Johnny Was & Other Tall Tales [Paperback]

Greg Wharton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2003

Foreword by M. Christian. Greg Wharton takes his place with Dennis Cooper, Scott Heim, Brian Pera, and JT Leroy as a barker-cum-bard on the Pomo-Pinocchio Island of Misfit Boys Craving Other Misfit Boys. His siren song is deceptively simple but no less deadly. By the end of Johnny Was, your heart won't be all that's aching.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...skewers the greatest hits of porn—coach, Daddy, sex worker—with his gift for creating real people and gritty atmosphere." -- Kirk Read, author of How I Learned to Snap<br /><br />"Greg Wharton is a damn fine tour guide through the darker alleyways of desire." -- Simon Sheppard, author of Hotter Than Hell<br /><br />"Reading these stories, you may forget what the difference is between laughter and tears; arousal and regret." -- Patrick Califia, author of Speaking Sex to Power<br /><br />Greg Wharton is a damn fine tour guide through the darker alleyways of desire. --Simon Sheppard, author of Hotter Than Hell<br /><br />Greg Wharton skewers the greatest hits of porn--coach, Daddy, sex worker with his gift for creating real people and gritty atmosphere. --Kirk Read, author of How I Learned to Snap<br /><br />Reading these stories, you may forget what the difference is between laughter and tears; arousal and regret. --Patrick Califia, author of Speaking Sex to Power

Greg Wharton skewers the greatest hits of porn--coach, Daddy, sex worker with his gift for creating real people and gritty atmosphere. --Kirk Read, author of How I Learned to Snap

Greg Wharton is a damn fine tour guide through the darker alleyways of desire. --Simon Sheppard, author of Hotter Than Hell

From the Publisher

Contains a Foreword by M. Christian.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Suspect Thoughts Press (August 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971084661
• ISBN-13: 978-0971084667
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 4.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,281,046 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't be fooled, January 30, 2005

By 

Chad Sosna "Doo-Lang Love" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Johnny Was & Other Tall Tales (Paperback)

This isn't just a collection of erotic stories, it's more. The excitement of eroticism is there, but more important, this is more a book of lonely hearts. The characters you will meet in these stories, a dog-walker, teenager at camp, volunteer to the nursing-home set, prisoner on death row, and more, all in one way or another are dealing with unrequited love.

Some scenes are sad, some are funny, and some just plain sizzle. Don't consider this as "porn"--it's a collection of stories about the surprising twists and turns that life takes, and how various people deal with them. I would have enjoyed even more of these stories in this gem of a volume.

4.0 out of 5 stars Up, Up & Away, May 9, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Johnny Was & Other Tall Tales (Paperback)

Wharton dashes from the starting gate with a character who dreams of tornados. This is most appropriate to describe the central theme of the collection. Some of the people living inside Wharton's head are adulterers, victims of unrequited love, or on death row awaiting execution for being a little too intense when it comes to love. One contemplates the irony of religious persecution. It would be easy to write that Wharton takes on numerous clichés and gives them new life but the internal dialogue of his avant-garde characters keeps well off the path most traveled. In the end Wharton's collection whips into quite a finale as it sucks his protagonist up into the heart of an actual tornado. Read Johnny Was and take a look at the world from the inside of the maelstrom.