An Honest Man

Reviews

Mark Birkett

This is a sweet story, just as much about the family, and about the conflict of wider national/ideological belonging, as it is about sexuality. But the writer uses the description for its cringe effect and its n-erotic adolescent craving for intimacy.

Good book. We're given access to those family dinners, those awkward chats with mum sitting on the edge of the bed, with the little brother farting and muttering casual homophobic comments, not because he's homophobic, but because he's picking at the vulnerability of his otherwise invulnerable big brother that he loves, admires and wants to banter with. There definitely are some raunchy descriptions - a fantasy of Ralf - the lead - wanting to suck a hairy toe comes to mind! And this makes it interesting, and engaging to a wide range of readers.

And that's what justifies my 5 star rating. This New Adult Romance evokes the adolescent struggle of coming to terms with who you are, but differentiates itself by throwing in a whole mystery/detective plot concerned with the fall of the Berlin Wall in the late 1980s. It was great to read a book centred on a gay protagonist that didn't reduce itself to one long, low-class sex scene. The story focuses on the relationships Ralf has with his friends and family as well as the Turkish lover.