Customer Reviews

Execution, Texas: 1987: A Novel (Stonewall Inn Editions)

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

 

 

Scott's novel is an engagingly disconcerting joyride through Seeger King's last months in Execution, Texas. Somehow our hero's apocalyptic visions are completely believable and heighten the sense of terrified wonder that so often accompanies late adolescence. Seeger's family relationships are wrenching and compelling, especially concerning his "real mom", Joan. A marvelous read.

Our coming of age stories are changing. From the darkness of The City and the Pillar, to the confused and somewhat sordid initial sexual experiences of A Boy's Own Story, the stories of boys having sex with boys have been utterly different from the stories of boys having sex with girls. What was sweet or stumbling or even high tragedy in the latter was inevitably sinister or surreptitious or just pathetically tragic in the former. But in the hands of Seattle writer D. Scott Travers and other artists of his generation (like Gregg Araki), the story changes, more of a coming-of-age-story with a twist than a twisted coming of age story. Seeger King, Travers' protagonist, is seventeen, in his final year of high school in a town an hour outside Dallas called Execution. The year's 1987. He's had a boyfriend (Jésus), and now has a girlfriend (Cordelia), and is eyeing another boy, a wrestling puppy one year his junior (Kent). Cordelia, and the rest of Seeger's circle, knows about Jésus and Kent, and Seeger is not merely fooling himself with Cordelia. There are problems, sure, but he is genuinely sexually and emotionally interested in her. That's new. Neither his mystic and increasingly insane mother, nor his father and his stepmother, know much about his sex life, but the degree to which sexuality is normalized in this novel, and how closely associated that normalization is with pop culture (in this case, mostly Marc Almond and his various musical incarnations, including Soft Cell), is an excellent portrait of how sexual development and sexual identity are slowly coming to be seen. Marc Almond and Prince and Morrissey and Madonna have all been telling kids for about a decade now just how fine sex of all sorts is, and kids are tuning in, becoming less straight - and less prescriptively gay - in the process. Execution, Texas: 1987 is a sexy and powerful portrait of the foundations of the next generation in our continuing sexual evolution.

What really blew me away about this book was that it wasn't just another coming out novel, or teen angst story. The characters are funny and unusual, yet I could still identify with them. The flashbacks weren't confusing to me at all, and I like that the author questions faith and spirituality and issues beyond sexuality. A great surprise!

This could almost have been my story. I felt that it was a good book & very easy to read. Some of the things that the main character delt with is what so many gay teens deal with, questions, questions, questions. This book doesn't answer any of the questions, but at least it makes some of them more interesting. I finished this book in an afternoon and felt it was worth reading. Go at it from a semi-light hearted point of view and you'll enjoy it & don't try to make it more than it is or you'll put it down fast.

This is a beautiful tale of a young boy tryiong to find his way in life.

It was great to read and remember how I felt at this age. Trying to understandmy feelings about wanting to be with me. Why was it I wasn't in to girls? What was wrong with me.

THe resolution at the end of the book was marvellous!

A well written novel focusing on the summer of 1987 in the life of a graduating gay/bi high schooler. The book is a short 210 pages which enabled me to complete it in one afternoon. A diverse cast of characters (mainly six) but only Seegar King (the princple character) is fully developed. The other characters: Seegar's mother, father, step-mother, two girl friends and boy classmate-love interest are not well developed. The frequent references to Marc Almond song titles put Seegar's life in a strange perspective that made it clear that this story was intended for a young audience. The few sexual scenes are quite tame, brief and apparently unsatisfying for the participants and reader as well. I am passing the book along to Texas friends who may appreciate the references to areas of their state.

For many reasons I very much enjoyed D. Travers Scott's novel. Scott's command of the classical elements ensures a well balanced believable story told in a logical, easy-to-follow dramatic sequence of events. Pathos and humor tightly bind each vivid scene. And I like the sex too!

I like a little blood with my meat and that's exactly what Scott gives you...just a little. Seeger is at once rubbing, grinding, and pushing against his carnal coming of age. Seeger is no different than any other horny teen struggling to find his path. He is wracking his brains trying to make sense of the examples his mentors/role models have given him. He is figuring out they won't work for him. The absolute frustration with and distancing from his parents proves Seeger is the same as any other teenager...only different!

I can highly recommend this Novel. Not only is it well written, it is believable and entertaining!

While not perfectly realized, the themes developed in this novel are interesting and affecting. The relationship between Seeger, the seventeen-year-old protagonist, his girlfriend Cordelia, and the object of (apparently, everyone's) desire, Kent are developed with wit and intelligence. Unfortunately, altogether too much psychic mumbo-jumbo clutters the narrative and too-frequent use of flashback confuses the continuity of the story. In my opinion, the novel's strengths outweigh it's weaknesses and as such it is RECOMMENDED reading.

Execution, Texas was truly a fun read. I enjoyed the flashbacks personally, and the fact the main character, Seeger, was just beginning to understand himself...and he takes you along for the ride. Enjoy the book for yourself...throw in some early 80s synth music, sit back, and give it a read...you won't want to put it down.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Its strengths are in its fascinating look at the lives of high school students struggling with figuring themselves out, both personally and sexually, and in a sometimes real main character.

The drawbacks for Execution, Texas 1987 are in the often confusing use of flashbacks, as I often had to read closely or read again to determine whether or not I was reading a flashback, and in what I read from a prior review: the characters are a little TOO open about their sexuality.

Other than that, as I said, I enjoyed reading it, especially since Seeger does with Marc what I do with Stevie Nicks.