Customer Reviews

Burden of Ashes

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I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I feel about this book. It does contain some of the most beautiful images I've ever read; yet the over-all sensation I am left with is disappointment. That, however, may have been the point, as the author uses some wonderful imagery when talking about loss, emptiness, love, family. The book is really not so much a novel as an observation of various incidents in the author's life (fictional or real, I'm not quite sure). It is in these "snippets" that the author is at his best: drawing incredible detail into small events and eliciting a sigh, a memory, or an "I know that feeling" reaction from the reader. But when viewed as a whole, the book appears to have no direction. When I closed the cover, I wondered what I was supposed to take away from this mish-mash of writings other than melancholy. Now, the author is a performance artist and at times passages of this book can take on the pretentiousness I despise in most performance arts pieces. (The section "26 Acts" falls into this category for me.) Luckily, those moments are rare. All-in-all, I would love to read a more traditional novel -- not necessarily A to Z plot, but closer to that -- because I think this man has a wonderful way with words.

What can I say? I found this book from a review in the British Gay Times. A glowing review which called the authour 'a real writer'. They were right.