Customer Reviews

Martin and John: A Novel

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This debut novel finds its essence in a postmodern distortion of time, space and characterization. The title characters, Martin and John, appear as different people in different situations in each chapter of the book, forcing the reader to re-evaluate his/her notions of personal identity. In one chapter, Martin and John may be a happy, newly-established couple living fabulously in New York City; in another, they remain together tenuously while struggling with life in a small desert town. There is an underlying continuity, however, and the end result is a compelling statement about human character and the myriad facets of our personalities. Peck's brutal honesty and perfectly-crafted descriptions can make the reader wince with empathy and well with emotion. This is a triumphant book, to be read and shared as widely as possible.

Some books you start reading remind you of something lost, something hidden or the worst, something unspoken. Martin and John crosses your pathway in the world of reading by bringing back your memories to your mind. Dale Peck is a great artist, as I can say. His greatness is not only in writing but he is great because he reflects the pasts of millions without naming each of them; touching their souls with a delicate word. As I started reading the novel in English, that is my second language, flashbacks from my own past started marching in front of my eyes. In the Chapter titled Given This And Everything he says: '...without measuring things how can you say what you've lost?'. Start thinking as you wish...I am sure that just this simple question will tell a lot about what you have forgotten. It is a journey. Reading Martin and John. It is a bridge not only between the world of Peck's and yours but a bridge between your mind and your self. It is a bridge that all should pass through.

Like a lone wolf that slips into your room in the dark of night, so too did Dale Peck. Here is an author, whose first effort written while still in his twenties, possesses the gift of prose and delicate insight into the plight not only of those afflicted and affected by the ravages of AIDS, but also of evoking those parts of your past that everyone wants to shut a door on, hits the mark every time! I loved this book with a passion that resulted in my copying sentences and paragraphs for later reference. It has followed me for over a year and every time I come across it on my bookshelf, I have to open it and savour one of those many favourite passages. If you want something aside of the usual pulp fiction out there, and are willing to lose your heart and soul, Dale Peck is the place to start.

One of the very reasons I enjoyed this 'novel' of sorts stems from the very style in which it is written. I've reread it many times over since I bought it, and have found it as compelling the 50th time as the first. The way in which Peck gives life to Martin and John, and the parents (lovers, stepparents, exlovers, etc) Bea and Henry in successive stories, changing histories, including other pasts, and including his own life in the story telling, gave me a way to describe a post-modern story to my friends; one in which a non-linear story line could advance a set of characters as well as be self-aware of itself. This continues to be one of my favorite stories on my bookshelf, and I would lend it to anyone if I hadn't already loaned it to my friend.

The first time I came across this book was its chinese version, which I bought for its attractive book cover. It was difficult for me to follow the stories at first, because it isn't a conventional type of fiction, but a group of stories all with the characters named John and Martin.

But I was gripped as I read on. The stories are naturalistic and dark. I don't know how much they reflect the truth (I'm a girl, so what do I know?) but they feel real and it's really moving, esp. the part about lover dying of AIDS. I love this book, and I lent it to a friend (who is also a girl) and she liked it too.

Of course it is not sitcom, but it is not boring. Most of the book is about the not so happy parts of life, but the people are not feeling miserable about themselves.

This is an interesting love story about a couple battling against AIDS. John struggles to keep the relationship with the man he loves, Martin who is living with AIDS. Martin, however, is bitter at the world for giving him the disease and at John for not having to suffer through his pains and mental anguish. To get his own feelings out about Martin, AIDS, and the whole gay culture, John writes stories about what life may have been like with Martin if things were different: they meet as children; Martin as a rich philanthropist drawn to the naive John; Martin as a street hustler who meets John on his first visit to New York; and many others. Each story reflects at what stage their real relationship is at.

It's a unique look at love and relationships in the gay community in the face of AIDS. But, I will admit that I wasn't sure what was going on; the real relationship of Martin and John is noted by italics, whereas John's stories remain in regular font/text. Once I realized what was going on, the story was very much enhanced by this form of storytelling. Dale Peck also has a knack for dealing with human emotions. Nothing is cheap or wasted, and the actions and reactions fo the characters seem very realistic. A great book!!!

This is a very dark book. The first chapter opens with a gruesome description of a boy finding his unconscious mother having miscarried in a pool of blood. This young mother is later sent to a nursing home with a degenerative nervous disease, never to return. In a following chapter, a boy drowns, another is kicked by a horse, another has his face sliced while a woman is beaten black and blue by her husband. In the next chapter, a father steps hard on his young son's hand at which point, I gave up reading the book. When there's totally no joy or humour in any page, what was the point?

"In a debut novel, the realities of gay life in the wake of AIDS are examined through the story of John's life, and in the stories John writes in his journal after his lover's death.--SC"--© zebraz

Anyone who has ever been affected by HIV or AIDS will be profoundly disturbed, then horrified, and finally moved to tears reading this book. It says what so few are willing to say about the tragic emotional impact this condition has on its victims. Truly a masterful piece of literature and should easily make its way into the canon of modern gay writing.

While the story is average, or great, depending on your perspective, the style of writing and its daringness to find new grounds in terms of narrative should make this book a recommended read.