Collecting Book

Intimate Review of LGBTQ Novel by Well-Known Poet

Title: Two Natures
Author: Jendi Reiter
Author website: http://www.jendireiter.com
Genre: Literary fiction
ISBN: 0996907424
Published by: Saddle Road Press
Where to buy it as paperback or e-book.
Special Offer: 99 cents for the e-book from Sept. 1-28, 2016!
Name of reviewer: Kittredge Cherry
Original review publication: Jesus in Love Blog

REVIEWED BY KITTREDGE CHERRY ORIGINALLY FOR JESUS IN LOVE BLOG

A gay fashion photographer who was raised Southern Baptist moves to New York City for a sexual and spiritual  odyssey during the AIDS crisis of the early 1990s in “Two Natures” by Jendi Reiter.

This stylish debut novel from a gifted poet is a rare combination of erotic gay romance and intelligent reflection on Christian faith. Narrator Julian Selkirk seeks glamor and often-fleeting affairs to replace the religion that rejected him. He learns by  experience to look beyond shame, surface attractions and short-term desires.

In the five-year period covered chronologically by the novel, he has relationships with three men who  embody different archetypes: immature personal trainer Phil Shanahan, cosmopolitan editor Richard Molineux, and earnest activist Peter Edelman. The dense and varied literary coming-of-age novel ranges from comic scenes that could easily become a hit movie to the explicitly sexual and the touchingly tragic. Reiter brings alive LGBTQ touchstones of the era: the visit from out-of-town and out-of-it parents to their closeted son, the AIDS death and awkward funeral, and so on.

Jendi Reiter is a first-class poet and essayist, and her Reiter’s Block is one of my all-time favorite blogs. While reading "Two Natures," I sometimes wished for more of her incisive interpretations rather than her narrator’s witty voice leaving the reader to draw their own conclusions.

Female characters and experiences such as abortion are also portrayed well in “Two Natures.” Perhaps  this is not surprising for an author who recently came out as a “genderqueer femme” on her blog.

Raised by two mothers on the Lower East Side of New York City, Reiter is able to portray New York with the casual realism of a native. Now living in western Massachusetts, she is a member of the Episcopal church and experienced first-hand how LGBTQ issues tore apart church groups, including the writing group where she was working on the earliest drafts of “Two Natures.”

Religious references in her novel are subtle… as are the allusions to AIDS in most of the first half of the 374-page novel. Julian finds no easy answers as he wrestles with his faith.The title is based upon the 

two natures of Christ, who is fully human and fully divine in the eyes of believers. Julian observes:If what the preachers said 

about Christ's two natures was true, I didn't know how he could stand his life anyhow, being split down the middle between the part of him that remembered heaven and the human part that would have touched me back.

I did find myself wondering sometimes whether gay men actually thought like her narrator Julian. I dared to explore this same challenging territory myself, writing as a lesbian author from the viewpoint of a queer male Christ in my “Jesus in Love” novels.

I can only say that “Two Natures” got rave reviews from gay male reviewers whom I respect. Toby Johnson  called it “a pleasure to read” and Amos Lassen declared, “We all know someone like Julian and many of us see ourselves in him… You owe it to yourselves to read this wonderful novel.”

As art historian, I especially enjoyed the way that some of Julian’s spiritual reflections were provoked by  art. For instance, Julian’s inner spiritual conflict is portrayed at first through his responses to “Piss Christ,” a controversial photograph by Andres Serrano.

The novel is also significant as an example of how a new generation tries to make sense of an AIDS crisis that  they were too young to experience firsthand. I happened to read “Two Natures” at the same time that I was rereading my own journals for an oral history interview about doing AIDS ministry at Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco in the late 1980s. Perhaps no novel can capture the agony, ecstasy and desperate  intensity of those times.

Julian never found the kind of LGBTQ-affirming church home that we provided at MCC-SF. Sadly that may be true  for many young gay men in the early 1990s, and even now. But there’s good news: Reiter is already working on a sequel. 

Julian will have another chance to find long-term love and a gay-positive spiritual community, with readers invited  along for the ride.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jendi Reiter is the author of the newly released novel Two Natures (Saddle Road Press)
See the book trailer at http://bit.ly/twonaturestrailer.Midwest Book Review says, "Intense revelations about what it means to be both Christian and gay...a powerful saga" --

Jendi is editor of WinningWriters.com, a Writer's Digest "101 Best Websites for Writers"

"Things are not what they appear to be: nor are they otherwise."
Surangama Sutra

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Diane Donovan Lauds Jendi Reiter's Newest Book, Two Natures

Title: Two Natures

Author: Jendi Reiter

Author website: http://www.jendireiter.com/

Genre: Literary fiction

ISBN: 0996907424

Published by: Saddle Road Press (www.saddleroadpress.com)

Where to buy it:

https://www.amazon.com/Two-Natures-Jendi-Reiter/dp/0996907424?

Name of reviewer: Diane Donovan

Original review publication: Midwest Book Review

Reviewer's link:

http://www.midwestbookreview.com/mbw/jul_16.htm#donovan

Reviewed by Diane Donovan originally for Midwest Book Review

Julian is a Southern boy and transplanted aspiring fashion photographer in New York City in the 1990s; a gay man facing the height of the AIDS epidemic and professional, social, and spiritual struggles alike as he questions himself, God's will, and Christian values in the advent of a specific kind of apocalypse.

It's rare to discover within a gay love story an equally-powerful undercurrent of political and spiritual examination. Too many gay novels focus on evolving sexuality or love and skim over underlying religious values systems; but one of the special attributes of Two Natures isn't just its focus on duality, but its intense revelations about what it means to be both Christian and gay.

In many ways, Julian is the epitome of a powerful, conflicting blend of emotions. Take the story's opening line, for one example. Readers might not anticipate a photographer's nightmare which bleeds heavily into evolving social realization and philosophy: "I woke from another nightmare about photographing a wedding. The bride was very loud and everyone's red lipstick was smeared across their teeth like vampires, except vampires would never wear lavender taffeta prom dresses. It's always the wrong people who can't see themselves in mirrors."

Even the language exquisitely portrays this dichotomy: Julian's parents are still "Mama" and "Daddy", his language and many of his attitudes remain delightfully Southern ("You know, back where I come from, that was the first thing you asked a new fellow: what does your Daddy do, and where do you go to church?"), and his experiences with men, female friends, his evolving photography career, and life in general are wonderfully depicted, drawing readers into not just the trappings and essence of his life, but the course of his psychological, philosophical and spiritual examinations.

As Julian explores this world, readers should expect sexually graphic (but well-done) scenes designed to enhance the storyline (not shock it with departures or dominant heaviness), an attention to the social and political environment of the 90s that swirls around Julian and changes his perspectives and decisions, and a gritty set of candid descriptions that probe real-world experience.

Readers of gay fiction seeking more than a casual series of insights into the world of New York City's culture, enhanced by the deeper perspectives of a young man who spiritually struggles to find his place even as he fine-tunes his career and life, will welcome the close inspection of truth, love, and life provided in Jendi Reiter's Two Natures, powerful saga of Southern etiquette and perspectives turned upside down and the risks involved in moving beyond one's safe zone.

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jendi Reiter is also the author of Bullies in Love (Little Red Tree International Poetry Prize):
http://littleredtree.com/bullies-in-love. Follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jendireiter.

"Things are not what they appear to be: nor are they otherwise."
Surangama Sutra

Reviewer Would Give All the Stars in the Universe

Title: Rarity from the Hollow
Author: Robert Eggleton
Web site link: www.lacydawnadventures.com
Genre: Adult Literary Science Fiction
ISBN: 9781907133060;1907133062
Name of Reviewer: Charity Rowell-Stansbury
Review Site: On My Kindle
Amazon Link: Available in paper or as e-book.
Rating from Reviewer: If I could, I would give it all the stars in the universe.

Reviewed by Charity Rowell-Stansbury originally for On My Kindle

Lacy Dawn seems like a typical Appalachian eleven-year-old girl; bright, resourceful, living in poverty, and trying desperately to "fix" her mother and father. Her father, Dwayne, is a war veteran who suffers from PTSD and prefers to self-medicate; when triggered, he becomes violent and Lacy Dawn and her mother become the target of his rage. Lacy Dawn's mother, Jenny, does her best to protect her daughter; however, she is worn down from years of abuse and sacrificing her dreams to take care of her daughter and husband.

Despite outward appearances, Lacy Dawn is a very unique and gifted child. She spends most of her free time talking to the trees in the Hollow; playing with her deceased friend, Faith, who dwells in the trees; and learning all she can from her anatomically incomplete and semi-organic boyfriend, DotCom. After helping Lacy Dawn implement a treatment plan for her parents, DotCom reveals his true purpose; he was sent to help Lacy Dawn evolve, and then recruit her for a mission to save the universe.

While DotCom has no idea what she is supposed to do to save the universe, the pair decide to let her family and Tom, family friend/local entrepreneur/drug dealer, in on the secret. With the help of friends, family, and the family's dog; Lacy Dawn and DotCom come up with an ingenious plan to save the universe.

When Eggleton requested a review of Rarity from the Hollow, I was hesitant to accept. I usually do not read or review books that discuss child abuse or domestic violence; however, I was intrigued by the excerpt and decided to give it a shot. I am glad that I took a risk; otherwise, I would have missed out on a fantastic story with a bright, resourceful, and strong protagonist that grabbed my heart and did not let go. It is not every day that I find a kindred spirit in a book, but I found one in Lacy Dawn! I admired her courage, her imagination, and her intelligence; I could go on for days about the excellent job that Eggleton did in developing Lacy Dawn's character, but I won't. What I will say is that even if you do not fully understand her perspective, you will admire her spunk.

I also greatly admire Eggleton's whimsical, witty, and understanding approach to sensitive and serious subject matters: child abuse, child poverty, domestic violence, PTSD, drug use, and alcoholism. Eggleton's matter-of-fact and irreverent tone about these subject matters conveys the gravity of the family's situation without sending readers into a spiral of suicidal depression, or being insulting.

Rarity from the Hollow brilliantly combines social commentary in a fantastical and intricate science fiction setting that readers can understand and relate to. It is one of those books that if it does not make you think, you are not really reading it.

FROM THE REVIEWER:

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

An Emerging Literary Star of Magical Realism

Unspeakable Things

By Kathleen Spivack

Knopf

ISBN: 978-0-385-35396-0

Adult/Literary

304 pages

Contact Reviewer: HoJoNews@aol.com

A New Author That Shines and Sighs on the Literary Horizon

Reviewed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning series of HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers.

The title of Unspeakable Things by Kathleen Spivack isn’t misleading. Don’t fool yourself into believing this book will be an upper—at least not in terms of your mood. Unless, of course, your mood is positively affected by beautiful language, unusual plotlines, and any tendency toward daring literature.

The language is this book reaches poetic heights that will thrill those who speak English, breaks new ground in the genre of magical realism and it does it all within the boundaries of difficult themes like immigration, survival and pedophilia and spins on the recognition of the destructive underbelly of secrets kept.

I adore Spivack’s literary skills. I hope she takes on something that will appeal to a broader audience in the near future (though I urge readers to stretch a bit and try this one, too!) Having said that, even if you think this book isn’t your cup of tea, track Spivack’s literary progress. She is a not-to-be missed new star that shines and sighs on the literary horizon.

MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the author of the award-winning fiction This is the Place ,and Harkening, a book of creative nonfiction short stories. Her newer efforts, Here’s How I Don’t Cook and This Land Divided, are being shopped by agent Terrie Wolf. Howard-Johnson is also the author of fifteen books and chapbooks of poetry including her most recent Imperfect Echoes (http://bit.ly/ImperfectEchoes), that was recently honored by USA Book News.