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5.0 out of 5 stars
An engrossing and comprehensive look at gay relationships, August 30, 2004
This review is from: The Loss of Innocence (Paperback)
Jay Mandal's book of short stories, "The Loss of Innocence", covers a wide spectrum of gay life. Some are his stories are poignant or even tragic, whilst others are heart-warming and touching. As always, his ability to convey what is lost between the interstices of idle chatter is to the fore.
The tale from which the book derives its title is a sad one. An inexperienced young man, Michael, has his illusions shattered, losing his innocence, when he discovers the sordid reality of the life of Max, the man to whom he is attracted and with whom he has been trying to pluck up courage to form a relationship. Max, for his part, loses the innocent Michael because of his own sexual incontinence. Both are left sadder and not necessarily wiser men. In "Epiphany" another potential relationship fails because of a failure to seize the moment - too much agonising can kill love. "When Love Wears Thin", on the other hand, is the story of a relationship maintained only by one partner turning a blind eye to the other's infidelity because of the need to stay together for financial reasons - the story of many a marriage! "A Quiet Life" is a finely observed tale of making use of someone - something we've all observed!
One of Mr. Mandal's strengths is his ability to depict crippling self-doubt and lack of self-esteem. Too often people fail to plunge in because of their inability to see themselves as people of worth. Amongst gay people this diffidence is doubly cruel since their opportunities are statistically narrower than those afforded to straight people and their negative attitudes have been reinforced by a lifetime of societal disapproval. It is all the more pleasing, therefore, to see that a story from his previous, equally as entertaining book "A Different Kind of Love" called "Of Cabbages and Kings" is taken up again and resolved in "Many Truths". The diffidence and self-doubt of both the protagonists, Matthew and Jan, persist and almost wreck their relationship. In the nick of time they speak and act truthfully and their relationship is salvaged and moves on to firmer ground.
Not all of the stories in this volume are heavy. Some are quite whimsical. "The Triumph of Hope" and "Neither Hide nor Hair" are stories of relationships beginning by chance whilst "A Lucky Escape" and "Business is Business" tell of victory in love snatched from the jaws of defeat. "All Beautiful Things" is a touching tale of love across the generations.
As should be apparent by now, Mr. Mandal ranges widely over the gay condition in this collection of stories, sufficiently wide to please most readers who are more concerned with the marvel of relationships, despite or because of their fragility, rather than with sexual explicitness. Mr. Mandal has produced a very satisfying volume ideal for reading in short bursts. It should be on every bookshelf. I look forward to his next offering and can unreservedly recommend this one.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
The Loss of Innocence and Other Short Stories by Jay Mandal, November 14, 2010
This review is from: The Loss of Innocence (Paperback)
"The Loss of Innocence and Other Short Stories" is a compilation of 28 short stories by acclaimed British author Jay Mandal. The stories are of varying lengths, some averaging ten pages while others offer vignettes of one or two pages. The overarching themes of this collection are the quest for and loss of love with the full array of accompanying human emotions, including, loneliness, insecurity, longing, fear, hope and joy.
The stories are not contextualized. Instead they provide the reader with an intimate glimpse into slices of gay life and love through exemplary dialogue and narration throughout. It is as if the reader is invited to listen in on a series of conversations and exchanges between the protagonists of each story, with dialogue that is so well crafted it serves as the main source of characterization.
While I enjoyed all the stories in this collection there are a few that were deeply touching.
The introductory story of the same title, "A Loss of Innocence," tells of the hopes of first love as Michael, a shy and inexperienced twenty-three year old, and Max, a professor at the university, form a friendship, and through this Michael begins to accept himself and the possibilities of being with Max. But Michael's hopes are shattered and his innocence lost when he takes that first step only to be met with an unwelcome surprise.
"Second Class Male" is the story of Maurice, a fellow with virtually non-existent self-esteem for whom life holds nothing but one disappointment after another. His loneliness and sense of alienation is heart-achingly palpable. In "Clothes Maketh the Man," the author reminds us of our need to be accepted and loved for who and what we truly are, regardless of our outward appearance. Both "Many Truths" and "Bookends" deal with May/December relationships and the fear of taking the plunge thereby risking the loss of love. "All For The Best" is a bittersweet story of the realities of love and relationships in the age of HIV/AIDS. This story broke my heart as Adrian and Guy try to forge a relationship but ultimately go their separate ways because of Guy's reticence to subject Adrian to the pain of his illness.
In the final story of this compilation, "A Quiet Life," Lawrence leads a very structured, quiet and solitary life and has a strict schedule that he adheres to in respect of his activities. A chance meeting with Alan who has recently broken up with his boyfriend disrupts the familiar and safe patterns of Lawrence's life and throws him into a world of human interaction. Although inexperienced and somewhat tentative at first, Lawrence begins to trust his new found comfort and ease in this very different life until Alan pulls the rug out from under him.
The book summary is most accurate in its description of this compilation of stories in that they are poignant and written with a tender, compassionate and thoughtful hand. Some are indeed humorous and whimsical and will have you laughing out loud, some are bittersweet and yet others are heart breaking. In this sense, this collection is a testament to the full spectrum of realities of gay life, love and relationships.
Jay Mandal has been referred to as Britain's answer to Armistead Maupin and on a level with author Edmund White. While I have not yet had the pleasure of reading Maupin or White and therefore cannot provide an opinion on this, I can unequivocally say that Jay Mandal is an exceptionally gifted author with a unique writing style and voice in his own right.
I highly recommend Jay Mandal's "The Loss of Innocence and Other Short Stories" without any reservation as it is an outstanding collection of stories.
This review was originally published online by Rainbow Reviews on September 13, 2009.
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