As Meat Loves Salt

[erastes]

I haven't finished it yet, so it's not a review just some thoughts. Pretty damned good. But then I'm not the only person to think THAT and my little opinion doesn't mean much, but yes, I'm impressed. I think I enjoy it more because I've been reading a lot of erotica recently, almost exclusively, and more and more the plot in erotica seems to be no more than a device to get the protagonists naked and fucking in more imaginative ways or with more and more people. It's ok for an occaisional titillation, but I don't really want every homoerotic historical to be this way. This is almost exactly the opposite, in as much that it's "mainstream literature" so the plot is overarching and the sex (although there) is subtle and short.

I admit that I'd like a book that was more equally balanced, I mean why can't a so-called "literary" book have more description of the sexual act in it? It's the sex that's important in this book, particularly at the stage where I am at the moment, Ferris is thinking that Cullen only wants him for his body, so I'd like to see a little more of why he thinks that.

However, it's a very good book, not an "easy" read, but not "heavy going" either, just enough to make me appreciate reading it. The language is perfect for the time, far better than Transgressions. I put off reading this book for a long time, because - as far as I know - this is the only other homoerotic book that deals with the English Civil War - but I'm not intimidated by it, it's a completely different book from Transgressions which I'm happy to report. It's a "romance" after all, and I fear that AMLS is going to end badly.

She does a very good job of managing to made me completely dislike Cullen almost completely from the first and I still haven't warmed to him - it's a clever way of writing, and one I'd like to tackle one day, to see if I can manage it.

I feel very sorry for Cullen, but I think I feel sorrier for Ferris, because I can actually feel his sorrow more - he KNOWS his Bad Angel is bad news but he seems to be addicted to him, for all his controlling ways and jealousy and secrets. But - I do dread the ending.I'd be interested in others' opinions of Cullen.

And I'd like to link to stewardess's very succinct round up and thoughts on the on-going LJ debacle. I didn't doubt for one minute that it was money oriented. I should have bolted when Six Apart took over. We all should. But hey - they were very reassuring, weren't they? But I'd like to reiterate here what I've just said over there - LJ isn't just all about fandom - and I am getting a bit annoyed that fandomers are claiming this as some kind of victory. Hello!? There are other people complaining too, you know!!

Comments

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Clunky? I can't say I noticed, it's certainly one of the best of the homoerotic genre I've read.

I really enjoyed it - as I said above it's a real challenge for a writer to deliberately set out to write a book in a first person view of a protagonsist who really has very very little to commend him. I disliked him intensely from about 20 pages on, for reasons that become more and more obvious the more you go on, and I never liked him, although he's very well written in my opinion. The think I discovered, writing first person is that you can't be omniescent and have your protag understand the reactions of all around him, and the author does this very well. Jacob reacts instinctively to everything around him and doesn't get the world at all.

But what I didn't get, still don't get, is WHY he committed his first crime in the book, everything else sort of hangs off that, and I really did'nt see WHY he had done that.

[rwday.livejournal.com]

I disliked him intensely from about 20 pages on, for reasons that become more and more obvious the more you go on, and I never liked him, although he's very well written in my opinion

He may be well written, but I think you've just hit on why I didn't like this book. My heroes, even my anti-heroes, have to have some redeeming qualities. Especially in a first person POV, where you essentially become the protagonist. I suspect I didn't like this book for the same reason I don't like the Thomas Covenant books, which as I recall, you also liked - I can't identify at all with the MC, really loathe him, in fact.

I thought the prose in AMLS was fine, the history was well integrated, etc., but I could NOT get into the story, because for me, the vehicle that gets you into the story, the POV character, didn't appeal. Glad you liked it, though - it had very good reviews, so I knew it had to have something there I just couldn't appreciate.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

am writing a review now, but that's the reason I was impressed with the book, it's not something I would attempt to write, I don't think I COULD write a book where you don't like the protag - Even Edward, for all that he does terribly wrong, I hope to instill pity into the reader. But am doing a review now even if it wont' be terribly structured.

Why he did that

[ann-amalie.livejournal.com]

Because he has to destroy anything that makes him vulnerable, that causes him to feel a human emotion. The boy "challenged" him--contradicted one of Jacob's opinions to his face. Obviously, Jacob was sexually aroused by the boy. That left Jacob vulnerable. So he killed him. Remember the description of preparing the body for burial? "Stuffed his fundament good and tight"? Jacob did in death what he wanted to do in life. But in life that would be healthy, normal, gay sex. And Jacob can't accept that, until he meets Ferris. Then we see how that turns out...