These are great stories, well worth reading. Whether they are the best, others will determine in the future, but they were selected from many by the editor Steve Berman, who included one of his own. Berman founded Lethe Press, in 2001 to focus on “speculative fiction, books of gay interest, poetry, spirituality, as well as classic works of the occult & supernatural.” Several of the stories are described as “fantastical,” including Berman’s own story “Kinder.”
Berman’s introduction makes it clear that by “gay” he means gay men; all the stories are about gay boys and men. A few of the stories are by well-known authors, but most are by lesser known writers. One interesting feature of the volume is the ordering of the stories, which ― for the most part ― is chronological by the age of the main characters, from school boys through retired elderly men, including an elderly couple (together since 1956) one of whose members suffers from Alzheimer’s.
Style and themes are varied. The first story is rather stream of consciousness. A couple of the stories are autobiographical essays. But most are more conventional narratives. Themes run the gamut of gay life. The younger boys suffer bullying and rejection and even rape, but some also advance toward coming out and enjoying gay life. Young and older men suffer ― but also enjoy ― the ups and downs of gay relationships. AIDS is important in at least one story. Some stories are sad; some are violent; a few are comical. And others are fun and joyful.
A nice feature of this collection is that, unlike most anthologies, the reader doesn‘t have to skip to the end to learn about each author. Instead, very short bios precede each story. Additionally, the stories are very well written and edited. Not a single typo was encountered. Even if these aren’t the “best” gay stories, they are very good and I recommend this anthology for any library and any reader interested in contemporary gay fiction of the shorter variety.
Reviewed by, James D. Anderson
Professor Emeritus
Rutgers University
