is very well told. I like that there is a common childhood, some usual 17-year-old hormones pumping, and nothing really too drastic, other than the first encounter the author finds himself in when he goes to Hollywood for college. It is, I do agree, a bit unbelievable that with $27 in his pocket, and a relatively normal family, he finds that he is "homeless." Either the definition of homeless needs to be revised, or, most likely, there was much more going on than the author is allowing himself to tell. I like that there are no sweeping judgements about any group of people (perhaps other than the fact that all rich women like to see their hunky boyman naked (well, and who can blame them?). I like that though he may not love being a "sex technician," the author enjoys sex and most of the sexual encounters, though this doesn't mean he loves it all.
As for the encounters (tricks) described, none of them seemed too weird or unusual or freaky or fringe to me. All pretty in line with the human condition. I am not sure if it was meant to be shocking. Perhaps will be shocking to those who thought Fifty Shades of Gray was groundbreaking; I doubt it will seem shocking or freaky to anyone who is remotely familiar with the realities of human sexuality and everything related to it.
Recommended to those who like well-written memoirs, fast-paced accounts, fried chicken, nuns, and chocolate-covered strawberries.
Chicken is a slice of sparkling, sizzling, up-and-down nightmare of an adventure. Perhaps the best thing about it is that it is very well told. I like that there is a common childhood, some usual 17-year-old hormones pumping, and nothing really too drastic, other than the first encounter the author finds himself in when he goes to Hollywood for college. It is, I do agree, a bit unbelievable that with $27 in his pocket, and a relatively normal family, he finds that he is "homeless." Either the definition of homeless needs to be revised, or, most likely, there was much more going on than the author is allowing himself to tell. I like that there are no sweeping judgements about any group of people (perhaps other than the fact that all rich women like to see their hunky boyman naked (well, and who can blame them?). I like that though he may not love being a "sex technician," the author enjoys sex and most of the sexual encounters, though this doesn't mean he loves it all.
As for the encounters (tricks) described, none of them seemed too weird or unusual or freaky or fringe to me. All pretty in line with the human condition. I am not sure if it was meant to be shocking. Perhaps will be shocking to those who thought Fifty Shades of Gray was groundbreaking; I doubt it will seem shocking or freaky to anyone who is remotely familiar with the realities of human sexuality and everything related to it.
Recommended to those who like well-written memoirs, fast-paced accounts, fried chicken, nuns, and chocolate-covered strawberries.