Customer Reviews

Blind Items: A Novel

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

this novel caught my eye for its bookjacket promise of bitchy fun. that was certainly a good selling point, but after reading Blind Items: A (Love) Story, i think there's even more to recommend it. the representation of diversity in queer culture is wonderful, and many of the passages are actually quite moving. this IS a marvelously bitchy gossipfest, but it's also a touching account of what it means to grow up gay.

In the vein of "contemporary gay fiction" I must say that there are many other books worth buying before this one. The fairytale quality of the plot is cute at best, but the dialogues ... are pretty awful. Everything about this book pointed to the eventual deception that I felt, so I suppose it was not that surprising. If you have a long flight (and you count on sleeping a little, but not too much...) this is a perfect choice.

Not only was I laughing out loud causing people to stare at me on the subway when reading this, I was often in tears trying to control myself from a loud outburst of laughter, causing little old ladies to ask if I was okay. And what happened, I laughed harder right in their faces!

This Baywatch meets the porn industry (Yes I am over-simplifying things here) is witty and biting.

If you love pop culture, and love to laugh this book is a great choice for you!

I **LOVED** Boy Culture and couldn't wait to get my hands on Blind Items and I wasn't disappointed. The characters were wonderfully witty, multi-layered, and believable! The only minor complaint I'd have would be the John Dewey parts - the sudden shift from first to thrid person and the even bigger shift from late-90's to mid-80's was often jarring -- but at least it all pulled together in the end. I especially loved the blind items and was surprised that Alan Dillinger came across as a real person and not just a pretty face on People magazine :) Great work, Mr Rettenmund - keep it up! ...and get the next one out faster this time, dang it! :)

This book is about David, a 32 year old gay guy in NYC thats life has stalled out in recent years. Then there is John, seemingly unrelated to the main story, who is raised by his drunk of a granny and grows up a social outcast. The book is pretty entertaining, but I didn't find a lot of the parts you're supposed to laugh at very funny. I could have done without all the little "Off the List" columns inserted throughout (I think the ending would've worked fine without them). Overall it was a pretty good read but ultimately forgetable.

Having torn through "Boy Culture" at an astonishing pace -- I finished it in about a day, something I only do with books I've thoroughly enjoyed -- I'd been eagerly looking forward to reading "Blind Items." (The fact that I'm a gossip aficionado also spurred my interest.) I wasn't disappointed.

The protagonist in the book, jaded Manhattanite writer David Greer, hits the jackpot when he runs into TV & movie star Alan Dillinger (who's kind of like a more-famous version of "Baywatch" stud David Chokachi) and strikes his fancy. Living out a dream -- what would it be like to screw somebody famous? -- shared by millions of other gay men, Greer gets romantically involved with Dillinger and finds that he's intelligent, sensitive, and well as "deep" underneath his bleached-hair, buffed-bod Ken doll "himbo" exterior.

Interspersed throughout the book are blind items (salacious but anonymous gossip items about celebs) that may or may not have an element of real-life truth to them. Being a gossip expert myself, I recognized about half of the BIs, but most of them are cryptic enough to make their subjects hazy. (The author, incidentally, presents all of the blind items as fictional.)

My sole criticism of the book would be in regards to its John Dewey portions, which consume about half of it. The voice in the book changes dramatically as Rettenmund takes a Scott Heim-esque turn and writes from the perspective of an abused and terminally unpopular teenager. The transition effect is often quite jarring. Plus, Rettenmund seems more in his element writing as a catty, proud-to-be-out New Yorker. Still, the Dewey portion of the story does pick up a considerable amount of steam towards the end.

Even given its flaws, I wholeheartedly recommend the book for gossip mavens and gay lit fans everywhere.

A wonderful example of "boy-meets-boy" book. Like so many other works of gay fiction I've read, "Blind Items" intermingles camp and gossip with true feeling and emotion, bringing characters alive as real human beings. I especially loved it that David was not some hot Greek god, but just your ordinary Joe -- good-looking but with some "flaws." Matthew Rettenmund has a great deal of talent, and I hope he comes out with more novels like this very soon!

Seriously. There are so many throw away jokes in Blind Items that I had to slow down to catch up with them. There is enough wit and hilarity on page...i don't know...say, 62, alone to fill a sassy comedian's sketch book. Humor aside, and not being a huge fan of pop culture gossip, this book has a lot more to offer and disguises it in a seemingly superficial wrapper. It may be dated in the pre-Perez era, but Rettenmund's way with words keeps it endlessly fresh and engaging. The two storylines (closeted actor and silent film freak) are both so equally engrossing that the twist connecting them at the end came as a surprise. I know Matt has a successful blog (Boy Culture) to maintain, but I can't wait for him to write another book!

This is a fairly typical gay book - closeted gay celebrity, not closeted love interest, flaming best friend, cool chick friend...

Yet the style, with two concurrent stories,one present, one past, works well. You know fairly early on how they will connect, but knowing the destination does not distract from the trip. I liked the gentleness in the developing relationship, the reality of gay men's obsession with "who is, who isn't", and what we would do if given the chance.

The writing is solid, and offers some solid insight to the characters. It does not have the humor of Christian McLaughlin's "Glamorpuss", but I still say it is worth a try.

The author loves throwing in pop culture junk, celebraties, and circuit boys. Through it all, he has managed to write a touching romance novel, with real fleshed out flawed characters facing everything we hate to deal with in real life. I reveled in the banter, was tittlated by the romance, and genuinely felt for the hero of the story, an every(gay)man type working in a job he hates trying to become a successful writer. It feels very fairy talish until we are faced with a real morning after.

Buy it. Read it. Love it.

P.S. Much better than his first novel.