Title: The Painting of Porcupine City: A Novel
Author: Ben Monopoli
Genre: m/m fiction
Print length: 388 pages
Publication date: August 29, 2011
Rating: Four Stars
Blurb: Brazilian graffiti artist Mateo Amaral is looking for his heaven spot, the one perfect place to paint. His coworker Fletcher Bradford is looking for a heaven spot of his own, and his is even more elusive. Out since age 12, Fletcher's been around more blocks than Mateo has ever painted. He's dated all the jerks, all the creeps, all the losers in between. At 26 he's decided the only way to meet a nice guy is just never to give him a chance to prove otherwise. When he's introduced to Mateo, Fletcher expects to add another notch to his bedpost. But Mateo is different--and from him Fletcher will rediscover a long-lost feeling: surprise. What Fletcher finds in the trunk of Mateo's car will change his life in ways he never imagined--and may help him find what he's always wanted.
From the author of THE CRANBERRY HUSH comes an epic story spanning years and hemispheres and miles of painted walls. At times sexy and sweet, gritty and gut-wrenching, THE PAINTING OF PORCUPINE CITY takes readers along with Mateo and Fletcher on an adventure through the subways of Boston to the towers of São Paulo. Are you in?
Review:
This was well done. Fletcher is the sort of guy we can all picture clearly; his imperfections might make you squirm but they make him very much human, if not always likeable. Mateo is beautiful, frustrating and wrapped in mystery until he is not, when the reality of who he is becomes almost painful. There is a wonderful starkness to certain parts of the novel; the emotion is always balanced, never overwhelming, yet poignant none the less. The ending might not be to everyone's taste. I thought it was exquisite. I would recommend it without hesitation.
Buy it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Painting-Porcupine-City-ebook/dp/B005K159H8/ref=cm_cr-mr-img
More titles by Ben Monopoli:
Title: The Cranberry Hush
Author: Ben Monopoli
Genre: m/m fiction
Print length: 260 pages
Publication date: March 6, 2011
Overall reviewer rating: Four and a Half Stars
Blurb: Vince Dandro might be going through the quietest quarter-life crisis of all time. He lives alone, works in a comic book shop, and has a crush on his coworker he can't seem to act on. Like an old comic book, his life's colors have started to fade. Everything brightens when Vince's long-lost friend Griff appears on his doorstep in the middle of a blizzard. They were roommates in college, so close back then that Griff's girlfriend called them "lifebuddies" -- but Vince's love for Griff had ended the friendship, he thought, forever. They haven't spoken in years. Why has Griff shown up again? And, more importantly, can Vince handle his return?
Vince and Griff are two twentysomethings struggling to find their places in the world and in each other's lives. This is a story of friendship and love, both unrequited and requited, and of learning how to fly through the post-college void, which just might hold more than a cranberry hush.
More titles by Ben Monopoli:
Title: The Cranberry Hush
Author: Ben Monopoli
Genre: m/m fiction
Print length: 260 pages
Publication date: March 6, 2011
Overall reviewer rating: Four and a Half Stars
Blurb: Vince Dandro might be going through the quietest quarter-life crisis of all time. He lives alone, works in a comic book shop, and has a crush on his coworker he can't seem to act on. Like an old comic book, his life's colors have started to fade. Everything brightens when Vince's long-lost friend Griff appears on his doorstep in the middle of a blizzard. They were roommates in college, so close back then that Griff's girlfriend called them "lifebuddies" -- but Vince's love for Griff had ended the friendship, he thought, forever. They haven't spoken in years. Why has Griff shown up again? And, more importantly, can Vince handle his return?
Vince and Griff are two twentysomethings struggling to find their places in the world and in each other's lives. This is a story of friendship and love, both unrequited and requited, and of learning how to fly through the post-college void, which just might hold more than a cranberry hush.
Review by Aaron Tieger:
Like many first novels, Cranberry Hush is heavily nostalgic. However, what sets this book apart from most first novels is that it is at once a nostalgia piece and a criticism of nostalgia. Vince, Griff, and the other characters display a nuanced awareness of the college years and the "post-college void" that is uncommon. The fact that Vince and several other characters are comics nerds only adds to the charm. Further, Monopoli portrays complicated sexual dynamics with a sensitive authenticity. None of the characters or their experiences feel "stock."
Overall, Cranberry Hush reminds me of Michael Chabon's Mysteries of Pittsburgh WITHOUT the stupid gangster subplot that more or less ruined that book for me. This is an entertaining, tender, and sharp first novel, and I look forward to reading more from this author.
Overall, Cranberry Hush reminds me of Michael Chabon's Mysteries of Pittsburgh WITHOUT the stupid gangster subplot that more or less ruined that book for me. This is an entertaining, tender, and sharp first novel, and I look forward to reading more from this author.
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