Customer Reviews

Back Where He Started: A Novel

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This novel seemed like such a good idea. Maybe it just tried to take on too much--aging, religion, abandonment, gay parenting, homophobia, loss of a pet, loss of homes, biological and created families, starting over, gay marriage, bisexuality, pregnancy--and so it didn't go deeply enough into any one of those things. Everything ended up being too easy, which would be fine in a book that was written with a lighter tone, but this clearly wasn't meant to be a light read and has no humor. Although the way everyone seems to always end up dressed in someone else's underwear is unintentionally (I guess?) amusing.

What put me off the most was the feminization of Chris, not a good thing when all of the biological females in the book are one-dimensional. Chris is a MAN, and a man can be just as nurturing and appealing if he's not constantly called "mom" or treated like something less than his lovers (Zach and Steve).

And the dialogue never rang true, especially when Steve and Chris lapsed into what I assume is supposed to be "working class" dialect, but was never consistent.

The themes of the book are all good; the story just didn't do them justice by finding neat little solutions for everything.

Indeed it is difficult to find books written that reflects my age group, my experiences and my present time of life. It gives me hope that at my "mature age" that life does go on after 40. Too many times, authors write for the teenage and young adult age group and not for my own (39+). Thank you Mr. Quinn for writing a truly enjoyable book, one that I identifed with, one that I will treasure for many a year to come and which is a personal classic.
Please continue to write for the older reader. If anyone knows of any well written books where the main character is 40+ and it is a well written, realistic book then let me know at [...] - DC.

So ... imagine that you're a 40-something gay man who just spent the last 22 years raising your partner's kids. You just get the last one off to college and your husband suddenly announces that he's running off to marry his (female) secretary. You have no job and basically no job skills except changing diapers and cleaning scraped knees.

Interesting premise for a book, no? (And notice there isn't one crystal snorting LA screenwriter to be found! What a pleasant change of pace for gay fiction.) The main character, Chris Thayer attempts to rebuild his life after having his house and home snatched away from him by his husband's midlife crisis. He buys a beach house (with the palimony agreement his former husband sets up), buys some furniture, gets a job, a new church, a new dog, and a new, younger boyfriend. All that within a year or so.

"Back Where He Started," is what I would call a "beach read." These are books that I consider not necessarily bad, but are just shallow enough to be enjoyed while baking in the sun, listening to your iPod, and admiring the scenery at a Lake Michigan beach.

The premise is indeed interesting, but the characters and the execution are all a little unbelieveable. The book is set in North Carolina, and though I don't know very much about the state, I know this: that's where Jessie Helms is from. How is it then that everyone, from his employer, to his priest, to the entire extended family of his new boyfriend absolutely loves this man? Other than two annoying kids who spraypaint his house, he seems to have the perfect life, and sets it up in under a year.

After 22 years of marriage, he simply starts over. Quickly. Oh, and he gets to have mindblowing sex (every time) with some young fisherman, who turns into his new boyfriend.

The book does have a few points to make about being a real individual inside of a marriage and how we define and decide our roles within those marriages. But for the most part, it's just a light book that you might enjoy while sunning yourself over in Saugatuck, P-Town, or whatever beach you frequent.

If you're really looking for an interesting book that deeply examines relationships between men, I might suggest "Comfort and Joy" by Jim Grimsley, or "Separate Rooms" by Pier Vittorio Tondelli.

I finished "Back where he started" in a day. I find it absorbing and ultimately uplifting. I do not know why but Chris reminds me of an older Tiger from "Metes and Bounds " even though they are 2 totally different persons. I love the character of Tiger and was disappointed that he was not the protagonist of "Metes and Bounds". The beginning of "Back where he started" is captivating and simply tugs at my heart. How do you cope when your spouse wishes to kick you out after you have given 22 years of your life to him and his family? It is already hard in a man-woman relationship. It's even more so in a gay marriage which is not sanctioned by law or church. Chris' predicament is heartbreaking. Luckily Quinn did not fall into the easy trap of the typical gay romance tragedy. Chris managed to pick himself up. He retained the love and respect of his "children". He found a job and even love. Does it sound sappy, like some reviews claim ? Not so for me. Life is already depressing enough. I wish to secure a bit of cheer from fiction and "Back where he started" definitely meet my expectation and more. It is a rewarding experience to read that a 48 year old gay man could have a fresh start and find happiness despite all the odds. Beautiful!

Jay Quinn tells us on every page, through the character of Chris, what a great mom he is, how pretty he is, how good his butt is, how he did the best he could, sacrifice, martyrdom and constant constant self congratulatory rhetoric. I found the concept of the story fascinating, but the writing sophomoric and its purpose to make everyone else in the book secondary to the greatness and grace of Jay Quinn. The dialogue is completely unrealistic and comes off silly. Mr. Quinn should never take up screenwriting. I had to keep reading just to laugh out loud every time he had another character tell him how fabulous he was. It gets ridiculous. It is a surface novel which screams 'love me' at the top of its lungs. I kept imagining one of Charles Busch's characters saying his lines. It's that corny. Too bad. If he weren't so wrapped up in himself and his need for approval, Jay Quinn might allow himself to go deeper and actually turn out to be a good writer.

I didn't. The story seemed interesting, but I just didn't like the writing-and a lot of it didn't ring true, many of the things the characters said sounded false, and 'written', not like anything an actual person would say-especially the exchange between the main character and his ex's wife-it all seemed phony-while the story arc was entertaining, none of it seemed real. So overall, not recommended.

I admit I was only able to get to about page 100 before giving up on this well meaning but--for me at least--boring book. I like the fact that the protagonist is over 40 and the story is not set in a big city, but I didn't particularly like or care much about any of the characters in the book--which is problematic in a book where the characters (to paraphrase Jon Lovitz as Harvery Fierstein) just want to be loved.

I agree with a lot of the negative criticism in other reviews: the main character just seemed too feminine, the dialogue was unrealistic and a lot of the catholic stuff was just off putting.

The plot also was way too obvious in many places; for example, when Chris is so worried what the priest will say to him, how can there be any doubt the priest will surprise him and be great?

The main reason this all bothers me, and why I'm writing this review, is that I think the author has some talent. All that potential is just wasted in this silly, dull book.

I admit to be a fan of Jay Quinn. His writing is excellent and you do get the feel of being at the beach!

Quinn knows how to tell the tale of rejection, moving on, connecting with the family, forgiveness, and looking toward the future. He remembers to tell the reader that everyone in your life is family, in one way or another.

I look forward to reading more of Jay Quinn's novels. "Back Where He Started" is a great follow up to "Metes and Bounds".

I really wanted to like this well-meaning tale of middle-aged man trying to rebuild his life after he's dumped by his boyfriend of twenty years for a Joan Collins character. But in the end, I wanted to get back some of the life that I'd wasted reading this self-congratulatory tripe, featuring the most wooden, agonising dialogue since James Earl Hardy's last effort. But the worst part of it is nothing happens. Nothing! Unless you count having Catholicism rammed down your throat by a bunch of one dimensional bores being terribly nice to one another. Then, to add insult to injury, in the final pages one character refers to the sex of her unborn twins by saying "one nice package and one tiny little t***." I can't recall having ever read such an ill-judged and tasteless piece of imagery.

I wish that, like the title character, I was back where I started - before I'd ever picked this up.

Back Where He Started is an admirable book about desertion and mid-life crisis. Having moved out of a long term relationship into the dating scene myself in my mid 40s, I can testify that it is scary and difficult. Quinn captured this feeling of dispossession and uncertainty very well. The fact that faith was an anchor during a turbulent storm was totally acceptable and credible to me.

However, this book suffers a bit from its good intentions. Like too many gay novels, Chris (the hero) leads an almost charmed life. Almost immediately after leaving his home in Raleigh and moving to the NC coast, he meets a perfect man after making a snap decision to turn into a vet's office. He moves from the vet to the tender-hearted, sincere and very sexy redneck vet assistant. Come on! I wish life was that perfect and easy. What happened to all the less-than-perfect men that one meets on the road to recovery?

So, in retrospect, Mr. Quinn has written a novel about a difficult time in life. The novel is well written and a fun read. It includes some great sex without being at all pornographic. But it is still, at heart, flawed by its lack of realism.