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sophia_sol) wrote2011-07-22 06:28 pm
sophia_sol) wrote2011-07-22 06:28 pm
Book review! And meta! All mixed up in one!
Today I read a book, and now I am going to talk about it at extreme length. This post comes in two parts: The nonspoilery part, and the extremely spoilery part. I will cut the second part, in case you are interested in reading the book and don't want to get spoiled.
Part one: no spoilers
Oh right, I should tell you what the book is. The book is called Sprout, and it is by Dale Peck.
Today I was out on errands and ended up with a bit of time to kill, so I wandered into the nearby independent bookstore, and discovered it has a whole little section on queer stuff! So that was awesome and made me happy. And then the bottom shelf was picture books with queer themes -- things like And Tango Makes Three, and Heather Has Two Mommies, and other classics I keep hearing about but have never read, so I promptly read through all of them, and it made me grin like a doofus.
And then there was a novel sitting on the shelf that the picture books were on, and it looked intriguing, so I picked it up. (okay, so I was immediately attracted by the person with short green hair on the cover. I like interesting hair, okay?)
And ended up reading the whole thing perched on a chair in the corner of the store. Oops.
The book -- Sprout -- is very good. I really enjoyed reading it. The use of language is self-conscious but still somehow beautiful, and I really liked the main character (also called Sprout) and was very engaged in his life.
It is, as you might guess from what part of the bookstore I picked it up in, a book about being gay.
(and as an awesome bonus for me, it took place in one of the Mennonite areas of the US, a part of Kansas, and so here and there there'd be references to super-menno names and I'd just grin in recognition.)
And it's really hard to talk about this book without spoilers because the book is basically about secrets, and what secrets Sprout is and isn't keeping, so I'll end the spoiler-free part with the following: Awesome book (albeit with a caveat I discuss in the next section), you should totally read it, the end.
So! Part two:spoilers! That turn into a discussion of the similarities and differences between the genre expectations of lit versus fanfic!
So I read this book in two parts, punctuated by an errand I had to read in the middle, and yes, this is relevant.
I began the book and was immediately drawn in, and also very curious about where it would go. Because as soon as the revelation was made that Sprout was having sex with Ian, I knew exactly where the story would go if it were fanfic, but had no idea where the actual book was going. Because up to this point the cast of characters was basically: Sprout, Sprout's dad, Sprout's best friend Ruth, and Ian. Which meant that of course if it were fanfic then something would happen over the course of the rest of the book to make the Sprout/Ian turn into something more meaningful than furtive sex, because you're not allowed to not introduce the other half of the main romance more than halfway through the story.
Or maybe you are allowed, it's just very uncommon. And when it does happen, it's fanfic, so the main pairing is signalled in the headings, and you're familiar enough with the characters to be able to identify which characters you ought to be liking.
And the only queer literature I read is fanfic, really, so it felt weird to me to not be able to go, yup, Ian's one of the people we like in this fandom, so it makes sense for him to be the other half of the pairing in this high school au. Or, Ian's one of the background characters of this fandom, and since he's still mostly background at this point in the story he's probably going to stay that way, so I don't need to be cheering for the Sprout/Ian to work itself out more happily.
It was at this point I left to go on my errand, and I spent the whole time turning over possibilities in my head of where the book might be going. When I returned, within just a couple pages another boy was introduced, Ty. And Sprout and Ty immediately fell into bffery, so I was like, OKAY, clearly the book ships Sprout/Ty! Except that I was suddenly worried about how it would end, because the genre conventions of fanfic would insist that it should have a happy ending, right? But this was ~literature~, and it was ~queer literature~, and I may not have read much of it myself but I've read reviews and posts and things, so I was worried. So I went and checked the last few pages and yup, everything goes kinda to pieces.
So I read the second half of the book in woeful anticipation of how it was going to end.
It continued to feel a lot like your typical high school au fanfic, except I knew it wasn't going to end that way. Ty is kind of a bad influence on Sprout, but Ty is kind of broken (well, so is Sprout), and he needs Sprout, and I can't really deny him that. They're both so young, and working through a lot of crap, and I just wanted them to be able to have something worthwhile in each other for a while.
Ty's been denying all along that he's gay, even while he and Sprout have a whole lot of sex and are also extremely emotionally codependent. And then the moment comes where the two of them are caught and confronted by Ruth and Ian, and Ruth asks if they're in love or something.
THE MOMENT OF TRUTH. And Ty -- oh, TYYYY -- Ty says, sort of defiantly, YES. And he's finally admitting what he and Sprout have with each other, and admitting to himself that yes he is gay, and it's a huge moment for him!
But at the same time that Ty says "yes", Sprout is saying "We're just fucking, duh."
And Ty runs off.
HEARTBREAK. DRAMA. TRAGEDY. Because of course Sprout doesn't mean it. He's just, you know, got issues.
And this -- this is the moment where the difference between lit and fic becomes crystal clear. Because in fic, this would be a moment for plenty of angst and difficulty, but things would work out, and even if everything isn't perfect, the boys would at least be at peace in their knowledge that they love each other, that they have each other to cling to amidst the terrible stuff in their lives.
But because this was lit, Ty has completely run off. Run away from home and everything, and doesn't return, and Sprout can't find him and tell him he was just being stupid when he said that. And so the ending of the book is about Sprout ~learning something about himself~ and ~growing as a person~.
Which, okay, it works as and ending and whatever, but it made me ANGRY. Because from what I know about queer lit, the queer people basically NEVER get the happy ending. It has to be about learning and growth, not about being able to FIND SOME GODDAMN HAPPINESS IN YOUR LIFE.
And that -- that right there -- THAT is why I read so much goddamn slash fanfic. Or one of the reasons, at least. Because I can come up with dozens of links without ANY PROBLEM about queer boys in high school who have issues, and who still manage to get a happy ending without making light of those issues.
The other day my parents linked me an article that began with the author (a gay man) talking about how growing up his future was always a huge blank to him, because there were no examples in the media of people like him living happy lives (or even existing, really).
And if that problem is still endemic in our GODDAMN QUEER LITERATURE, then that makes me ANGRY.
I'm...I'm not angry at the book itself. It's a fantastic book, and I love it. It's what it stands for, it's the fact that I knew to be worried that it wouldn't have a happy ending, it's that if I want a happy ending for people like me I have to turn to the ~subversiveness~ of fanfic.
THAT'S what makes me angry.
But in the end, I can still put away the anger and say, I love the book. I love Sprout, I love his self-conscious use of language, I love his self-conscious way of structuring the book, I love his hair and his nidus and his dictionary and his attitude. And I was totally near tears in one of the bits about Ty. (And I am SO WORRIED for Ty now, with him run away and him under the impression that the only good thing about his life for the last several months wasn't ~real~, and I'm just terribly afraid that he's going to end up in a bad situation.) And I could probably go on for several more pages just talking about the book itself, separate from the larger issues in the genre, because I have all sorts of thoughts (well -- FEEELINGS, of the good variety) about it, but I think I've expounded at enough length for now, so I'll leave it here. 1600 words is quite enough for a single book review, methinks.
Part one: no spoilers
Oh right, I should tell you what the book is. The book is called Sprout, and it is by Dale Peck.
Today I was out on errands and ended up with a bit of time to kill, so I wandered into the nearby independent bookstore, and discovered it has a whole little section on queer stuff! So that was awesome and made me happy. And then the bottom shelf was picture books with queer themes -- things like And Tango Makes Three, and Heather Has Two Mommies, and other classics I keep hearing about but have never read, so I promptly read through all of them, and it made me grin like a doofus.
And then there was a novel sitting on the shelf that the picture books were on, and it looked intriguing, so I picked it up. (okay, so I was immediately attracted by the person with short green hair on the cover. I like interesting hair, okay?)
And ended up reading the whole thing perched on a chair in the corner of the store. Oops.
The book -- Sprout -- is very good. I really enjoyed reading it. The use of language is self-conscious but still somehow beautiful, and I really liked the main character (also called Sprout) and was very engaged in his life.
It is, as you might guess from what part of the bookstore I picked it up in, a book about being gay.
(and as an awesome bonus for me, it took place in one of the Mennonite areas of the US, a part of Kansas, and so here and there there'd be references to super-menno names and I'd just grin in recognition.)
And it's really hard to talk about this book without spoilers because the book is basically about secrets, and what secrets Sprout is and isn't keeping, so I'll end the spoiler-free part with the following: Awesome book (albeit with a caveat I discuss in the next section), you should totally read it, the end.
So! Part two:spoilers! That turn into a discussion of the similarities and differences between the genre expectations of lit versus fanfic!
So I read this book in two parts, punctuated by an errand I had to read in the middle, and yes, this is relevant.
I began the book and was immediately drawn in, and also very curious about where it would go. Because as soon as the revelation was made that Sprout was having sex with Ian, I knew exactly where the story would go if it were fanfic, but had no idea where the actual book was going. Because up to this point the cast of characters was basically: Sprout, Sprout's dad, Sprout's best friend Ruth, and Ian. Which meant that of course if it were fanfic then something would happen over the course of the rest of the book to make the Sprout/Ian turn into something more meaningful than furtive sex, because you're not allowed to not introduce the other half of the main romance more than halfway through the story.
Or maybe you are allowed, it's just very uncommon. And when it does happen, it's fanfic, so the main pairing is signalled in the headings, and you're familiar enough with the characters to be able to identify which characters you ought to be liking.
And the only queer literature I read is fanfic, really, so it felt weird to me to not be able to go, yup, Ian's one of the people we like in this fandom, so it makes sense for him to be the other half of the pairing in this high school au. Or, Ian's one of the background characters of this fandom, and since he's still mostly background at this point in the story he's probably going to stay that way, so I don't need to be cheering for the Sprout/Ian to work itself out more happily.
It was at this point I left to go on my errand, and I spent the whole time turning over possibilities in my head of where the book might be going. When I returned, within just a couple pages another boy was introduced, Ty. And Sprout and Ty immediately fell into bffery, so I was like, OKAY, clearly the book ships Sprout/Ty! Except that I was suddenly worried about how it would end, because the genre conventions of fanfic would insist that it should have a happy ending, right? But this was ~literature~, and it was ~queer literature~, and I may not have read much of it myself but I've read reviews and posts and things, so I was worried. So I went and checked the last few pages and yup, everything goes kinda to pieces.
So I read the second half of the book in woeful anticipation of how it was going to end.
It continued to feel a lot like your typical high school au fanfic, except I knew it wasn't going to end that way. Ty is kind of a bad influence on Sprout, but Ty is kind of broken (well, so is Sprout), and he needs Sprout, and I can't really deny him that. They're both so young, and working through a lot of crap, and I just wanted them to be able to have something worthwhile in each other for a while.
Ty's been denying all along that he's gay, even while he and Sprout have a whole lot of sex and are also extremely emotionally codependent. And then the moment comes where the two of them are caught and confronted by Ruth and Ian, and Ruth asks if they're in love or something.
THE MOMENT OF TRUTH. And Ty -- oh, TYYYY -- Ty says, sort of defiantly, YES. And he's finally admitting what he and Sprout have with each other, and admitting to himself that yes he is gay, and it's a huge moment for him!
But at the same time that Ty says "yes", Sprout is saying "We're just fucking, duh."
And Ty runs off.
HEARTBREAK. DRAMA. TRAGEDY. Because of course Sprout doesn't mean it. He's just, you know, got issues.
And this -- this is the moment where the difference between lit and fic becomes crystal clear. Because in fic, this would be a moment for plenty of angst and difficulty, but things would work out, and even if everything isn't perfect, the boys would at least be at peace in their knowledge that they love each other, that they have each other to cling to amidst the terrible stuff in their lives.
But because this was lit, Ty has completely run off. Run away from home and everything, and doesn't return, and Sprout can't find him and tell him he was just being stupid when he said that. And so the ending of the book is about Sprout ~learning something about himself~ and ~growing as a person~.
Which, okay, it works as and ending and whatever, but it made me ANGRY. Because from what I know about queer lit, the queer people basically NEVER get the happy ending. It has to be about learning and growth, not about being able to FIND SOME GODDAMN HAPPINESS IN YOUR LIFE.
And that -- that right there -- THAT is why I read so much goddamn slash fanfic. Or one of the reasons, at least. Because I can come up with dozens of links without ANY PROBLEM about queer boys in high school who have issues, and who still manage to get a happy ending without making light of those issues.
The other day my parents linked me an article that began with the author (a gay man) talking about how growing up his future was always a huge blank to him, because there were no examples in the media of people like him living happy lives (or even existing, really).
And if that problem is still endemic in our GODDAMN QUEER LITERATURE, then that makes me ANGRY.
I'm...I'm not angry at the book itself. It's a fantastic book, and I love it. It's what it stands for, it's the fact that I knew to be worried that it wouldn't have a happy ending, it's that if I want a happy ending for people like me I have to turn to the ~subversiveness~ of fanfic.
THAT'S what makes me angry.
But in the end, I can still put away the anger and say, I love the book. I love Sprout, I love his self-conscious use of language, I love his self-conscious way of structuring the book, I love his hair and his nidus and his dictionary and his attitude. And I was totally near tears in one of the bits about Ty. (And I am SO WORRIED for Ty now, with him run away and him under the impression that the only good thing about his life for the last several months wasn't ~real~, and I'm just terribly afraid that he's going to end up in a bad situation.) And I could probably go on for several more pages just talking about the book itself, separate from the larger issues in the genre, because I have all sorts of thoughts (well -- FEEELINGS, of the good variety) about it, but I think I've expounded at enough length for now, so I'll leave it here. 1600 words is quite enough for a single book review, methinks.
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But yeah, it DEFINITELY bothers me when people think that depressing stories are deeper and more realistic, and the examples you quote are DEFINITELY TRUE. And it's quite possible Sprout involved some of that too. *sigh*
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So, you know, that's (part of) why I like fic, too--because goddammit, I want the romances with the happy endings and the stories where the people just happen to be queer and it's about saving the world or identifying whales or whatever and not about ~personal growth through pain~. And murder mysteries about lesbians solving crimes, although there are not nearly enough of those.
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And now I'm curious to try reading queer lit that DOES have a happy ending, and see how it's the same and different from fanfic, and what I think of it. But I don't know where to even begin looking for something like that, because the nature of the ending is something that book reviews and amazon pages tend not to give away.
Would you be able to ask your queer lit fan friend if they know of any good queer lit with happy endings, even though that's not so much their thing?
(and LESBIANS SOLVING CRIMES = AWESOME. Are you familiar with Doctor Who? Are you familiar with the comm
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...not an alien, just a non-human, if I'm right that she's Silurian? *has not actually seen it*
Er. More on the topic I was actually going to comment on:
'it's that if I want a happy ending for people like me I have to turn to the ~subversiveness~ of fanfic.'
*nodnod* This, exactly. Speaking as someone who just finished (well, in May) a first draft of an original homo!ace romance... this is a reason I would think about trying to get it published professionally, even though I don't want the hassle of selling an authorial image through an agent. o_O
(It is fracking RIDICULOUS how strong the pull of the Dark Side is. *g* You let just a little bit of Srs Bsnss Issues creep in, and all of a sudden you find yourself thinking "but it would be more Realistic if [massive bad thing happened]! Needs moar AAAAANGST!!!" And then you're writing yet another depressingly gloomy look at The Way Things Are instead of anything like The Way Things Should Be.)
(Thankfully, James is unquenchable. And Mort isn't actually given to angst, even if I keep dumping it on his head, and I had a couple of skateboarding ninja pandas and a sentient jellyfish to help out. But I needed every bit of that; still do, while I'm revising. *goofy grin*)
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Yes! You should TOTALLY try to get your novel published professionally! Every time you talk about it I am so very fascinated by it, and would love to be able to read it someday.
And yeah, I totally get the strength of the pull of the Dark Side. I am glad your characters kept it from going too much in that direction!
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(I am familiar with DW, but I stopped watching partway through Eleven's first season because I am the only person in fandom who doesn't think Amy is cute or interesting, and I don't watch for the Doctor. But the Victorian lesbians might lure me back.)
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(well, the Victorian lesbians are minor side characters in the most recent ep, so they're probs not enough to lure you back into the fandom proper. But you totally don't need to actually know anything about Doctor Who to read about Vastra and Jenny. So!)
(also, I'm not nearly as invested in Amy's cuteness or interestingness as a lot of fandom seems to be, but I do watch for the Doctor, so that works out okay for me, mostly. I like Amy well enough, but I don't actively love her as I did Martha and Donna.)
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(And someday I want to talk someone into writing a Doctor Who crossover where they visit Heian Japan and fight alien crime with Sei Shonagon, and extra props if Sei Shonagon writes poetry and/or a diary entry about this in the style of The Pillow Book. SOMEDAY. I'd write it myself, except I have no idea how. But it is the story of my hearrrrrt.)
(My heart has a lot of stories.)
Anyway, i will try to remember to ask my friend if she has any non-tragic queer lit recs, but she tends towards Srs Works of Literature, many of them Classics, and they skew pretty hard towards depressing.
OH. Emma Donoghue's Kissing the Witch! It is a lovely, powerful collection of interlinked lesbian fairytales. Some of it's happy. I loved it a lot.
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And yes, after that first ep with Donna, I was SO UPSET to hear she was coming back as a Proper Companion For A Whole Season, because I really really disliked her. But then she turned out to be AMAZING. <3333 And Doctor-Donna and Martha and adventures = A+++++
(Your heart's stories are inevitably AWESOME. As this one is! Unfortunately I wouldn't be able to write it either. But it should exist!)
LESBIAN FAIRY TALES. LESBIAN FAIRY TALES. THIS IS SO RELEVANT TO MY INTERESTS.
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(It seems like it would be a difficult story to write. Woe.)
I WILL BE CURIOUS TO HEAR WHAT YOU THINK. Many of Donoghue's novels are super-duper depressing, but that one is not, although it is not all fluffybunnies, either.
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(Um, I am trying not to be pushy because you don't know me from a hole in the wall, but... yeah, even though Rory's only in about half the eps that season, he is totally worth watching for. I have not met anyone who disagreed.)
(Also *selfish reason* I wish more people would write thinky thoughts about Rory and gender roles. For there is much to be said, and I'm not good at meta. *g*)
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Which, okay, it works as and ending and whatever, but it made me ANGRY.
Whereas me, it traumatised like crazy. Because I'm an optimist, so I totally expected a happy ending. Mostly.
I mean, the first half felt pretty safe, you know? With Sprout being reasonably middle class and his father, okay, was a drunk, but he was a relatively functional drunk, or at least not really screwing Sprout up any more than he already was. And yeah, I too was starting to 'ship Sprout/Ian and waiting for Ian to develop some sort of a character so I could like him. But then Ty.
And aaaaaaaah Ty is so broken and everything about his life is UPSETTING, and then he has moments of awesome (like, "Did you think I'd bring a loaded gun? AHAHAHA!") and now I'm really worried about him! Because I never really doubted Sprout would be okay, but Ty is Not Okay, and there is no ending for him, of any kind, and dammit, that is UNFAIR! Even angsty fanfic would have GIVEN HIM AN ENDING!
So, basically, I was traumatised for a day and a half, worrying about Ty (and wondering what you'd said about the book) and I had to medicate myself with fanfic (which, thankfully, I had taken with me on holiday).
And it made me want to write a dozen fluffy happy gay teen romances and fill up every school library with them, from here to eternity.
(Plus, man, of the four novels I read on holiday, only one of them had a protagonist whose mother was still alive. *throws up hands in despair*)
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I know what you mean about the first half feeling safe! Right up until Ty appeared, I could totally see the book ending happily. But then...
And ugh, I am so upset on behalf of Ty! I thought I was over this book, but then you wrote this comment and I still have SO MANY FEELINGS.
There should be so many fluffy happy gay teen romances, buuuuut I think those are not so much a thing that exists. TRAGIC