David Levithan’s new book “two boys kissing is a small (200 pages), powerful and thought provoking book.
The interweaving stories of Craig and Harry, both 17 years old, who are attempting to set the record for the Guinness World Record for kissing; Ryan and Avery who are falling in love; Cooper who is looking for love and Peter and Neil who are in a relationship that they are outgrowing, are all observed and narrated by “we” the generation of gay men who have died as a result of AIDS.
Within the stories are many layers, the challenges of navigating different stages of love, the process of coming out to parents and friends; and what happens to your sense of yourself when you are seen but your identity is not acknowledged.
Levithan never descends into the trite or sentimental. His observations are sharp and insightful. For example, writing of Ryan’s experience of being bullied, Levithan notes:
They’ve trespassed all over his life, spit and stomped and sabotaged any degree of safety or comfort he’s managed to build. This is the true tyranny – not the actual taunts or shoves, but the exhaustion that comes from living with it for so long, so relentlessly.
There aren’t many of us who have not experienced bullying at some stage of our life. We know that exhaustion.
Yet it is a book of ultimate hope. Not the fairy tale endings where partners live happily ever after. It is the resilient hope that grows out of the messiness of relationships, hope that grows with having the courage to be honest to ourselves.
The book made me smile, made me cry, it made me sad and angry and at the end gave me an incredible sense of gratefulness and awe for the beautiful fragility of life and love. Would I recommend this book? You bet! Get a copy, turn of your phone, get off face book and soak up this brilliant story from award wining author David Levithan.
‘Two Boys Kissing’ is available now from The Text Publishing Company. Check out David Levithan’s previous books including ‘Boy Meets Boy’, ‘Nick & Nora’s Infinite Playlist’ (with Rachael Cohn), and ‘Will Grayson, Will Grayson’ (with John Green).
David Kernohan
