Holding Me Together
3 days ago
Monday, January 22, 2007
Book review: The Gathering, by Ronald L. Donaghe
As someone who reads every book the prolific and talented Ronald L. Donaghe writes, I waited quite a long time for this particular novel. The series Common Threads in the Life began with Common Sons, a gay classic that went out of print for a while then eventually came back as a print-on-demand book. And the demand definitely existed!
Donaghe then continued his series with The Salvation Mongers, a searing look at the ex-gay movement. That second book used some of the same settings and characters. The couple from the first novel again took center stage in The Blind Season, which introduced readers to a much larger extended family.
Donaghe kept saying he was writing a book called The Gathering, which would bring together the Common Threads characters. Fortunately, he changed his mind about The Gathering concluding the series. At least one more novel remains. Of course, he writes other series as well, but this review strictly focuses on Common Threads.
Tom and Joel, the two young men who come out and fall in love as the title characters of Common Sons, are now in their fifties. The daughter they fathered during The Blind Season is now a grown, fascinating woman, and the mother of that daughter has also forged her own identity as an independent woman who has overcome a troubled past. In The Salvation Mongers, Kelly works to expose the ex-gay group that had caused suffering in his life. In The Gathering, he falls back into Tom and Joel’s life, along with an old enemy.
I would call The Blind Season the darkest part of the series, and this novel shares some of that book’s gritty tragedy. However, the spotlight soon returns to the relationships of The Gathering’s large—and mostly lovable—cast. The characters spring as naturally from the New Mexico landscape as the agrarian life they enjoy. Instead of catty, stereotypical queens in a New York City coffee shop, Donaghe gives us three-dimensional people that represent the lives of countless gays across countless small towns. He also gives us heterosexual characters who often surprise us in their ability or inability to overcome prejudice.
As other reviewers often note, Donaghe also gives us gay couples who work hard to create lasting relationships—with or without gay role models. Tom and Joel’s hard work on their farm constantly mirrors their hard work at making a better life for themselves and other gays. Donaghe not only imagines that possibility, but presents it in an appealing, memorable novel.
As someone who reads every book the prolific and talented Ronald L. Donaghe writes, I waited quite a long time for this particular novel. The series Common Threads in the Life began with Common Sons, a gay classic that went out of print for a while then eventually came back as a print-on-demand book. And the demand definitely existed!
Donaghe then continued his series with The Salvation Mongers, a searing look at the ex-gay movement. That second book used some of the same settings and characters. The couple from the first novel again took center stage in The Blind Season, which introduced readers to a much larger extended family.
Donaghe kept saying he was writing a book called The Gathering, which would bring together the Common Threads characters. Fortunately, he changed his mind about The Gathering concluding the series. At least one more novel remains. Of course, he writes other series as well, but this review strictly focuses on Common Threads.
Tom and Joel, the two young men who come out and fall in love as the title characters of Common Sons, are now in their fifties. The daughter they fathered during The Blind Season is now a grown, fascinating woman, and the mother of that daughter has also forged her own identity as an independent woman who has overcome a troubled past. In The Salvation Mongers, Kelly works to expose the ex-gay group that had caused suffering in his life. In The Gathering, he falls back into Tom and Joel’s life, along with an old enemy.
I would call The Blind Season the darkest part of the series, and this novel shares some of that book’s gritty tragedy. However, the spotlight soon returns to the relationships of The Gathering’s large—and mostly lovable—cast. The characters spring as naturally from the New Mexico landscape as the agrarian life they enjoy. Instead of catty, stereotypical queens in a New York City coffee shop, Donaghe gives us three-dimensional people that represent the lives of countless gays across countless small towns. He also gives us heterosexual characters who often surprise us in their ability or inability to overcome prejudice.
As other reviewers often note, Donaghe also gives us gay couples who work hard to create lasting relationships—with or without gay role models. Tom and Joel’s hard work on their farm constantly mirrors their hard work at making a better life for themselves and other gays. Donaghe not only imagines that possibility, but presents it in an appealing, memorable novel.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Science fiction/fantasy news
The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure received a 2007 Allbooks Reviewer’s Choice Award!
Watch for a direct-to-DVD release of Babylon 5: The Lost Tales. B5 was one of my all-time favorite TV shows, so I’m glad to see the saga continuing.
The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure received a 2007 Allbooks Reviewer’s Choice Award!
Watch for a direct-to-DVD release of Babylon 5: The Lost Tales. B5 was one of my all-time favorite TV shows, so I’m glad to see the saga continuing.
Monday, December 25, 2006
Merry Christmas!
Author and critic Glen Dromgoole wrote about The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure in his Texas authors column, which appears in The Abilene Reporter News, The Bryan-College Station Eagle, The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, and many other newspapers across the lone star state. That installment of Dromgoole’s column also covers works from Elmer Kelton, James A. Mangum, Mike Kearby, Pete Brewton, Carol Jo Parsons, Ronda Thompson, L. C. Hayden, and Judith McNaught.
Author and critic Glen Dromgoole wrote about The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure in his Texas authors column, which appears in The Abilene Reporter News, The Bryan-College Station Eagle, The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, and many other newspapers across the lone star state. That installment of Dromgoole’s column also covers works from Elmer Kelton, James A. Mangum, Mike Kearby, Pete Brewton, Carol Jo Parsons, Ronda Thompson, L. C. Hayden, and Judith McNaught.
Friday, December 15, 2006
The Eragon movie is finally out! The Eldest paperback is due out March 13.
Check back here next weekend for news about The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure.
Check back here next weekend for news about The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Monday, December 11, 2006
New resource: Sherwood Anderson Bookshelf. An unlikely case of inspiration from Winesburg, Ohio: Eric Schlosser: Our Fast Food Nation's Whistle-Blower.
Saturday, December 09, 2006
I Must Be Dreaming: Gay Science Fiction Book Review (reprint). I Must Be Dreaming… ’cause I’m trying to get you to THINK! (blog).
Friday, December 08, 2006
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