Notes of a Desolate Man

Rating:
Summary: B-o-r-i-n-g!
Review: I also consider the narrator completely unbelievable a gay man. The self-hating, pathetic aging man is a cliché, but then so are the musings on Lévi-Strauss, Foucault, and art house films beloved by would-be cosmopolitan students of the 1960s. For a 166-page book with few words per page, this seems VERY long. The pleasures and insights are very few. Anyone who wants to read about desolated Chinese homosexuals lost on Taiwan, Pai's old novel _Crystal Boys_ is far more engaging.

Rating:
Summary: always be suspicious...
Review: of a book that advertises itself as "this postmodern, first-person tale of a contemporary Taiwanese gay man reflecting on his life, loves, and intellectual influences."
I was surprised at how easy it was to read. I do hope the author is making a bit of fun of her narrator. There is some great stuff here, including emotional and intelligent responses to people like levi strauss and foucault, that are more cogent and more interesting than stuff you might find in 'theory' books.

Rating:
Summary: Remarkable
Review: This is the story of a Taiwanese gay man dealing with the death of his best friend from AIDS. His reflections on culture, literature, and life in Taiwan are fascinating. I was reminded of Rabih Alameddine's "Koolaids" at times. In some of the passages, the writing is rough and dull, and I'm not sure whether that's the translation or the original. Overall it's an intriguing voice that stands out in the ocean of gay lit.