Jared
I realize I'm in the minority here. I wanted to like it—I paid full price for it and went to the author's event, so the anticipation and excitement to read it were there. However, "Bury Your Gays" was a disappointing and frustrating read that failed to deliver on multiple levels. As a gay reader, I felt obligated to pick it up, but that same identity made the experience insufferable.
The plot takes bewildering left turns, introducing elements like robots, AI, and a secret studio, creating figments of imagination that seem entirely out of place. Including people made of robots further adds to the confusion, leaving the reader wondering, "What on earth is happening?" While I'm open to suspending disbelief, the world-building here is inadequate to support these fantastical elements. Also, the prose was unremarkable.
Perhaps most jarring is the outdated portrayal of coming-out stories. Set in a supposed future, the narrative feels stuck in 2002, rehashing themes that feel increasingly irrelevant in contemporary LGBTQ+ literature. This anachronistic approach undermines the futuristic setting and fails to resonate with this reader.
In conclusion, "Bury Your Gays" is a disjointed, confusing, and outdated attempt at LGBTQ+ fiction that misses the mark on multiple fronts. It's a reminder that even well-intentioned representation can fall flat when not executed thoughtfully.
I realize I'm in the minority here. I wanted to like it—I paid full price for it and went to the author's event, so the anticipation and excitement to read it were there. However, "Bury Your Gays" was a disappointing and frustrating read that failed to deliver on multiple levels. As a gay reader, I felt obligated to pick it up, but that same identity made the experience insufferable.
The plot takes bewildering left turns, introducing elements like robots, AI, and a secret studio, creating figments of imagination that seem entirely out of place. Including people made of robots further adds to the confusion, leaving the reader wondering, "What on earth is happening?" While I'm open to suspending disbelief, the world-building here is inadequate to support these fantastical elements. Also, the prose was unremarkable.
Perhaps most jarring is the outdated portrayal of coming-out stories. Set in a supposed future, the narrative feels stuck in 2002, rehashing themes that feel increasingly irrelevant in contemporary LGBTQ+ literature. This anachronistic approach undermines the futuristic setting and fails to resonate with this reader.
In conclusion, "Bury Your Gays" is a disjointed, confusing, and outdated attempt at LGBTQ+ fiction that misses the mark on multiple fronts. It's a reminder that even well-intentioned representation can fall flat when not executed thoughtfully.