Customer Reviews

Painfully Obvious: An Irreverent & Unauthorized Manual for Leather/SM

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

An uproariously true to life take on the leather scene, with equal doses of cynicism, humor and heart. Akin to what would come out if you ran the Marquis De Sade and Erma Bombeck through a meat grinder. LOVED IT!

Great resource filled with common sense information about the dos and don'ts about being a member of the gay subculture known as the leather community. Robert has a way of critiqing the leather community and the ways and mores and yet not criticizing (at least, not too harshly) but still staying true to the relationships with the people that he is inherantly talking about. As someone who has an idea of the various situations of which he speaks I'm amazed and disarmed by his tact, his font of information and yet his brutal honesty.

This is definitely a book for those people who are interested in what goes on with gay leather men but don't want to wade through an esoteric tome that reduces human sexuality to theory and endless analysis. The tone is direct, factual, funny and warm.

Bravo!

Painfully Obvious is a priceless collection of life experiences. Each essay helps to broaden our perspective of what it means to be a Leatherman. With his off the cuff humor and insight he has managed reach us all at a personal level. Even though you know you should not take his words to seriously secretly you can't help but not to.

The essay on "20 Things You Should Never Say Into a Live Microphone" is worth the price of admission alone. Re-reading that little article should be required before anyone steps onto a stage! Davolt gives a lively tour of the urban leather world, well seasoned with good advice from someone who's been there and done it all, and who can still laugh about it. A treasure.

Robert Davolt may be a crank, but he's my kind of crank. That Davolt's a sharp wit with as much affection as bite, and you'll find plenty to like.

In "Painfully Obvious," Davolt gathers 40 essays and runs the topical gamut from why leather matters to how to be a better citizen while still wearing cowhide. While Davolt's credentials are obvious (he turned the lights out at the legendary Drummer Magazine), it is his knowledge of history and literature outside the leather world that make this a better than average read. In fact, one of the best columns of the book is Davolt articulating his thoughts on the demise of Drummer, with thoughtfulness and nary a trace of bitterness.

A couple words of warning. If you're looking for hard handed reading, this is NOT a book of fiction. "Painfully Obvious" certainly is preaching to the perverted, and I suspect some of the essays may be tough going for the uninitiated. The number of Davolt's essays on contests is a little top-heavy, but for good reason: his background in the contest world, putting them on and competing in a couple for the better part of a decade. If you already know a little about the community and its participants (or way too much for your own good), "Painfully Obvious" will achieve one of Davolt's stated goals: it will make you smile.

Sadly, we lost Robert to Cancer in the Spring of 2005.

Whatever your opinion of the leather life style, this book will be an assist in understanding it. Witty and accurate, Davolt does what ever writer is told to do: Write about what you know. He does and eloquently. This is a subculture that is wider than may be thought and one of the more prominent in the gay community.

Beyond that, it's a text book on how to run committees, events and contests. That he focuses on leather does not hinder his advice from being very applicable to every confused organizer everywhere. If only for his suggestions on how to fire volunteers, it's worth the cost. His dissection of what can-and probably will-go wrong and how to avoid the myriad pitfalls is spot on.

The leather community should welcome this as a sorting out of the various factions within their ranks and the general community will welcome it as a bridge between what they've, perhaps erroneously perceived, and reality.

I enjoyed this fast fun book. Check it out