Customer Reviews

Testosterone: A Novel

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Testosterone is a transcript of the tapes made by graphic novelist Dean Seagrave about how he tracked down his ex-boyfriend, Pablo, an "emotional serial killer," and what happened later at a Taco Bell. It is a posthumous work by the fierce and original queer film maker-novelist-scriptwright James Robert Baker

Baker's literary conceit, the real-time spoken memoir, gives the book its strengths and its drawbacks. When the story goes, it really goes. You are there. Caught up in Dean's adrenaline rush as he tries record everything that is happening, or has just happened. On the other hand you are reading spoken words and that makes the text awkward and occasionally dull. Dean explains, justifies, rationalizes and then repeats the process again just as a nervous speaker does. The other problem with the narrative style is it confuses the time line.

A gay narrator driving around LA for 24 hours on a violence-tinged adventure is also the makings of Baker's Tim and Pete (1992). That novel, although sex-filled and death obsessed is, I think, better. It has some startlingly original characters, a wicked sense of fun and a kooky kind of innocence (Tim and Pete do end up back together). All that is gone here. There is no redemption, only victims and none of them are innocent.

Baker's need to assign the roles of victim and villain was a weakness in Tim and Pete. In Testosterone, he has moved on only slightly. Now AIDS sufferers are not victims of Ronald Reagan and the Republicans. They are the victims of American society, American Christian society in particular. I didn't think the hypothesis was helpful in 1992 and I don't think it holds up now. There is no empowerment in victimhood. And it strikes me as strange that Baker tries to make his point through fierce, thoughtful, take-charge characters. These guys just aren't victims. "A fag with a gun who needs a chainsaw" as Dean describes himself (pg. 137) is no victim. A man like that knows the virtue of self-reliance (and a machete).

The AIDS epidemic will always be a touchstone of queer culture, but Baker's voice-of-doom speaking from ground zero of the plague feels pretty dated in 2000.

There is a lot to admire in Testosterone. It is a good story well unfolded. It captures a fascinating environment and puts it vividly on the page. That the narrator sometimes gets in the way of these strengths may be just a quibble. I did expect a book with so much power to come with an equally powerful message. Testosterone is a disappointing final word from an artist with so much talent and so many strengths.

I bought this book, because of the movie version. The movie is soooo bad that I couldn't believe the book was that poorly written, developed, etc., and it's not. The book is sharp, witty and expertly describes a man driven mad by the power of love.

Dean and Pablo are lovers. When Pablo leaves Dean without any indication that there's anything wrong, Dean must find Pablo to fix whatever drove him away. However, in his quest to find Pablo, he learns that he is one of many (ex)lovers discarded by Pablo, like trash. It seems Pablo not only leaves a lover, but he destroys them emotionally. Story after story of how Pablo ruined lives takes it toll on Dean, and he sinks into murderous revenge. But, I was baffled and bewildered by this book (this does not excuse the bad movie, it's bad on so many levels). I didn't know what to believe, was Pablo an "emotional serial killer" or was Dean just nuts to begin with!!!! In the end it didn't matter, James Robert Baker gave me satisfaction. I throughly enjoyed this book for its suspense, story-telling (Dean telling a story via tapes to James is priceless), and the over-the-top ending for Dean. I hope he never gets out!!!!

Testosterone burns with a frantic energy that is difficult to explain. Told through a series of audio tapes instead of chapters, the story burns rubber from page one and skids to a frightening, abrupt stop at the end, the smoke still burning from my fingertips.

The narrative, as told through the voice of Dean Seagrave as he drives through LA in search of Pablo Ortega, has a stream of consciousness feel as if I was reading a lunatic's rant, and I possibly may have. It's remains a bit unclear by the close of the novel. At first I started off sympathizing with Dean, I mean who hasn't been uncremoniously dumped? Then as event by disturbing event unfolds I began to question Dean's motives. Does he really have to kill Pablo? Is Pablo really involved in palo mayombe? Does Dean have to take such drastic actions to get answers? By the end I was unsure if should hate Dean, feel sorry for him or if everything that he told me was just an overactive fever dream of a drugged up obsessive mind. That's what makes this such a brilliant novel. I couldn't put it down.

Other reviews have cited the narrative as told through audio tapes as a gimmick that wears thin which, at times, is difficult to follow. I found it compelling, as if Dean was telling me the story through his tapes. Every time he stops the tape and then continues his narrative minutes or sometimes hours after he left off, there was this edge of your seat sense of anticipation that I felt. I think expecting anything more than pure entertainment from Testosterone, like some underlying message about homosexuality or obsession or something like that, is a huge mistake. This is pure entertainment.

Definitely one of the bleakest of Baker's novels,possibly influenced by Baker's state of mind when he wrote this but it 's also one of his best as well.

P.S. steer clear of the awful movie adaptation.

I saw the movie Testosterone which I think is the worst gay movie ever made - its saving grace is Sonia Braga whom I love....however, after reading online about the book and how much better it is I can only agree - how the movie was made from this excellent book I just can't fathom - the deep, weird psychology of a pathological killer comes into play, in an almost comedic way at times too - it's all from tapes as he talks in his car, trying to track down his boyfriend - and he wants to kill him, but he beats up other people along the way, you're never sure if he is on drugs, crazy, or if he is imagining things.....very very entertaining.

I loved this book. In fact, I think it is my favorite Baker novel. (Not an easy task in itself.) The book takes off and sends the reader sailing through a trippy, action-packed, emotional nightmare. The descriptions are so vivid and fast, it is almost like a graphic novel built entirely with text. Not an easy story -- you will flinch on occasion, but it is impossible to put down.

Once I picked this book up and started reading it I couldn't stop. Written as a transcript from tapes sent by Dean Seagrave to Jim Baker, it tells the story of Dean's love for Pablo. To even attempt to describe this story would ruin the joy you'll find in its entertaining pages. It's not easy to read, and sometimes hard to take, but I found it really worth the effort. This is a novel you won't soon forget. It lingers on the mind for days to come. You are either going to love it or hate it.

Baker committed suicide in November 1997. Too bad Baker is no longer with us. His writing is truly brilliant and so different. This novel packs a punch and won't fail to move and effect whomever reads it. That's for sure!