Virginia Lovers
by Michael Parker
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Book Summary Information
Author: Michael ParkerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2005-09-06
ISBN: 1883285275
Number of pages: 195
Publisher: Delphinium Press
Book Reviews of Virginia Lovers
Book Review: Sorry that I can't rave about it
Summary: 2 Stars
While it seems unlikely and isn't popular to berate a praised literary writer, I thought this book missed its mark.
The story of a family in the 1970s dealing with a murder, the book perhaps best captures a frustrated father's life as a small-town newspaper editor. His relationship with his wife, though she is peripheral as a character, is interestingly drawn. They have 2 sons, Danny, who we figure and later discover is gay and who is the "good son," and Pete, the wild one. That easy stereotype bothered me.
A good re-thinking and re-doing of this story could have made it great. The quiet desperation throughout the novel is not particularly unique, especially for literary fiction. It is only a "gay" novel because the murder victim is an effeminate gay teen and Danny is gay. That theme simply feels applied artifically to the story. This is actually a novel about the father.
Also, why the 1970s? There were a few weak references to the times, and the murder of a tormented gay teen could easily still happen these days. To me, if an author picks an era to portray, there had better be a good reason.
The story is not 100 percent dull, but the characters of the two sons and their eventual closeness is by far the most interesting aspect of the story. The murder aspects felt like an editor or someone suggested to "beef up" the story. The father going into the police station to find out more details now & again almost felt like a cookie-cutter mystery that had been cut-and-pasted into a literary read. And the endless details of who was where, and who really did it, and not rendered as a surprise, and you will probably find you don't care much.
The climax? A disappointment. While Danny's thoughts at the story's resolution are rich and good, the ending "incident" feels like someone rubber-stamped the manuscript, "Put climax to the story here and make it dramatic."
There are many other better books out there. Don't get this if you're looking for a gay-themed novel, because you'll be disappointed. But if you like literary novels about family life, this might suit you.
Summary of Virginia Lovers
In the autumn of 1975, a small town struggles with the mysterious murder of Brandon Pierce, a gay teenager found dead in his parents' bed following a high-school keg party. As Thomas Edgecombe, the editor of the town's newspaper, diligently reports on the crime, he begins to suspect that his two sons may know more about the murder than they're letting on.Daniel, a straight-A student and a friend of the victim, seems destined for a prestigious college scholarship and a better life, while his younger brother Pete numbs his adolescent pain in a haze of marijuana smoke and derelict behavior.
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