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By Jerry L. Wheeler

Peter Dube is a big man in terms of stature as well as ideas—and his talent is gigantic enough to make even the grandest vision a reality. This Montreal-based author, editor and critic of art and queer culture has brought his visions to life in such books as At the Bottom of the Sky and Hovering World. His latest novel, Subtle Bodies (Lethe Press) is a highly readable look at the Surrealist movement as seen through the eyes of one of its prime exponents, author Rene Crevel.

But Crevel’s life was only a springboard for Dube’s imagination. “I wouldn’t want anyone to read Subtle Bodies as a representative or reliable biography,” states Dube, “because it’s not one. Some of the events and the basic timeline are reasonably close to Crevel’s actual life but many things are simply made up. I wrote a fiction about his life, in order to explore things I was interested in: how life and art overlap, for example, the inner drive to pursue vision and the ramifications of that drive, the dynamics of friendship… a whole bunch of stuff that isn’t biographical data about Crevel the man, but that struck me as valuable in terms of looking at what goes into making the narrative of a life.”

The blurring of lines between a real life and the hybrid Dube achieves is a tricky balance and not without its problems. “There are really two big problems with “fictional biography” as a project,” he explains. “One is that you have to do a lot of research in order to create any credibility, even if you don’t use most of it. So I would advise anyone considering it to make sure the subject is one they are passionate about and fascinated by. In my case, this was happily not a problem.

“The other issue has to do with readers’ expectations. When a fiction is about an ‘actual person’ there’s a strange tension in how readers approach it, one rooted in what in the book might be ‘true,’ or not; did incident X really happen or didn’t it? Of course,given the number of questionable memoirs published in recent years I understand some of the nervousness.That understanding, however, shouldn’t be taken to mean I have any reticence about writers playing with or blurring the lines between genres. Quite the contrary, I love it and want more! It’s simply to underline that even when in hot pursuit of the experimental or formal innovation,writing, and especially story telling, remains above all else a social act. And that always involves ethical and political considerations that need to be accounted for.”

Authors often find that in the process of writing, their project changes. Dube, however, didn’t have that experience with Subtle Bodies. “I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that the overall structure was framed to some extent by Crevel’s actual biography. So most of the fussing and changing and morphing had to do with the order of scenes, the character’s visions and other less overarching things. I did have a few elements in the original concept that fell by the wayside while the book was working itself out, but when I compare that to the countless rewrites and re-creations I usually go through, it was relatively straightforward, which is not to say that it was easy.”

But Crevel is not the only ‘real life’ figure in Subtle Bodies. Andre Breton, one of the founders of the movement is an important character in the book as well, but also one of the most homophobic.

“I have a serious love/hate thing with him,” Dube says. “The man was a mass of contradictions. He was a political radical who was also very reactionary about certain questions. Every account of him I’ve read indicates he had an enormous heart, and yet he could turn on his friends so quickly. There’s no question that he was a visionary and brilliant, but in some ways his prejudices have stained the movement and the perception of it. That damned homophobia… and lets not overlook the hideous sexism! He seems like a pretty complex, and not always agreeable guy… But, in fairness, and though nothing is especially explicit, there are indications that he may have wised up somewhat later in life.”

Such contradictions are especially odd when you consider that the Surrealist movement was consciously based on an outsider mentality whose ultimate aim was to create a myth around itself. Could any group these days create a myth around itself, or was the Surrealist movement unique in that respect?

“…the surrealists were a particular case in this regard,” Dube contends. “They were openly – and self-consciously –looking for a myth, and would say so in their publications. In the end, I think they created a new myth in quite unintended ways, and through the action of time. In the years since it emerged, Surrealism has become a kind of psychic template of the ‘avant-garde group.’ And it’s a template that has been duplicated,consciously or unconsciously, by many others, including all the passion,in-fighting and schism it involved. Even more importantly, and for both better and worse, in the coinage “surreal” they contributed a new concept and a new word to world culture (however misinterpreted it may often be)… that sudden glimpse of the other possibilities inhabiting the world. Not many groups have done as much. As to present-day groups – other than contemporary surrealism – with both similar ambitions and similar possibilities, it’s quite difficult to say. It’s a tougher job now wha twith all the Post-Modern splintering of culture going on.”

Both Subtle Bodies and Hovering World are relatively short books despite the large concepts they contain. Was this a conscious move or just what the stories called for? “Although it was to a great extent just a question of it being the right length for the stories being told,” says Dube, “in retrospect there were other factors at play too. One of the things I want from the writing I do (and the writing I read, for that matter) is a certain intensity of language. For me, that’s absolutely essential. And for a long time I thought intensity of that sort couldn’t be sustained over a longer piece. More recently, I’ve reconsidered that, and have figured out how to sustain it over greater lengths.I feel like I have it down now, and the novel I just signed for is, in fact,three times as long as my earlier books – with no discernible loss of intensity, I think. Of course, now that it’s done, I am taking a little breakand have gone back to working on shorter pieces for a bit.”

The intensity of Dube’s writing can be easily traced to his influences. “The fact is I read a lot, and all of it is in some way or another grist for the mill. Still, the key historical figures might include (besides the surrealists, obviously) folks like Jean Genet for the glittering prose and deliberateness of his project; William Burroughs for just about everything, the British author Angela Carter also for just about everything(and who knew a thing or two about myths too); Paul Bowles for the precision and the fearlessness. Among more recent authors, I have to acknowledge the ‘New Narrative’ writers(including Robert Glück, Bruce Boone, Kevin Killian and Dodie Bellamy, among others.) They have been so important to me for their amazing bending of both genre and the author function, their focus on language, the way they use sexuality as material, the sophistication of their response to theory while still holding to the narrative, or story-telling, impulse as community-based and political…and just for being so damn smart. Of course, what’s left out of this list are a number of friends in my immediate circle. I talk to them about writing all the time so their influence is enormous, but impossible to quantify.”

Such a rich and diverse group of influences have given Dube a rich world view he expresses not only in his fiction but in his criticism of art and queer life. His take on gay marriage is particularly interesting, even though he was reluctant to share it at first.

“All right, Jerry,” Dube wrote,“you’re just not gonna let me off the hook are you? You’re determined to get me into trouble. Well fine. Lets take an example that’s been in the news a lot recently: the whole same-sex marriage thing. But first, let me be clear off the top – of course, no group of consenting adults should see their primary relationship denied rights and privileges that are blithely accorded to another such group. That’s discriminatory and therefore unacceptable. Only a fool or a bigot would deny it.”

“That said,” he continues, “if you look for the roots of gay liberation as a movement you’ll find them tangled up in the fertile ground of the counter-culture(s) and the attendant radical questioning of all kinds of political and personal institutions…among them traditional couplehood, and – yes – marriage. Many of the folks that started this movement were ready – and eager – to search out and create different modalities of relationship. It was a vital, innovative movement, one that wanted to challenge or change institutions and see if we couldn’t come up with something better.

“How did we go from there to clamouring to be included in a cookie-cutter, deeply flawed institution like marriage? And lets face it, marriage isn’t all that successful a thing; its historical origins and function are politically suspect and in its contemporary iteration, among other problems, it ends not in a lifetime of happy tax and next of kin benefits, but in divorce half – or slightly more than half,depending on the study you choose – of the time. Would you buy a toaster-oven that only worked fifty percent of the time? Not likely. Then why would one want to anchor the most important relationship(s) in one’s life in something that rickety? Surely we can dream up some kind of improvement? Where is the debate for the enlargement of the range of relationships accorded legal recognition?Or the right to choose and define new kinds? And once again, I am all for leveling the playing field when it comes to the various privileges accorded primary relationships. I just think there are more creative and liberational ways to achieve that end.”

And if there’s one thing Dube is acquainted with, it’s creativity. Having photographed angels in Hovering World and explored the Surrealist movement in Subtle Bodies, what’s next on his agenda?

“Actually, I just signed a contract for a new novel that’s scheduled to appear in Spring 2012. The one-line teaser I’ve been using to describe it is that it’s ‘a literary noire narrative about an unhappy academic, getting high, the collapse (or explosion) of language, and a Symbolist street gang.’ I’m also working on a book-length sequence of prose poems and thinking about pulling together a volume of essays from the art writing I’ve done over the last few years.”

Clearly, Dube is a busy man—but not too busy to leave us with a few parting words about Subtle Bodies. “I’d like for readers to find some pleasure in the text. Pleasure is a vital thing to me in art and the way we approach it and I often find that goes unspoken of in our rush to talk about the ideas,strategies, mechanics, themes and other elements in a book (or a film, or a painting, or a song….). Beyond that, I hope it does prompt questions about the way we shape a life, and about the relationship of lived experience to the stories we tell about it, and storytelling more generally. How—and why—that’s important.”

For more information about Peter Dube and his work, visit his website at www.peterdube.com.

Buy it now from our Amazon.com store - XOXO Hayden

I had it set in my mind before I even opened the cover that I wasn't going to like this book. All I could think about was here we go again, another coming-of-age story about some young boy trying to fit in, blah, blah, blah.  We've all been there and done that a dozen or more times.  Chris Corkum however, changed my mind within a few pages of his novel.  I couldn't put the book down, and now weeks later the characters are still vivid in my mind.  

Steven Carlisle is a suburban teenager growing up in Orange County in the 80's, struggling to understand his identity and sexuality.  Hayden Whitfield is a British pop star trying to find himself and acceptance through his music.  When Steven wins backstage passes to meet Hayden, both of their lives will change forever. 

The novel follows both of these men's lives over a period of eighteen years, and the growing connection that the two of them have for one another, but don't quite understand.  XOXO Hayden is a touching, well-written story of desire, love and passion.  As each chapter ends, the story of these two men become richer and more complex. The characters are so vivid and so real, you feel as if you are a part of their eighteen-year story.

One of the aspects of this book that I found so refreshing is that it's not your ordinary, coming-of-age story.  Without giving away any secrets to the plot or ending, there are many touching, intimate moments between Steven and Hayden but as in real life, not everything goes smoothly and not everything ends the way you expect it or want it to.The process the characters go through are real, the emotions of love, fear and pain are also real.That's what stands this book out from the others. I felt for the characters and also found pieces of me within their story.

Pick up a copy of XOXO Hayden.  It's a great weekend read.

Reviewed by William Holden

Buy it direct from Bywater Books or at our Amazon.com store to help support our blog - I Came Out for This?: A Novel

I always enjoy first person books. They’re immediate and personal, and you really get to know the POV character in ways other points of view don’t allow you to experience. That character also has to be strong enough to support the book, and Lisa Gatlin has a winner in Joanna Kane, the main character in I Came Out for This?

Joanna is newly-out at the age of 45 and if that wasn’t tough enough, she fell in hard in love and was dumped. But she hasn’t figured that out. In fact, she moves from her Cleveland home all the way to Washington DC in order to be with her ex, Terri, a woman who barely knows she’s alive. But that’s not really true. Joanna is alive enough for Terri to tease and taunt with possibilities, none of which will ever come to pass. Can Joanna move along and find true happiness in her seedy DC apartment populated by sketchy, transient boarders? Can she and Terri peacefully coexist in the DC lesbian dating scene? Will she survive psychotherapy? Will she get out of jail?

I’d rather let Joanna tell you in her own hilarious words. Lisa Gatlin has a wonderfully realized character in Joanna Kane; one with wit and wonder but more importantly, one with whom it’s easy to identify. We’ve all been out on the fringes at one time or another, living lives our families and friends couldn’t understand. Kane’s journey out there and back is one we know well, and she deals with the roadblocks she encounters with sass and verve.

The voice? Well, it’s soft and hard, soothing and haranguing, full of hope and despair—sometimes in the same sentence—but Joanna is never, ever boring. She is occasionally frustrating in her worship of a woman who clearly cares nothing for her, but in time that becomes part of her charm. Just like a good friend, you want to cheer for her when she does something brilliant and slap her when she’s stupid. And Joanna’s insights into the somewhat incestuous lesbian dating world are hysterical and, I believe, totally accurate.

I Came Out For This? is a great summer read. Its intriguing voice draws you back for more like a cool, refreshing dip in the pool, and its warm sense of wonder and discovery will keep you comfortable even after the sun goes down. 

Reviewed by Jerry Wheeler

Buy it now at tlagay.com or from our Amazon.com store. The Silver Hearted: A Novel

In some alternate reality where paddlewheel steamers and helicopters are both in use, an unnamed narrator must risk civil unrest to carry a cargo of silver coins to his unscrupulous employer.  A bit too much is left unnamed in this book.  Besides the narrator, there is the city known as B where the narrator starts, and Z, which is where the coins must end up.  (And actually the narrator escapes B and ends up in A, a city he does eventually name.  However, the author is being cute as his character now has to get from A to Z.) The country is also not named and to confound things further, the narrator mentions places he could go such as “Annampour” (invented, but probably meant to sound like a city in India) and “Pernambuco” (a state in Brazil). In a book where setting is so important, the vagueness of the location was both frustrating and fascinating. 

One thing that I don’t think is a coincidence is the similarity to Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and the film, Apocalypse Now which is based on Conrad’s book. There is the materialistic nature of the journey, although this time the prize is silver instead of ivory, there’s the horror of man’s inhumanity to man, the noticeable absence of women throughout the work, and of course, a journey up a dangerous river.  Or is it a river?  Perhaps it’s the sea.  With this book, it’s tricky to know.  What’s certainly true is the author is using a “setting as antagonist” device, and there he succeeds with flying colors.

The narrator and the captain of the steamer both share a longing for the captain’s sixteen-year-old apprentice, Topher.  Besides their rivalry for the boy, they both want to blame the other for their rushed departure from B.  The narrator’s co-workers were defending a “hong” (kind of a portside warehouse, I guess) from a murderous throng of civilians during an insurrection.  The author establishes the narrator is formerly from a world of privilege so feeling justified in putting himself first instead of helping his comrades is natural to him.  From the narrator’s point of view, he was innocently baffled his men didn’t board the steamer, and were thus, doomed. The captain insists it was the narrator’s fault.  He states the narrator maintained the men wanted to stay behind.  The hong wouldn’t be overrun, and they would be fine.  There is no evidence of this conversation.  Furthermore, this was after everyone witnessed the manager of the captured (and burning) hong next door strung up dead on a cross.   Thus, the urge to flee is understandable while the morality and heroism of both characters is definitely in doubt.

I was captivated through most of this book by the description, the danger, and the narrator’s voice.  However, close to the end things falter.  The fascinating journey stalls for too long as the main character is trapped in a dying, deliberately characterless, commercial city for days , and he’s caught up in corporate investigations that don’t echo the primal danger of earlier sections. 

Also, the characters are a bit problematic, especially Topher.   A fair amount of the plot revolves around fierce love or desire for Topher, but these are characters who are largely devoid of passion.  Topher is presented as somewhat street tough and scarred, and not truly beautiful, nor entirely kind-hearted nor trustworthy.  His allure isn’t fully understandable unless the point is in this world, he’s about the best one can do.   Furthermore, what works in Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now is the fact the reader or viewer can form an alliance with the main character. Marlow is virtuous and separate from the greed of the ivory trade.  Captain Willard’s mission forces him to resort to great violence, but even then the audience knows he’s the good guy.  Meanwhile, the narrator of The Silver Hearted is sometimes no better than the hyena-like personalities that surround him.  Yes, I get it that these people are “silver hearted” in that they don’t possess hearts of gold while not being all bad, but the pervasive self-interest and dishonesty is off-putting.     

The final pages sink into ambiguity, and for concrete, literal readers (and I usually count myself in that group), the ending will probably be unsatisfying.  Others may appreciate the dreamlike quality of a conclusion open to interpretation.    

 With this novel, where reality is as tangible as smoke, I kept thinking, “I wish my tenth grade English teacher were here to explain this to me.”  No, it’s not so complex you’ll feel you have to wait for the Cliffs Notes, but it is a book to be read at the same time as someone else for the sake of discussing what happened and what it meant. (I very definitely recommend it for book groups) The language is beyond beautiful and the depiction of a danger-filled journey through a tropical ruin of a country is cinematically mesmerizing. This isn’t exactly a light, fun-filled read, but for those who enjoy slipstream-ish literary fiction, lush imagery and symbolism, and “odd clock” world building, this surreal voyage into chaos should not be missed.       

Reviewed by Gavin Atlas