Sunday, April 29, 2012

Cocktails and Cockpics - A Grindr Love Story by Chris Tracey

This novel is gay. I mean it: this is a gay novel. The action happens nowadays and it is reminiscent of the show "Friends". It is the story of 4 flat mates: the gay rich closeted and shy man, the slutty and mean gay guy who knows the scene, the fag hag who is secretly in love with one of the gay guys and the  straight guy  pretending to be gay in order to live in a nice apartment with cheap rent. You can guess the implications of this.


The novel is quite predictable, once you start knowing the characters. From the first quarter you will know how it ends. On the other hand, I believe it to capture a lot of the phases of gay life, so it is not about the destination, but the journey. Amazingly enough I found out that the scene and all the problems a gay man has are the same everywhere: from coming out, to finding a boyfriend and even discussing about having an open relationship.

The novel brings something I haven't seen before in the genre: no explicit sex scenes and the perspective of the fag hag. You might think that a book about a shy man who wants a boyfriend might lack substance, but you'd be wrong.  "What's perfect isn't perfection, it's what's enough for you and for me." - Peter (the main character) discussing his relationship with Dave (the boyfriend).

As a gay man I had asked myself the question: "What happens to gays in the end?".  Read the book and find out.

I haven't decided what new book to start, so check my blog later for an update. :)


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