tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14843205.post1049214899027028452..comments2023-11-05T03:52:09.095-07:00Comments on The Fobcave: No Going BackB.G. Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01604354633985676126noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14843205.post-31424964303004970942009-10-15T18:23:23.294-06:002009-10-15T18:23:23.294-06:00SenecaSis: Thanks for reading IQD in an attempt to...SenecaSis: Thanks for reading IQD in an attempt to understand me. :) It's a good book, especially Ty's part. I think you'll also enjoy No Going Back, if you ever get a chance to read it. <br /><br />TK: Thanks for your thoughts. It's nice to hear another reader's perspective.B.G. Christensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01604354633985676126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14843205.post-25565511733068134512009-10-07T01:05:55.124-06:002009-10-07T01:05:55.124-06:00P.S. I forgot to mention how I loved the humor - m...P.S. I forgot to mention how I loved the humor - made me laugh out loud!TKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09649729044618999452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14843205.post-45170512901373524842009-10-06T22:51:22.750-06:002009-10-06T22:51:22.750-06:00Your mom just finished reading it and REALLY LIKED...Your mom just finished reading it and REALLY LIKED IT!<br /><br />I thought it did an excellent job of opening a window on the feelings and experiences of a boy who happens to be gay AND Mormon. I loved the way the book's characters were used to explain the church's stand on several things (and did an excellent job), not the least of which is repentance and the atonement, as well as gay issues. I also liked that it presented a pretty realistic picture of life! <br /><br />In reference to 'seeing past the swearing and sex', I was a social worker dealing with drug users and child abuse, so I can’t say that I found it shocking. On the other hand, I’m pretty fussy about the books I read, and I was uncomfortable with a few things - a little more detail than I wanted. Subtle suggestion would have been more to my taste. (Okay, so this is your honest feedback from an ‘Orthodox Mormon’.) <br /><br />My intent here is not to criticize, when the overall story was so excellent. But I wish there was a slightly edited version, because I would really like to recommend it to the ward youth or to the Relief Society Book Club - the PEOPLE THAT REALLY NEED TO READ IT - and who would otherwise probably love it!TKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09649729044618999452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14843205.post-45473990136999247682009-10-05T03:44:58.043-06:002009-10-05T03:44:58.043-06:00"Here, read this! You will understand this pa..."Here, read this! You will understand this part of me in ways I'm incapable of making you understand."<br /><br />Well, you didn't say it quite that way, but I did read "In Quiet Desperation". And it did help me understand a little better, I think, some of the struggles of being a gay mormon. In fact, I've referred a number of people to it. <br /><br />Of course, I'll never understand it completely--just as few would understand what I've experienced. But I'd be interested in reading this book one day, too.SenecaSishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17424892529868780887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14843205.post-27008899837108538052009-09-23T19:54:40.211-06:002009-09-23T19:54:40.211-06:00You know, there's some swearing here and there...You know, there's some swearing here and there and some frank discussion of sexual matters, but I really didn't feel like this book would be all that offensive to the average Mormon. I think there's a lot of value in having literature that presents an orthodox Mormon perspective while remaining firmly grounded in reality, and I feel like even some of the more conservative Mormons I know could recognize that value. I could imagine, for example, my mom seeing past the swearing and the sex to recognize a story that reflects her values. If I can get her to read it, I'll let you know what she thinks. :)B.G. Christensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01604354633985676126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14843205.post-56396328130164710122009-09-21T21:12:36.940-06:002009-09-21T21:12:36.940-06:00Ben,
I'm really glad the novel worked for you,...Ben,<br />I'm really glad the novel worked for you, especially since (as you said) the approach was basically orthodox. <br /><br />One of my goals going in was not to demonize anyone (well, with a few exceptions; I don't have much use for Paul's dad, for instance). A really good review, I've found, can make me as an author think about the story in ways that I hadn't before. Your comment about loving the characters did that for me--because yes, I really do love them. <br /><br />Your comment about including the other characters' plot threads also helped clarify something that I felt during the writing but had a hard time articulating: why, instead of focusing just on Paul's story, I wound up complicating things by bringing in Richard and Sandy's conflicts, Sandy's midlife crisis, Richard's work problems, etc.--especially when I know that some readers find those additional plot threads a distraction. The best I was able to do was say that I wanted to show Paul's situation as part of a normal slice of life. Taking off from what you said, I'd add now that Paul's situation is more real since the people interacting with him are also real--and that life really doesn't revolve around angsty gay teenagers. <br /><br />I think most of the Mormons who would be offended by this book will never read it, and I'm just as glad about that. I agree with Ben that of those who are likely to read it, the harshest critics will be gay Mormons and (especially) ex-Mormons who may feel that I've painted too rosy a picture. <br /><br />Another big worry I had was whether the characters might come across as completely unrealistic. I don't think I've ever been as aware of the thoroughly conventionalized way that we present characters as when I was writing this story. We present two minutes worth of dialogue and pretend that it would last ten minutes. We make teenagers both more and less articulate than they really are. We sketch only a few details of lives that are much richer and fuller than anything we can present in a story. With everything being so intrinsically artificial, belief in a fictive world and its characters is, I now think, far more fragile and subjective than we like to admit. If the details we chose to include don't work for a particular reader--poof! The bubble pops, the magic dissolves, and all that's left is (metaphorical) soap suds on the writer's face. If the reader sees the old woman instead of the young girl we meant to show--or worse yet, sees only a random collection of white and dark lines--there's really nothing we can do about it. <br /><br />Okay, I've gone on way too long. Just shut me up now...Jonathan Langfordhttp://www.langfordwriter.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14843205.post-29387271671485554342009-09-21T20:36:11.678-06:002009-09-21T20:36:11.678-06:00I suspect the book's harshest critics will be ...I suspect the book's harshest critics will be gay Mormons and gay former Mormons, as it can't possibly ring true to every single person's experience. I hope, though, that readers will find that the book is true to its characters, as I did.B.G. Christensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01604354633985676126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14843205.post-87638991936329410262009-09-21T16:52:25.194-06:002009-09-21T16:52:25.194-06:00I had the privilege of reading a draft of the nove...I had the privilege of reading a draft of the novel, and I had to say I was really worried going in to it. I wanted it to not be too preachy on either side. I wanted it to be not super super angst-y (it isn't). Above all, I wanted it to be well written -- especially since Jonathan is someone who I have corresponded with for almost a decade now. It exceeded my expectations. <br /><br />Of course, now I'm worried about its reception. Obviously, it won't ring true to everyone's experience. And I fear that many "orthodox" Mormons won't touch it.<br /><br />But I'm glad it spoke to you on some level because it gives me hope that others will give it a chance no matter where they fall on the religio-political spectrum or what personal background they have.Wm Morrishttp://www.motleyvision.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14843205.post-38340128840391620112009-09-20T09:43:47.604-06:002009-09-20T09:43:47.604-06:00Oh, I definitely would have read this as a teenage...Oh, I definitely would have read this as a teenager. I kept to myself a lot and was pretty good at sneaking around--particularly when it came to anything gay-related--so I read all kinds of things that no one ever knew about.B.G. Christensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01604354633985676126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14843205.post-68645592628312040662009-09-19T23:57:03.679-06:002009-09-19T23:57:03.679-06:00Interesting. I can't imagine what it would hav...Interesting. I can't imagine what it would have been like for me to read this as a teenager. My guess is that I would never have dared having it in my possession.MoHoHawaiihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15086670779804942122noreply@blogger.com