Book Reviews

Book Blurb

For most people the holidays mean family, togetherness, and focusing on the things that matter most in life. For Greg it means taking the artwork off the walls, putting away photographs, and sleeping single, because this Christmas his partner Michael's mother is coming to visit. Things would be easier if Michael would finally come out to her, but until he gets the guts to do that, it's up to Greg to do some straightening up. A holiday short story.

 

Book Review

For such a short story, 'Straightening Up' delivers quite a punch. The situation as such is bad enough: Greg and Michael live together, but Michael has only told his father the truth about them being lovers. When Michael's mother announces a surprise Christmas visit, Michael rushes back into the closet, and forces Greg into a role as roommate. What impacted me even more though is the quiet sadness with which Greg reacts. Yes, he gets angry, but overall he is sad and pretty much resigned to his fate.

It isn’t until Greg has to live through the indignity of being relegated to the guest room, Michael not even coming for a 'visit' once his mother is asleep, followed by Michael's mother cooking roast because Michael hasn’t even told her Greg is a vegetarian. As much as Greg loves Michael, that is just one step too far. So he leaves to stay with a friend. At that point, it was probably the only thing he could have done to get through to Michael.

Michael is too caught up in 'keeping the peace', not upsetting his mother and risking her scorn, or whatever other excuses he has come up with to justify his lack of standing up for himself – and Greg. The thing is, the woman isn’t even horrible! It just goes to show that the prejudice against gays can do tremendous damage to some gay men by undermining their self-confidence to the point where they deny themselves at any cost.

If you like stories that will make you think, if you're looking for a high dose of realism, and if 'walking in another's shoes' means something to you, this story is a great opportunity to see the world from a gay man's perspective – the one who becomes an outcast because his lover is afraid of confronting what he believes to be his mother's disapproval.

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Untreed Reads for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Short Story, 13 pages/4973 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	15-November-2012
Price	$0.99 ebook
Buy Link	http://www.untreedreads.com/?p=3890