Customer Reviews

The Concrete Sky

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I got this book because I thought it'd make a great beach read. How wrong I was.

I was so engrossed with the breakneck twists and turns of the plot, the deceptively dry voice of Chad, the narrator, which sizzles with witty venom, and the very sexy game of cat-and-mouse between Chad and Jonathan--the boy who may or may not be a mad killer, may or may not be the man of Chad's dreams--that I read the whole book in one sitting. If I'd done this at the beach, I would have washed out with high tide.

I don't want to go into too much detail about why I loved this book or why I think Marshall Moore is a wit so caustic and laugh-out-loud brilliant that he deserves his own cable show on Bravo (and he does!). Why not? Because I'm certain to give away the story.

And the many mysteries within The Concrete Sky are what make this book so engrossing: a surprise stay in a madhouse that leads to steamy encounters with a dangerous inmate; a stalker who's a Marine with an evil mission and a worse secret still; death by pepper flakes; a tight-lipped mother trapped in her own secrets and a double-wide trailer filled with cats and litter boxes; a gruesome death that is either the supreme act of poetic justice or derangement.

And all of it told in Moore's signature style: a low-key voice with a great eye for detail and dialogue and wit so acidic it could take flesh right off the bone.

Now the next mystery I want Marshall Moore to solve is when his next book will be coming out!

I'm a bit mystified by some of the two and three star reviews here. Frankly, I found The Concrete Sky to be a refreshing change of pace, possessing an actual plot, and well-written. If I never read a gay coming-of-age novel again I'll die a happy man. I've long been a believer that a novel should be about the most interesting day (month, year, whatever) in a character's life and The Concrete Sky delivers on that score. I also found the first third to be the creepiest non-horror novel I've read in a long time. I felt a palpable sense of dread wondering if Chad was going to be trapped in the mental hospital for the long term--not to mention what his berserk older brother would do. I can definitely recommend this book and look forward to reading more of Mr. Moore's work.

I am weary of stories about gay men that feature teens "coming of age," or rejects from 1970's Fire Island, or fashion designers ... etc. I want real people I can relate to. Like "Liquor" by Poppy Z. Brite (whose quote led me to it), "The Concrete Sky" is a book about interesting adult characters who happen to be gay, not hot-pink rainbow-flagged GAY CHARACTERS. Chad and Jonathan came alive for me, and while their adventures may be a little far-fetched, it's fiction - it's supposed to involve flights of fancy. An enjoyable book. I await Moore's next, er, outing.

I thoroughly enjoyed the pitch-black humor of this book, which flips a verbal bird at everything from mental healthcare professionals to white trash to the arrogant wealthy. At times, the snarky attitude verges on overwhelming, but read in several moderately sized portions rather than wolfed down in one sitting, The Concrete Sky is as pitilessly/pleasurably sharp-tongued as Robert Schimmel's stand-up routines or Gore Vidal on one of his more misanthropic days. The noir-tinted plot keeps fingers turning pages fast, but it's Moore's singularly pissy narrative voice that leaves the deeper papercuts...on your brain.

It is so refreshing to read a gay themed novel that doesn't immediately dive into erotica or stereotypes. The characters are multi-faceted and true to life, which seems to be lacking in most gay literature (Jamie O'neil and David Leavitt notwithstanding). The book rushes along taking the reader on a fast-paced thrill ride. The dialog is fresh and honest, The plot twists and turns, and Mr. Marshall is an auther of great insight and talent. I can't wait for his next offering!

The author is the child Oscar Wilde and Dorothy Parker never had together. I haven't read anything this witty in years. THE CONCRETE SKY made me laugh, it made me mad, it made me think, it got under my skin. I was rooting for Chad and Jonathan and I wanted to slap them both too. I couldn't put this one down. It made me late for work because I stayed up late reading. This is a debut novel? What's he going to write next?

This slim piece of fiction is a "Road Movie" from Hell. It's Bob and Bing on percodan, prozac, and other prescription drugs to help them deal with their fellow freaks, and the endlessly menacing plot twists in their lives. The characters are engaging enough to hold the reader's interest. The violence is thrilling enough to create gapers block, or an R-rated screamfest.

Drop your expectations of literary genius. Pick this one up because it can grab you by the gonads, in both good and bad ways.

I enjoyed this book a lot. Bit of a romance, bit of a mystery, bit of a literary novel--all good! One thing I especially liked: it created a palpable sense of menace, something a lot of writers overdo.

Marshall Moore's debut novel is a sexy fun-filled romp where the main character, Chad, finds himself in a pych unti after his demented browbeat of a brother declares him menatlly unstable. While waiting for the doctors to to release him, Chad meets a sexy, saucy young man named Jonathon, as the patients' mysterious death tole increases.
I loved the fact that these two characters find romance in, of all places, a mental institution. It is refreshing to read a book where the two gay characters find love outside of the drug-fueled bars, the parks and the bath houses. It is a testiment to Moore's creativity and accurate sense of the present, where gay men are, quite simply, everywhere, and not just found in the ghettos of metropolises. But having them meet in such a place also sets the tone for the playfull, and sometimes dark, insanity that is to come. The most delightful aspect of the book is both the classic and pop references that is brought up in the dialogue between the characters. Everything from Sartre, to the movie Heathers, to the Narnia Chronicles is nonchalantly brought up in the dialogue, which reveals the history and world that the characters were brought up in. Here's the thing about the intelligence of this novel: It's very effortless. There is never a sense that Moore is not trying to be clever. He just happens to be clever. And his acerbic and often quotable lines remind the reader that not all writers are created equally. As Ebert would say: "One very enthusiastic thumb up!!!"

Chad can't catch a break. His money problems are reaching a critical stage, he is single, with no prospects in sight, and spends a good deal of his time trying to dodge his homophobic, and possibility homicidal brother, Martin. Just when it seems things couldn't get any worse, Chad accidentally falls from a balcony, giving Martin the opportunity to claim he is suicidal, and have him placed in a psychiatric hospital. There Chad meets the charming, and just shy of legal, Jonathan. A quick attraction develops and upon their release from the hospital, the boys begin a roller coaster ride of murder, money, and general mayhem. The Concrete Sky is a dynamic, fun filled book packed with humor, clever repartee, romance and intrigue. Moore resists the temptation of turning the hospital into a snake pit, and the chapters that take place there are balanced and realistic. The scenes depicting the relationship between Chad and his mother, an unrepentant smoker who is dying of cancer, are sharp, in tune and wholly unique. Of the new generation of gay writers who are breaking away from the traditional "coming out" story, Moore is one of the freshest voices to emerge. I look forward to his next creation.