Toby Johnson: Toby Johnson is General Editor of White Crane. His latest book, “Gay Perspective: Things Our Homosexuality Tells Us about the Nature of God and the Universe” is published by Alyson Publications in July, 2003. This article was originally published in White Crane Journal (#42). It is reprinted with permission from www.whitecranejournal.com online.
In the breezy style of a fluff, semi-porn pulp, this surprisingly wise and at times startlingly disturbing novel addresses a classic mythical theme: what if you got what you always wanted.
By a curious quirk of modern AIDS treatment, the protagonist has been saved from death by protease inhibitors and then, by testosterone supplmentation and devotion to his workout routine, been transformed from a nice but wimpy guy into a dancefloor stud and sexy hunk.
His fascination with the world of beautiful boys he's never felt welcome in exposes him to the speed-using side of young gay life. It's that world and the character's abandonment of himself to its allures that is disturbing. But the ending—and the lesson learned from the paradoxical problems of the fulfillment of all your desires—is very satisfying.
It is interesting to observe that this novel, with no pretense of conveying gems of spiritual wisdom, probably got its message across best.
It did follow the basic plot skeleton to a T. There's a message here about spiritual plots and New Age novels!
commenting closed for this article