Love Machine
by Clinton Caward
Hamish Hamilton / Penguin
While not gay per se, Clinton Caward’s debut novel Love Machine has enough queer content to make it appealing across the board. Character driven, frank and composed with an amazingly understated tempo, Caward tells a tale of Kings Cross that should be sordid but comes across as surprisingly tender.
Join no-hoping, underpaid potential slacker Spencer as he works day and night in an underground sex shop, complete with booths where men come to ’empty themselves of isolation’. Spencer is joined by a swathe of characters, from shady drug dealers to an on-edge girlfriend, a Chinese cleaner and a gay manager, a high blood pressured shop owner and regular customer The Choker… the list goes on.
To define precisely the nature and content of Love Machine is a mercurial task. It’s a tale of one man’s awkward life and the people who populate it. He’s socially ill at ease – just ask the sex dolls who populate his film remake of the life and times of Jesus. But what Love Machine most definitely is, without a doubt, is a bloody good read, one that is relentlessly graphic without being explicit, subtly nuanced and incredibly insightful. A brilliant debut.
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
Paris Immortal: A Vampire Tale
by S.Roit
Snowbooks
Oh dear. In theory, vampire tales which incorporate the wondrous backdrop of gay Paris and insert some nice sexual tension of the homoerotic kind should be… well, a good read. At least. Paris Immortal, however, isn’t.
Roit doesn’t ease into her fast paced first person narrative, but rather jostles and jars to grab it under control. The moment she does, she shifts from the likeable character of Trey to the pretentious vampire Michel. And back again. These shifts lose you. The story loses you. Very little redeems, except the knowledge that all stories must end. Until the sequel. And then the three-quel.
If you like trashy throw away books then Paris Immortal will suffice. However, if you’re looking for some resolve to the tension, a little spark amid the embers, you’ll be disappointed. Perhaps a stake through the heart is a better option? Perhaps.
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
Beyond Evie
by Rebecca Burton
Harper Collins
Remember all that teen angst, wrapped up in unrequited love and sexual discovery? For those who may have forgotten, Beyond Evie brings it all back to the fore with painful candour and clarity. For those currently struggling with these issues, Beyond Evie offers a sympathetic telling.
Charlotte loves sports and hanging out with her friends, but when she meets the enchanting Evie during her part time job she starts to question her feelings.
Written in the first person, addressing the reader as Evie, the style seems a little forced and voyeuristic in parts but does not detract from the narrative itself.
While still too few and far between, there seem to be a growing number of teen books exploring issues of sexuality and that can only be a good thing.
Amy Henderson
