Buddies

I have to appreciate Mordden's contribution to gay literary. Just have to. I am not someone who picks up works by authors of his level. Difficult to enjoy. Although I got his books months ago, I did not dare to start, until recently.

I admit I have to read the lines twice to be able to absorb what he was sharing. The first chapter itself was good. I laughed. Great humor. However, as I went into more and more chapters, reading twice was no longer tolerable. I began to count pages before the book would end.

This reminded me of reading Larry Kramer's work. Too many characters and at the end, I lost the story flow. Mordden's Buddies was nothing as complicated as Kramer's work but still, I felt that at times, I was lost. I really did not know show more what he was referring to, and should I read the page before again, to see if I could understand.. I did not want to. So, I just flip the pages, missing some, I would bet, humor in his writing.

Another thing is that one must really know the ongoing in America to understand some of his references. Might be lost on some readers. show less

Elevator pitch: "Tales of the City goes to Manhattan." Sweet, leaves you wanting a little more, and the author delivers three successive books of vignettes. Not disappointing, not challenging. Better than "Friends" repeats.

I'm pretty sure Jordana discovered Ethan Mordden first and then told me to read him.