I’m always eager to read gay romance written by (presumably) gay men. I tend to anticipate a more authentic and rounded love story and I’m rarely disappointed. This was no exception, as Lance Lansdale has produced a moving and memorable debut novel.
We Burn Beautiful is the story of two lost souls finding their way back to each other after years of yearning and loneliness. From the cover and the blurb, I was expecting a tear-jerker akin to You’re My Home by Katie Moore or the recently released To Catch a Firefly by Emmy Sanders. To some extent, my prediction was correct; this book will tear you apart and break your heart before building you back up and piecing it back together. However, this book isn’t simply a tragic love story with a hard won happy ever avert -it’s that and a lot more.
One thing I didn’t expect when reading this book was to laugh as much as I did. For every moment of stomach-wrenching sadness, there was a moment of ridiculous comedy, often featuring the colourful cast of uproarious and almost unbelievable supporting characters.
All the folk in this novel are fully fleshed out individuals, and that truly makes it shine.
Lansdale presents two very different main characters in the form of Kent Fox and Grayson Collins. Having grown up together as best friends, and horrifically torn from each other at age eighteen, the book takes place twenty years later with Kent returning to his ultra-religious home town. Kent is gorgeous, hilarious and a complete disaster. Gray on the other hand appears put together, but is just as broken as Kent underneath his calm exterior. I don’t want to spoil the story, so I won’t go into detail about their past, present or future, (but know that they are intrinsically linked) as the reveal and development of the main characters is the driving force of the plot.
Building the narrative around the changes in the relationship between the main characters really works in this novel. The story doesn’t feel empty, despite relatively few major plot events. What the reader cares about is what’s going to happen between Fox and Gray, and how they can possibly repair something so broken. The Christian community of West Clark Texas is represented by a cast of hilarious side-characters which includes the God-fearing and denim-clad elders who fully support Kent, albeit in their own, unique ways. Terrifying waitresses, adorable stoners and fiercely protective parents are among the eccentrics present in this Texas town. This mixed bag offers both comic relief and emotional poignancy through their own side plots. Lansdale also appears to be setting up a character for a future novel, but this is done subtly, and not obtrusively so it doesn’t feel incongruous or like a marketing ploy. What I really liked about the way the conservative city is written is that the community isn’t homogenous, and Kent is neither welcomed back nor rejected unanimously. Lansdale presents individuals who range in the way they react from unerring acceptance, to violent repulsion via misplaced concern.
We Burn Beautiful is written in the first person, but from only the perspective of Kent Fox. In my experience, single POV (point of view) is unusual in contemporary romance, but I thought it was pulled off successfully in this case.
Lansdale is a new author, with this being his only release at the time of writing. However, his next novel “The Househusband’s Guide to Domestic Bliss” is due for release on the 3rd of April, and I look forward to reading what looks like an entirely different novel from We Burn Beautiful, but no less fascinating. From the pre-release blurb it looks like a delightful sci fi love story with shades of Bicentennial Man, I, Robot and The Stepford Wives, but you know, happy and gay.
Trigger Warnings (includes spoilers)
Homophobia and homophobic language
Physical Abuse
Death of a child (in the past, off page)
Parental rejection
Conversion
Bình luận