How's Your Romance?: Concluding the "Buddies" Cycle
2 journalers for this copy...
I've been a fan of Mordden's "Buddies" series since I read the first one some years back. As of the fourth book, Some Men Are Lookers, several beloved characters had been left in an emotional cliffhanger, so when I discovered that there was going to be another book in the series I had to grab it. But as I figured I'd want to hang on to the hardcover, I've been keeping my eyes open for the paperback so I'd have a copy to release - and here it is! [Now to fret about whether the continuing adventures will be more angst-ridden than some of the elements of that last book...]
[Note: You really should read the previous books before tackling this one, or you'll miss a LOT. They are, in order, I've a Feeling We're Not in Kansas Anymore, Buddies, Everybody Loves You, and Some Men are Lookers.]
Later: Not quite as angsty as I'd feared, but there is some pain here. [I hope that as long as I don't say what I had hoped would happen, it's not a spoiler to confess that what I hoped would happen, didn't. And if you can follow that sentence you're a better man than I am!] We open with some poignant scenes that pretty much settle how the open-ended scene in the last book finished up... Ah, me!
As with the other books, Mordden's stories meander from direct examination of the main characters' lives to peripheral friends and acquaintances, riffs on gay myths and stereotypes, and who's sleeping with whom these days. Along the way there are some lessons learned and quite a few not learned at all, and a good many fascinating phrases turned; for me, much of the fun of these books is following some of Bud-the-narrator's more offbeat statements. [One of those neatly breaks the fourth wall; he asks his resident elf-child, Cosgrove, whether he and J. (aka "Little Kiwi" once upon a time) ever slept together, because "this is the final volume, and my readers have to know." [Cosgrove replies, "I'll tell at the last story." Whether he does or not I'll leave as an exercise for the reader.]
Some of the passages are pretty grim; one major character has gotten into what sounds like a very hazardous relationship indeed:
OK, maybe you had to be there. Mordden's style is a bit offbeat and sometimes convoluted, but I find it, and his self-made family, wonderful company indeed.
[Note: You really should read the previous books before tackling this one, or you'll miss a LOT. They are, in order, I've a Feeling We're Not in Kansas Anymore, Buddies, Everybody Loves You, and Some Men are Lookers.]
Later: Not quite as angsty as I'd feared, but there is some pain here. [I hope that as long as I don't say what I had hoped would happen, it's not a spoiler to confess that what I hoped would happen, didn't. And if you can follow that sentence you're a better man than I am!] We open with some poignant scenes that pretty much settle how the open-ended scene in the last book finished up... Ah, me!
As with the other books, Mordden's stories meander from direct examination of the main characters' lives to peripheral friends and acquaintances, riffs on gay myths and stereotypes, and who's sleeping with whom these days. Along the way there are some lessons learned and quite a few not learned at all, and a good many fascinating phrases turned; for me, much of the fun of these books is following some of Bud-the-narrator's more offbeat statements. [One of those neatly breaks the fourth wall; he asks his resident elf-child, Cosgrove, whether he and J. (aka "Little Kiwi" once upon a time) ever slept together, because "this is the final volume, and my readers have to know." [Cosgrove replies, "I'll tell at the last story." Whether he does or not I'll leave as an exercise for the reader.]
Some of the passages are pretty grim; one major character has gotten into what sounds like a very hazardous relationship indeed:
"And he goes his mouth right against my ear to say, 'If you ever try to leave me, I swear I will kill you.'"Other quips wander farther afield, as when Bud-the-narrator comments about a friend who "is his gang's moral authority, like Pacey of Dawson's Creek or, for you others, Thackeray's Dobbin." {snerk!} I also enjoyed his footnote explaining why "Oh, there's Evita, I must say hello" has become his favorite escape line. And there's a chapter title that made me laugh all by itself: "Will All the Straight Guys Please Get Out of This Book?"
"Well, that's true love at last," I said.
"Yes, isn't it?"
OK, maybe you had to be there. Mordden's style is a bit offbeat and sometimes convoluted, but I find it, and his self-made family, wonderful company indeed.
Controlled release: I'm adding this book to RockBird's GLBTQ bookbox, which will be on its way to BCer ealasaidmae in WV tomorrow. Enjoy the books!
Hoping to get my hands on the other books in the series- so I'll snatch this one and see if I can.
