Customer Reviews

Gossip

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

OK, it's not a great classic or anything, but taken on its own terms, it's highly enjoyable. The premise (gay liberal male gets involved with gay conservative male) is just a variation of the Carville/Matlin phenomenon, but Bram gives it the humor and odd twists which are required to keep your interest.

As for the second half, the so-called "mystery", readers would be well-advised to take that on Bram's terms, too; he's not really trying to make a big socially significant point, but he's not just settling for a frothy Robert Rodi-type novel, either. (No offense to Rodi, whose novels I always enjoy).

In some respects, Bram's style reminds me of Peter Cameron or Nick Hornby. These authors clearly care about their characters, but in a somewhat detached way which may not appeal to everyone.

Don't mistake this detachment for disinterest or lack of conviction; it's all there, it's just that Bram is evoking the era a bit more effectively than we may be comfortable acknowledging. No, the loose ends are not all neatly wrapped up at the end, but when does that ever happen in real life anyway?

When I first picked up this book, I did not realize that it was gay fiction. Once into the book, I couldn't stop reading it though. It was suspenseful and interesting enough to keep reading, though I will admit that it left me even more confused at the end. It ends up being a book about morals and ethics ... which is really interesting.

Ralph Eckert is a young man who lives in NYC, quietly gay and content with his life as a bookseller in a bookstore. He travels to D.C. to visit a friend from college and before heading home, he met up with one of his computer friends to have a face to face meeting. That short affair led to diastrous results and a murder which Ralph was framed for. The young man who was murdered was a promising writer who was on the threshold of publishing a tell-all book about lesbians in D.C., in hopes to shatter careers. It was a bitterly written book and it was the reason why Ralph broke things off with him. Then Ralph finds himself in the center of a storm between the religious right and the gay activists who want to fight for their rights. Ralph was stuck smack in the middle of it and there doesn't seem a way out of the mess.

This book talks about choices and how choices make a mess of other people's lives ~~ how people can miscontrue other people's desires and wishes, how people can take off with a simple matter and see it explode into something out of their control and innocent people are left to pick up the pieces afterwards. It is interesting to see how all this ties in together ~~ and it was confusing in some parts. It is a book that explores human nature at its finest and at its worst and how people aren't what they seem to be. Very intriguing reading.

1-23-07

GOSSIP, by Christoper Bram, was the most exciting book I have ever read. It always kept me at the edge of my seat and in the end it blew me away. The book is about a gay man named Ralph Eckhart, who gets caught up in political life and in trouble with the law when he has an affair with Bill O'Connor, a closeted republican and journalist. Even though I don't pay much attention to politics or homosexual men, GOSSIP was a book that kept me wanting more and no other book has ever done that for me. Although I'm not much of a reader, the way Christopher Bram told the story made me love his book. It seemed as if everything in the book somehow had a connection to the other and it all falls together in the end. I loved the book and I'm sure you will too, so if you see the book GOSSIP in the bookstores pick it up and give it a try.

Father of Frankenstein is much better. This book is entertaining, and I like the modern touch - online chats and the gay conservative character. However, Bram couldn't seem to make up his mind regarding how realistic he wanted the story to be. The first half of the book was a pretty good commentary of Washington politics (in the Clinton era), but the second half just degenerated into a plot-driven and far-fetched fluff.

I bought this book because the back cover synopsis made it sound like a good comedy; a political satire. Although the book was not quite what I expected, it was very good. I was unfamiliar with Bram, and did not know that this book was considered gay fiction. It was a very good read and the story definitely sucked me in with a few twists and turns that I never expected. The main character, Ralph Eckart, is very likeable and I found myself amazed at his unfortunate luck and stood behind him all the way. I plan on picking up Father of Frankenstein by Bram next time I am looking for something to read. He is a great storyteller and Gossip is a good, quick read.

Christopher Bram is a consistant author and does not let the reader down with this novel. A good taut thriller well written and very plausable - Gossip makes a great holday read. People who read his books will not be disappointed and those who enjoy a good thriller will also not be let own. All I can say is I highly recommend it.

In Christopher Bram's Gossip, Ralph Eckhart pays the price of sleeping with the enemy (a closeted spokesman for the Chritian Coalition). He becomes deeply involved in scandal and murder resulting from his horny decision. The murder myster element is not strong but it is used more as catalyst for the narrator to explore all of his issues about sex, politics, and where and how one takes a personal stand in both arenas. It is not the author's best work but there is enough of interest to sustain the reader and small moments of insight and beauty. The quiet, unsettling ending was the set at the perfect pitch. An enjoyable read.

Bram continues to take the genre gay ficton to higher plateaus. In GOSSIP, he explores the phenomenon of aol dates and on-line chatrooms and the weirdness of log cabin republicans (whatever!), and weaves a compelling tale of murder and intrigue to rival the best pulp fiction writers. This is a terrific read!

I'm not really sure what statement Bram was making about gay activism versus religious right rhetoric. In many ways I thought that the Republican characters were more likable than the gay-activist types (in particular Nick). I applaud Bram for getting into the mind of Ralph. The problem is, once in, there was nothing to see. For a lead character he seemed to lack any conviction about his fate or the situations in which he found himself, until the very last pages. The flow of story was swift, however, so I based my good review on that, in spite of a weak leading man. The book was a gift to me, but I'll probably buy Bram's next work based on this one.

If you were a fan of Gore Vidal before he went strange, then Christopher Bram is the novelist for you. If you don't know Bram, then Gossip is the novel with which to begin. Sex, suspense. mystery, social criticism, and satire all combine to make this a throughly engrossing novel. How nice to read an intelligent author. Most authors would tell you exactly what kind of character "Tersites" was in Troilus & Cresssida (a rank scandalmonger who was severly beaten by Ulysses). But when Bram assigns the name to one of his characters, he flatters the readers intelligence by not laboring the parallel. So there is wit as well as good storytelling with this author.