keneth

sensitive account of a family who all came out

Revisado: 03-18-24

Jessi Hempel does an admirable job writing and narrating about her family who all held secrets of one type or another mostly about not being straight and cisgendered. IN spite of the challenges all the siblings and parents faced growing up, Jessi outlines a family, particularly a set of siblings, who know how to communicate and really value each other as people. Rarely self pitying and replete with characters one wants to root for, "Family Outing" is a triumph of strength, not just for the author but all in the family orbit.

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hysterical fiction?

Revisado: 03-17-24

I haven't read anything else by Mallon but it strikes me that calling "Up with the Sun" a historical fiction does a disservice to both disciplines. So much is made up gratuitously about a subject and a person who cannot defend himself that one wonders why he didn't just make something up out of thin air. I was turned off in the first scene when the fictional narrator, supposedly the moral compass here,, refers to Dick Kallman, the subject of a 13 hour slander to follow, as never being sincere about anything. At no point does Mallon suggest we make up our own mind about a closeted gay man trying to make it on stage and screen during a difficult time. No, he will tell us how to feel every step of the way, that Kallman was a monster whose positive traits should be buried or treated like they are non existent, just to help Mallon's agenda along. This could have been a decent offering with more balance, but it's still got so many issues that I can't really recommend it except to navel gazing gays, even better if they are self loathing Jews as well.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

faithful and engrossing historical fiction

Revisado: 03-17-24

When Colm Toibin does historical fiction, which is what he does, he brings a level integrity that most historical fiction writers would do well to study. When the historical fiction has an element of homosexuality in the main character, he is even more nuanced and sympathetic, without a trace of sentimentality. Such is the case of this account of Thomas Mann's life, from his early days as a boy quickly uninterested in his father's business through the Nazi regime to his late years. It even offers up inspiration for his books through his life events. Supposedly much comes from his journals and, though some is made up, it's more like filling in the blanks than anything remotely salacious. The performance of the myriad characters through the narrator is more like a play than a narration. Yes, I found myself occasionally victimised by the excess of characters, not helped by the fact that Mann and his spouse had a half dozen offspring if I remember correctly, and I was less interested in the details of some sections, but this is still a highly re ommended introduction to the life of one of Germany's best known authors, as well as something worthwhile for those already Mann fans.

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