An unusual novel centering queer men on opposite cultures aligned against one another, only actually agreeing on their condemnation of queer people. It traces their relationship and it’s disintegration as homophobia and secrecy and fall out from the conflict directly impacts their lives, to a granular level. Each ends up down a very different path.

One in particular is unlikable to the extreme, treading a line of privilege and inexcusable behaviour with the way society treats him as an immigrant and as a queer man unable to come into his existence at basically any point in his life. He lashes out at everyone and engages in self destructive behaviour. The other man has a similar heartbreaking trajectory.

Both, you constantly hope will rearrange their lives and figure out a way to be different, and get out of their circumstances.it is excellent at showing systemic barriers and consequences; the harm that it does to an individual, but also a society. The prose work is generally quite great. The dialogue, though it always makes sense and I think works to slot each person in a distinctive “class”, didn’t quite work for me. It often feels incongruent with the prose, which created a dissidence for me. That is the only thing keeping it from a 5 star rating, I think. Though I could do without the seeming meta insert of the writer as well.

It’s a challenging read. Gripping. Allows for queer people to exist without performing in a way they usually have to in literature. In that way it’s quite a subversive work and highly effective. Completely worth reading.


The narration for this one is top notch. One for each main character and each do a great job.