A thoughtfully complex reading experience
I sometimes rush through novels rather quickly. With this one, I kept reading it a little a time, even switching to other novels that I had told someone I'd read. However, I never lost interest in it. Something about this book made me keep wanting to enjoy it over time, and it almost disappointed me when I reached the end. I loved the ending, and the entire book, but its episodic nature and its wild mixture of narrative devices made it a reading experience I kept wanting to sustain. The main character's relationships with his mother, his lovers, and the world bring up a host of insecurities, further complicated by AIDS, materialism, and deep longings. John Weir makes readers laugh, while he treats them to a thoughtfully complex reading experience.(Duane Simolke's books include The Acorn Stories, Degranon, and New Readings of Winesburg, Ohio.)