Customer Reviews

Briefly Told Lives

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

These are not your educated, well-bred, middle class gay people in these stories. These are real people who happened to be gay, or even straight. C. Bard Cole has written individual stories, about named individuals that are edgy, brash, and very insightful. The stories are about sex workers, punks, and characters from all different backgrounds which includes teens to rich college boys.

I found this to be an intensely rewarding read because it was so different from the "normal" writing be put out there by the mainstream gay literary giants. This is a fresh and different type of writing. Each story was a brief history into the life of the character. This is a exciting debut for Cole and I really enjoyed this new author. The drawings and illustrations were an added bonus. If you want to read a book that it different and that will stir you try this one.

Bard Cole's short stories profiling the lives of young gay men is fascinating. It's impossible not to care about them, as in just a few pages, they come alive. Some are loveable, some hateful, but I wanted to know more...what shaped them, made them choose one course over another? Gayness aside, the varying approaches to life's problems runs the gamut.

Many of the stories are illustrated with Cole's excellent drawings, and if you can, by visiting his website, wheedle a copy of the chapbook "Fag Sex in High School", you'll be glad you did. I hope this book will be the first of many.

C. Bard Cole's laconic style limns a wide variety of gay characters in this collection of stories, from middle- and upper-class men, to denizens of the counterculture, to drug addicts and murderers. His ability to sketch a complete character in a few words is astonishing, and his deliberately documentary-like prose can make an unlikely interracial romance unexpectedly touching. Conversely, the tale of two teenage sex buddies who almost casually descend into murder and addiction chills to the bone when told this way. On the other hand, sometimes the flat style means the narratives remain--well, flat. Overall, there are enough engaging moments in this collection to keep one turning the pages, and the lesser tales are, if nothing else, short.

In an interview published in The Stranger, Bard Cole made the rather sweeping comment that he killed Gay Literature. Perhaps he has, or perhaps he has blown more life into it than any author of recent memory. His short to the point stories have more connection to the actual lives of young gay men at the end of the twentieth century then the musty volumes of fabulousness that have gone before. I had the unsettling experience of reading Dancer from the Dance just before starting Briefly Told Lives, and Holleran's book suffered in comparison. It is difficult for me to say if this is just a difference in decades, or truly a measure of how much more descriptive Cole is of real gay men. I didn't just believe in his characters, I felt I lived with them for a brief moment.

In the same interview, Cole claimed he writes like a retard. If this clear, to the point writing is the writing of a retard, then I sincerely hope to read more retarded writing in the future. His self effacing criticism masks his acute observational powers.

Mr. Cole's stories speak with wit and intelligence to the reality of life for young gay men. There is nothing of falsified sitcom lives here -- just an honest look, from an original and honest voice, at lives that too often are whitewished or vilified. Mr. Cole's literary style is straightforward but has an undercurrent of humor and real appreciation for his audience.

Most of C. Bard Cole's stories read like outlines for stories he seems unwilling to have written more artfully. Still, at times even these outlines can present very moving glimpses at the lives of outcasts. Cole works best when he writes clear, fast moving descriptions of his characters and uses minimal dialogue. Too often with Cole, one is reminded how often he breaks the Creative Writing Rule 101: "show it, don't tell it." As a published writer, he should be beyond that. The last story in the book is the longest and most disappointing. It displays the worst of Cole's dialogue, which is not his strongest talent even in his best stories, and lacks the power of the earlier, fast moving pieces. Despite its shortcomings, "Briefly Told Lives" is worth reading for those strong moments. Just wait for the paperback.