Siddharth Mehta Mehta itibaren Fatepur, West Bengal 732125, Hindistan
Bu okuduğum ilk roman, okul için değildi. Dışarda, Illinois'in merkezindeki sıcak, nemli, Temmuz havasında oturduğumu hatırlıyorum. Bir grup sayfa arasında kendini kaybetmenin ne kadar kolay olduğunu gösterdi ve okuma çılgınlığımı başlattı. Belki de en sevdiğim romanlardan biri olarak duruyor, belki de getirdiği şeylerden dolayı, ancak karakterlerin hikayesi ve yaşamları bunca zaman sonra hala aklımda yankılanıyor.
I really enjoyed this one. Months after finishing Chely Wright's autobiography, Like Me, this was exponentially better. I know part of the reason was the fact that he had decades of amazing success to write about, but he was also simply a better writer. I would have given it somewhere along 3.4 stars, so I couldn't quite round up. There was a lot of repetetiveness about "It wasn't my time," (to come out as gay) which was really not necessary. It was nice to catch a glimpse of that uber-fame that is reserved for a select few. Much of his experiences seemed incredible, especially considering that so much of this happened when he was so young. It was refreshing to hear him speak about his sexuality, why he remained hidden so long and what ultimately led him out. I was completely unaware of his work in helping to fight for the freedoms of children all across the world. I would recommend this book to anyone curious about life in such a bright light, to those who like Ricky Martin's music and certainly to people who have been or are struggling with being in the closet.
Manipulative melodrama. Kata piles on the hardships: prostitute mother, a murderer for a father, alcoholic grandfather, abuse, rape at the hands of one of her mother's clients, poverty, isolation, boring work, constant insults, the prospect of being forced into prostitution with men who get off on having sex with a blind girl. Did I mention she's blind? But she's untouched by all the sordid reality of her life. Because she's pure in heart. We know she's pure in heart because she's blind. And blond. And beautiful (except for her eyes burned out with acid thrown by her mother who was really aiming at the father who'd just murdered a client in a jealous rage. But beautiful even with burned-out eyes. Apparently the acid missed the rest of her face). And if she's blind and blond and beautiful, she's got to be pure. And so she says purehearted things like this: ""After my prayer I stopped worrying and fell asleep." (She learned about God by listening to the radio; she's just naturally open to God because the pure at heart always are). And the big revelation about Gordon is telegraphed so unrelentingly that you'd have to be as stupid as the prostitute mother not to see it coming almost as soon as the character shows up.