9.15.2005

Second Chances

By the grace of the blogging Gods I stumbled across the site of author Brian Fletcher. Mr. Brian as he is known to his fans & friends is one of the most likeable and genuinely "real" people you'd ever want to know. Having come to learn more about him through reading his posts and sharing comments back and forth on our respective sites it was obvious that I'd have to buy a copy of his book. So after a near three week wait for my local Barnes & Noble to secure me a copy of the book I was finally able to get a copy in hand and start absorbing. It was worth the wait.

The main characters in the book, Rick and Jack, are as different as day and night in regards to their personalities. Without spoiling the content for anyone who plans on reading the book I'll say that I found myself strongly disliking one of the men and sympathizing for the other. Then as I got deeper into my read more I went back and forth between admiration and outrage towards them both. It's an easy book to read in that Brian Fletcher has a writing style which makes for smooth, flowing words and a simplicity that most anyone can relate to. That said some of the complex situations and conflicts of the characters made it difficult to digest emotionally ---just as in real life.

The book isn't superficial fluff and it certainly isn't your typical gay romance. It's a story about acceptance, change, and like the title implies, second chances. On the surface it appears one way but that changes as another layer of Jack or Rick's personality is exposed bringing up a whole new batch of emotions. If you're looking for a book based soley on frivolous sexual adventures then it's not for you. But if you can appreciate something that scratches it's way into the good and the bad layers of a relationship then you'll love it. In all honesty the only thing I disliked about the book was that it ended way too soon. I look forward to Brian Fletcher's next novel which I hope will be a sequel to the first.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey Pookie,
I stubmled across his site and have been anxiously waiting until my classes are finished to go get the book. Thanks for the review! Sounds as good as I was expecting it to be. I'll let you know once I finish it and we'll compare notes. Peace ~S

Joel said...

I thit so close to home for me...being a gay dad raising 3 kids with a step dad (my partner) in the wings. I loved it and related so many elements to my life. Sorry to admit I am probably the Jack in the book.

cola boy said...

I'll keep an eye out for it in my ISO book club. Sounds like a good read. :-)

Mike said...

Message recieved.

I have got to buy this book.