Tell the Wolves I'm Home

Tell the Wolves I'm Home Carol Rifka Brunt 4 / 5	Published 2012 First Sentence "My sister, Greta, and I were having our portrait painted by our uncle Finn that afternoon because he knew he was dying."
Publisher's Description: In this striking literary debut, Carol Rifka Brunt unfolds a moving story of love, grief, and renewal as two lonely people become the unlikeliest of friends and find that sometimes you don’t know you’ve lost someone until you’ve found them. 1987. There’s only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that’s her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn’s company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June’s world is turned upside down. But Finn’s death brings a surprise acquaintance into June’s life - someone who will help her to heal and to question what she thinks she knows about Finn, her family, and even her own heart. At Finn’s funeral, June notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd. A few days later, she receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn’s apartment and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet. As the two begin to spend time together, June realizes she’s not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he just might be the one she needs the most. An emotionally charged coming-of-age novel, Tell the Wolves I’m Home is a tender story of love lost and found, an unforgettable portrait of the way compassion can make us whole again.
Dear Reader, This book has been on my list for ages, and I'm not sure exactly why I picked it up when I did, but I am glad to have finally read it. It is a memorable story about a young girl's relationship with her recently deceased uncle. It takes place in the '80s and she loses him in the early years of the AIDS epidemic. So while June wrestles with her own emotions and reactions to this great loss - her uncle was one of her best friends - she must also grow through adolescence, trying to figure out who she is in relation to her family, her friends, her social life, and the greater world. All of this is complicated by the presence of her uncle's boyfriend Toby, who has been shunned by the family as Uncle Finn's murderer, having passed on the AIDS virus before anyone really knew that was a thing about which to be wary. Toby reaches out to June because they both loved her uncle in a special way, and the two form a rather unlikely (and very covert) bond. June's parents are CPAs, which keeps them extremely busy during tax season, and she is able to leave her upstate NY town regularly to visit Toby in the city, where the two share small adventures and bond over their mutual loss. But as June becomes closer and closer to Toby, she is losing her connection to her family, particularly the strong friendship she used to share with her older sister. This story has so many complexities which make it a really beautiful one. I have heard June compared to Scout from TKAM, and it is an understandable parallel: both young girls have very narrow world views which lead them to draw simple connections in their heads to explain their environments. When their worlds are burst open, everything changes - the transition from black and white to color, essentially. I definitely look forward to seeing more from Brunt, if this first novel is any indication! Yours, Arianna

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In One Person

In One Person John Irving 4/5	Published 2012 First Sentence "I'm going to begin by telling you about Miss Frost."
Publisher's Description: "His most daringly political, sexually transgressive, and moving novel in well over a decade" (Vanity Fair).   Winner of a 2013 Lambda Literary Award   A New York Times bestselling novel of desire, secrecy, and sexual identity, In One Person is a story of unfulfilled love—tormented, funny, and affecting—and an impassioned embrace of our sexual differences. Billy, the bisexual narrator and main character of In One Person, tells the tragicomic story (lasting more than half a century) of his life as a "sexual suspect," a phrase first used by John Irving in 1978 in his landmark novel of "terminal cases," The World According to Garp.
Dear Reader, John Irving has done it again! If you've read Irving before, you know what to expect and this didn't disappoint. Irving brings us a little closer to sexuality with this one, it's a little more "in your face" without hiding it within. He tells the story from the perspective of Billy, a bisexual growing up in Vermont during that time when sexuality was being questioned more than ever. Billy attends an all male school with a step father who teaches the drama class there. His Grandfather is a somewhat closeted cross-dresser (mostly cross-dressing in the Shakespeare plays the school puts on). All around him he has signs that his family is inclined to be somewhat "different" and during this time he starts figuring out his own bisexuality. Apparently, Irving has openly admitted to having crushes on his male schoolmates and this is where the idea of the book came from. I've always wondered what Irving's sexuality was like since he focuses his books on many controversial sexual related topics. He doesn't state outright that he is bisexual, he does live with his wife in one of his three homes of Toronto, Vermont and Pointe au Baril. I love that he writes what he knows and uses his own experiences in his books. He has a creative mind but the realistic characters come out so vividly, they must be modeled from people he has known. Getting back to the story, we follow Billy to New York City during the AIDS epidemic and this section of the book was extremely upsetting and sad. During the 80's, AIDS became so prevalent that sometimes you didn't know someone was LGBT until they started dying from the disease (THIS is when they would or had to come out of the closet). I can't imagine what it would have been like to have all your close friends dropping off like flies from this virus. The main character, Billy, even emotes how awful he feels when people ask if he is sick and he has to reply that he isn't. To feel guilt from not catching the virus, that thought amazed me but when I put myself in his shoes... I started to realize that I would have felt the same way. I think the title of this book is a reflection on how people can have more than "one" person inside of us. How one person can be so many things, why must we narrow it down? Why can't we love people for people and not for what gender they are. Why must we classify ourselves as female or male? Isn't it true that we have characteristics of both, how many times have you heard someone say that they are "Metro" or a "Tom Boy"? This is only a step or two from dressing a different way or trying out a different style. I'm happy we've come this far but this book just made me want to scream at how far we have to go. If you take away anything from this book... take this... Love people or don't love people but don't hate those who love people. Enough said! Happy Reading, AmberBug

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Behind The Candelabra: My Life With Liberace

Behind The Candelabra: My Life With Liberace By Scott Thorson Rating 4 out of 5	Published 1988 First Sentence ""Too much of a good thing is wonderful," Liberace used to say when commenting on a flashy new costume or wild idea for his act."
Publisher's Description: In this unusually frank book Scott Thorson tells all: the good, the bad, and the ugly truths about a legendary entertainer who went to outrageous extremes to prevent public knowledge of his homosexuality. Liberace's unhappy childhood, dominated by a mother determined to force him into a concert career, serves as the prologue for a story that goes on to detail Liberace’s early appearances in honky-tonks, his move to New York to seek fame, and, finally, his first booking in Las Vegas, where he was courted by the Mafia. His successes create a bright counterpoint to a darker tale of a man hungry for power, given to every excess. Liberace's credo—"too much of a good thing is wonderful"—is reflected here in his acquisition of new lovers, luxurious homes, a large collection of pornography, and a total of twenty-six house dogs. Behind the Candelabra also reveals the details of the fundamentally tender love affair between Liberace and Thorson—whom Liberace sent to his own plastic surgeon to have his face remodeled in Liberace's own image! This fast-paced story, sprinkled with anecdotes about famous entertainers such as Michael Jackson and Shirley MacLaine, ends with an intimate look at Liberace's final days as he lay dying of AIDS—and his deathbed reconciliation with Scott.
Dear Reader, I won't ever look at Liberace the same way after listening to this story.  I didn't really have much of an opinion of Liberace since his life was before my time and he didn't create any music that influenced me. I had heard from my mother in disgusted, hushed tones that he was gay, but that wasn't a shocking or a disgusting thing for me to hear about a larger than life performer.  I would have appreciated him much more if he had owned his homosexuality but I know that wasn't a safe thing to do during his lifetime. If we are to believe all of what Scott Thorson says, and I do,  I don't like Liberace. I feel a lot of pity for Scott.  I should say I feel a lot of empathy for him since I have experienced my own, life destroying break up.  I think that is why my anger for Liberace was so personal and visceral.  I projected my own experience on the narrative of theirs. I particularly was angered by all the times that Liberace lies and promises to take care of people in his life; for the rest of their lives. Breaking one's word or even making that kind of promise without knowing or caring if it will be fulfilled is heinous. Despite their 5 year legal war, Scott ends up forgiving Liberace and making amends with him before he dies of AIDS.  I did take satisfaction that Scott was spared from AIDS because Liberace kicked him out before he contracted it. I was further saddened to hear from the book's afterword about Scott's life in the Witness Protection Program.  He was shot and battled drug addiction and finally in the most current related news he has become physically impaired by one the bullet wounds near his spine and also, rectal cancer. In his afterword he also comments that he is looking forward to seeing the movie version  of this story where he is played by Matt Damon. The story in this book is very interesting and emotionally engaging but the writing is glaringly simple. It is clear that Scott Thorson is not a writter.  He repeats some points enough for me to be irritated by it and he uses the word 'outrageous' far too many times. A thesaurus could have improved that. Also in the midst of his narrative he goes off on a tangent about homosexuality amongst celebrities that doesn't transition well. I understand that he has things to say that relate to the overall life and times of Liberace, but it stuck out to me as distracting. With some consultation and editing from a true writer,  it could have been incorporated better. Overall the content of the book moved me and I admire Scott's determination to paint an accurate picture of Lee the man, instead of the Faberge of Liberace. He did this in 1987 despite threats against him from Liberace's people at the time of publication. I recommend this book for people interested in behind the scenes reality check of celebrities in their own fame encrusted bubbles. It's also a time piece in the evolution of how far modern America has come to accept and respect the contributions of the homosexual community. It also shows that the life of expectancy of someone diagnosed with AIDs has increased from a year to several decades. Yours, Marsha