Chris Corkum, PD Publishing
Love is a strange beast. It’s strangest when in the hands of adolescents, who treat it with the rapture, joy and delight it deserves, raising it to new idyllic heights. In such hands, even the most jaded and cynical can see the charm in love once again.
It’s this relationship with love and those we love that lies at the heart of Chris Corkum’s debut novel XOXO Hayden. Inspired by The Smiths song Paint A Vulgar Picture, XOXO Hayden explores the intersecting paths of two seemingly disparate gay men: one being Hayden, a burning out pop star drenched in alcohol and cocaine, the other Steven, a teenaged boy, his eyes filled with the bright lights of life.
‘Steven and Hayden’s relationship spans eighteen years,’ Corkum told OUTinPerth via email from LA. ‘For Hayden, Steven is a connection to the real world, a real relationship that isn’t misguided by his celebrity. Steven is normalcy for Hayden and a desire to relive his lost childhood. Someone who understands him for who he is.
‘For Steven, Hayden is representative of another world, an escape from a narrow–minded, banal suburban wasteland. And Hayden is also “acceptance†for Steven. Even at his young age, Steven senses that Hayden is gay—and that offers some kind of comfort and reassurance.’
The novel spans the intersection of their lives and it’s filled with ups and downs, ins and outs, and heartbreak. As Corkum points out himself, it’s near impossible that a ‘relationship like this could even exist in the real world- and it’s a certainty that it cannot last.’
However, throughout is a language fueled on want and need, on longing and yearning. It’s this which drives the story, compels it toward its inevitable conclusion, Corkum steering it masterfully throughout.
‘Well, I love the idea of obsessive love. When you are so drawn to someone that it defies reason. But usually that kind of obsession comes from a lack of something in your own life. And it’s usually quick lived. But it’s so exciting and thrilling at the time when its happening – that it makes you lose track of everything and alters your behavior.’
Surprisingly consuming, Corkum’s debut won’t disappoint.
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
