You sit and watch TV. You wait until no one is watching so you can take a few more prescription pain killers. You wash them down with whiskey. You close your eyes and wonder if you’ll wake up back in Vietnam. You wonder how long it will take before your wife looks at you with disappointment before she goes to bed.
You are Gary and you live near New Orleans, but not quite close enough. Sure, there’s a secret gay bar you can escape to, but you’re surrounded by guys who drive trucks, drink beer, and probably secretly long to bash a queer in the skull with a crowbar. You have a truck. You drink beer. You secretly long for something you know, but don’t know, but know you can’t name.
You meet Zachary by chance and he scares you. He’s too young and too frail and you want to love him but you know he needs to teach you how. He’s gay, he lives in the rural South, and it’s no use to try and hide it.
This book was incredibly satisfying and I hope more people read it. Read my full review on my blog and maybe it will be a book you’ll search for.
Cannonball Read V 