Besame Mucho

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

The authors of the 17 stories in this anthology have roots in Cuba, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Spain, the American Southwest and New York City. The editors chose not to include established Latino writers, and their selection of new voices reveals a diverse and exciting pool of talent, employing a wide range of styles to portray the varied experiences of gay Latino men. From the magic realism of James Canon's hermaphrodite narrator in "The Two Miracles of the Gringos' Virgin" to the bleak Raymond Carveresque prose of Erasmo Guerra's "Between Dances," this collection delivers gem after gem. Other standouts include "The Nasty Book Wars," Jaime Cortez's comedic and touching account of a boys vs. girls battle to possess the mystery and knowledge contained in a crumpled collection of pornographic magazines; Larry La Fountain-Stokes's incantatory Whitmanesque bravado ("I have been a john, bisexual, queen, man, woman, my name is desire and yours is hope") in "My Name, Multitudinous Mass"; and Alex R. Silva's "Mara's Marvelous Match," in which a jaded transsexual prostitute unexpectedly finds love. Perhaps most impressive is Adam Griego's autobiographical "Onions Are for Men," a quietly devastating portrait of how being in the closet strains family relationships, as silence becomes a burden. If one unifying theme can be identified here, it might be the conflict between cultural expectations (machismo) and same-sex desire. One hopes that the writers in this lively collection will continue to wrestle with this conundrum and bring to light new stories, exploring ethnic and sexual identities. (Aug.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

One of the great accomplishments of gay literature in the past few decades has been its move to greater inclusiveness. Most importantly, it is now recognized in the United States that gay men are not uniformly white, middle class, and ghettoized. Like all of us, gay Latinos have a pressing need to tell stories. In this strong collection--a major contribution not just to gay studies but to American literature--the honesty of the tellers strikes home. Sad tales mix with joyful ones as an entire range of personalities from the community is evoked. Some of these stories use elements of autobiography that make them almost ethnographic. For example, Adan Griego's "Onions Are for Men" is an episodic reminiscence about the author's strong ties to his family. Librarians will be pleased that with Griego we have one of our own represented. Recommended for all contemporary fiction collections.--David S. Azzolina, Univ. of Pennsylvania Libs., Philadelphia Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.