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As I mention in earlier post, this echoes Sounds Like Fun, the power dynamic between Ted and his husband is the same toxic space as Eoin and Rich, and we quickly go into a dark place but the bulk of the novel is a long and hope-filled climb out of that place.
Set around a seaside ice-cream shop it is well away from the typical “gay” contexts and stories. But this is part of an uplift of stories of validation about being confidently queer in minority spaces, that you don’t have to run away to the big city to become yourself as a queer person.
I read it in Gran Canaria around a pool where there were only gay men and I am so grateful to have access to that sort of space, but this spoke to the wider reality of life – the majority of life is spent with straight people – and that means you are sometimes a welcome guest, sometimes an unwelcome guest, but very rarely at home.
It also echoes Michael Tolliver Lives because Ted is middle-aged – although the change to his relationship was not a choice it opened up the door to a renewing of himself and his identity. In this we get a really positive message that at any stage in life there can be growth and the opportunity to embrace new challenges and opportunities. That the expectations of others should not be the definition of us.
In lots of ways this was a good holiday read – but it was more than that - it speaks deeply to our humanity, it made me look myself in the mirror and ask if I always give my best self to those I love?
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