Review: Dry by Augusten Burroughs

If alcoholism was a choice, this book would certainly dissuade you from ever picking up a drink. Augusten had the fancy apartment and high paying job but he was also downing a bottle of scotch a night - minimum. Fortunately for him, his employers stage an intervention and it's off to the Pride Institute - a GLBT rehab. As he says after a moving testimony from a fellow patient "That's the reason to go to a gay rehab. People appreciate the drama."

Throughout his rehab and subsequent attempts to remain sober, he never spares us his nasty thoughts or his judgements. Of the closet case, Mormon boss who attempts to sabotage his sobriety, he says "I wish Rick would get gang raped by a bunch of Muslim garbage collectors.

He struggles with feeling "...I'm a drunk that doesn't get to drink. It seems unfair. Like keeping a Chihuahua in a hamster cage."

He manages to remain sober, and attend his AA meetings although he thinks that "It seems easier to make friends in bars. I have to keep reminding myself these AA people are exactly like bar people - they are bar people - except their bars have all been shut down. And I have to admit, this makes them less interesting to me."

He manages to remain sober for quite awhile even though he becomes involved with a crack addict. Eventually, it's the death from AIDS of an ex-lover which sends him free falling of the wagon. He endures months binging on booze and coke repeatedly pissing the bed only to sleep in it again the next night and be haunted by hallucinations of spiders. He certainly doesn't make alcoholism in any way attractive.

The strength is must have taken him to stop drinking not just once but twice is amazing. He presents most things in a humourous way but the horror of the events is still clear beneath the presentation.

Rating: 5 out of 5
Source copy: own it

Review: Sword of the Guardian by Merry Shannon

This one is a romance set in the court of King Soltran. The life of the princess is saved from the knife of an assassin by an acrobat named Talon who is actually a young woman in disguise as a man. I have a love for cross-dressing intrigues from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night onwards and this one is pretty good.

There is a nice slow character development of both Princess Shasta and Talon as they grow up from teenagers to young adults. Talon's sisters are major characters and given a fair amount of time due to their importance in the plot. The politics of the court are realistically drawn and a definite influence on the awakening of the princesses' sense of duty to her people. The religion of the land, worship of the Goddess Ithyris, is well thought out and stands in contrast to the worship of the Goddess's brother Ulrike by the barbarians in the border lands. The power of the priestesses in battle was a nice touch. Apparently this is to be the first in a series...ie we get to see the reality of life after the fairy tale ending.

Rating: 4 out of 5
Source copy: Own it

February Total

Grand total five books in February. Slow month as I've been busy preparing for a promotion and, having succeeded in getting it, yay me, I am dead tired from climbing up the learning curve. For a whole week, it was all I could do to drive home and collapse. Book covers would call out faintly, and plaintively but I ignored them. Tragic. But its a new month and although the learning curve is still there, I'm not pushing myself too hard...so time to get back to it.

Waiting on the shelf this month:
The Doomsday Key by James Rollins
Dry by Augusten Burroughs

Year total to date: 14 books
Jan 9
Feb 5

Review: A Crystal Diary: A Novel by Frankie Hucklenbroich

I love memoirs. I love reading about real lesbians and what life was like back in the bad old days. And in the majority of cases, I can find some points on which to identify with or at least understand the author/main character....this book is the exception.

The first chapter is great and details her encounter with the neighbourhood butch who is back "ruined" from the war. But it's downhill from there because our heroine is just too lazy and selfish to go and get a real job, for long, when she can pimp out other women or rob people. I have nothing against sex workers but I despise pimps. The fact that Frankie knows she is a user of people and keeps it up, makes her extremely unlikeable. In her favour, she doesn't try to blame it all on the drugs since that is a cop out and more importantly she continues this behaviour even when she kicks her habit.

The writing however is great. The author can really paint a picture and is very honest about her thoughts and actions. I just couldn't relate to her air of entitlement. And her idea of "butchilinity" comes across as plain old sexism. Note to author; you can be a butch without being a complete jerk.

Rating: 4 out of 5
Source of copy: personal library