Editor: Paul Burston
Publisher: Glasshouse Books
Price: £10
Review by Andrea Enisuoh
In a book market that often shuns the short story as a “lesser” art-form than the novel, this anthology highlights the many reasons why good short story writing will thrive.
Boys & Girls is a collection of short stories that brings together what could be considered the best talent in gay and lesbian fiction. Established names sit alongside new writers – and the collection is all the better for it.
What makes the read significant is that it contains many heartrending and heart-warming true life experiences of young men and women made homeless because of the reaction to their sexuality. Published in association with The Albert Kennedy Trust, and edited by Paul Burston, Boys & Girls the stories and subject matter are as diverse as the writers themselves. This is innovative writing that shines a light on different aspects of the gay experience.
Sometimes amusing, sometimes depressing, this collection could never fully represent a whole experience. To expect any anthology to do that would be unreasonable. What the anthology does do is shine a spotlight on people’s lives and how society responds to some people’s sexuality.
The book’s content is creatively divided based on gender – signposted by two different and slightly confusing silhouette front covers featuring two men and two women. Kristian Johns’ Dying and Other Superpowers, where an 18-year-old youth develops superpowers after being diagnosed with HIV, grabs your attention in the “boys” section. From the ‘girls’ it’s Stella Dufy’s Jail Bait – short story writing at its best.
Though patchy in the standards of writing, the anthology can be forgiven because overall the writing is so strong. North Morgan’s Exit through the Wound demonstrates this perfectly. The story tracks the journey of a Londoner’s drug-assisted return to a home, country and culture he feels alienated from. The sense of disaffection and alienation portrayed is palpable.
Author and journalist Paul Burston, who edited the collection, contributes The Unbearable Bear, a story of the mild-mannered narrator’s association with a self loving and shallow individual who is approaching middle age.
Rather than just reflecting on a cause, what this anthology does is give you a taste of some of the great writing in the lesbian and gay community. I would love to read more from many of the writers featured.
More of these diverse and illuminating narratives please.