Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Novelist James (Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe) takes the reader along on a globetrotting coming-of-age as a young gay writer around the turn of the millennium in this promising debut collection. Its selections jump around in chronology from James's experiences of sexual awakening, at age 10 (incongruously, to hip hop duo Kid 'n Play's 1992 movie Class Act), to his more mature musings about meeting his partner while working at New York City's Strand Bookstore. Along the way, James travels the world, from New Zealand (where he turns 30 and visits short story writer Katherine Mansfield's birthplace) to Cambodia (where he has a near-romantic connection with an Iraqi tourist) to a bathhouse in Montreal, using these experiences to try to better understand himself as both a writer and a gay man. James writes with clarity and humor, but at times his sentences clunk--"I wonder as I watch Vincent Price play the role of pathologist Dr. Warren Chapin... whether I could ever have a side career as a screen villain"--and at others his navel-gazing threatens to overwhelm his storytelling. But aside from these speed bumps, most readers should find James's account of his journey into adulthood a smooth and enjoyable ride. (Mar.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
James follows up his debut novel, Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe, with a collection of heart-wrenching, hilarious, and provocative essays. "Lovers' Theme" is set against the backdrop of the San Francisco drag scene and offers glimpses into key themes of the collection: sexual identity, anxiety, grief, memory, and the relentless abutting of the social, political, professional, and sexual roles we all play. In "The Land of Sweets," the author's exchanges with a Disney Princess-obsessed coworker at first seem to serve as a way of juxtaposing his anxiety against an optimistic person's life; the essay takes a sharp turn, though, revealing aspects of grief and self-preservation that happen behind the scenes as people are forced to pretend they're fine while "grieving in shifts." James explores the problem of struggling to maintain "philosophical amusement" in dark situations and the problematic messiness of memory, despite (or perhaps because of) social norms designed around preserving "Kodak moments." VERDICT This is a profoundly moving book that doesn't let up and is well worth the emotion it is sure to engender in readers.--Emily Bowles, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Wry, contemplative personal essays reflecting on travel, intimate connections, and the pursuit of a writing life.In this debut collection, James (Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe, 2019) memorably revisits experiences from his past, whether random encounters or more significant life-changing events. In each case, he reveals impressive candor and depth of thought about his formative years and his development as a writer. The journey wasn't always smooth, and the author is forthcoming about some of the many jobs he has had over the years, including answering phones at the San Francisco Ballet during Nutcracker season, a brief summer interlude at a gelato stand in Seattle, and an extended writing sabbatical ("writing aside, the primary gift of a residency is ample time half-free from the expectations of the world") and stint at the Carson McCullers house in Columbus, Georgia. Frequent travel to both familiar and remote locations throughout the world allowed James to chronicle complicated and occasionally awkward interactions with foreign cultures. Throughout, he reflects on the nuanced challenges of personal interaction in any form, from bonding with job associates to investing in more enduring friendships, or from navigating the challenges of finding enduring love to casual hookups with strangers. "The pursuit of sex, which at times feels like it's all masks, all theater, can demand so little real exposure," writes James. "What petrified me was that I wanted more than sex from Karim: I longed to fall fully in love with him, which is much more frighteninglove demands that you rest in place offstage, endure heroic passages of time together, time in which one must confront, continually, the tired, the ridiculous, the warty actor behind the role." Cutting gay cultural clichs, the author skillfully reveals his complex inner life. Attuned to the broad expectations or struggles of being a contemporary gay male, he is also deft in his exploration of the personal and financial difficulties of anyone living in our current era.A remarkably insightful and entertaining collection from a talented voice. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
