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Hardcover
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Following the tremendous success of his national gay bestseller "Boy Culture", Rettenmund here offers up an even more outrageous--and heartbreaking--portrait of gay love in the '90s.
Matthew Rettenmund's 1994 fiction debut, Boy Culture, was a surprise smash hit: a funny, playful, endearing slice of life from the late-20-something Chelsea crowd in Manhattan's fast lane. Rettenmund is also a cataloguing connoisseur of media and culture who has produced such fare as Totally Awesome 80s. His second novel, Blind Items, combines his twin passions of pop culture and boy romance. David Greer is an unwilling editor of a chain of gay male porn magazines who would rather be a famous novelist. His best friend is the noted gossip-meister Warren Junior, whose "Off the List" column consistently roasts the talks of the town. One evening, at a party by Warren's invitation, David meets the love of his life: the kind, intelligent, and hunky TV star Alan Dillinger. One problem: David is determinedly out and political, while Alan is deeply closeted. Readers will delight in Rettenmund's ease with the chatty, relaxed aspects of relationships, relating how one handles safe sex and jealousy control in a world where talking about Tab Hunter and Raymond Burr constitutes real communication. Rettenmund may not take himself seriously, but beneath the faux-glamour and the high wit, he manages to tell a story about real men with real emotions that has real lasting power. --Michael Bronski
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| Not Great, Not Bad |
| Customer Rating: 3 out of 5 |
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This book is about David, a 32 year old gay guy in NYC thats life has stalled out in recent years. Then there is John, seemingly unrelated to the main story, who is raised by his drunk of a granny and grows up a social outcast. The book is pretty entertaining, but I didn't find a lot of the parts you're supposed to laugh at very funny. I could have done without all the little "Off the List" columns inserted throughout (I think the ending would've worked fine without them). Overall it was a pretty good read but ultimately forgetable.
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| Who knows why, but I really liked it... |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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This is a fairly typical gay book - closeted gay celebrity, not closeted love interest, flaming best friend, cool chick friend...
Yet the style, with two concurrent stories,one present, one past, works well. You know fairly early on how they will connect, but knowing the destination does not distract from the trip. I liked the gentleness in the developing relationship, the reality of gay men's obsession with "who is, who isn't", and what we would do if given the chance.
The writing is solid, and offers some solid insight to the characters. It does not have the humor of Christian McLaughlin's "Glamorpuss", but I still say it is worth a try.
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| Loose Writing Style makes this a boring read |
| Customer Rating: 2 out of 5 |
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Blind Items has the same writing style as at least one of Rettenmund's other books (Boy Culture). He goes on for pages and pages to describe something that could have been said in two paragraphs. Kind of reminds me of the articles you read in the Sunday magazine section of your newspaper. If you like this writing style, Rettenmund's books may be for you. Personally it drove me crazy and I set the book down after the first few chapters.
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| Much better than his first novel |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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The author loves throwing in pop culture junk, celebraties, and circuit boys. Through it all, he has managed to write a touching romance novel, with real fleshed out flawed characters facing everything we hate to deal with in real life. I reveled in the banter, was tittlated by the romance, and genuinely felt for the hero of the story, an every(gay)man type working in a job he hates trying to become a successful writer. It feels very fairy talish until we are faced with a real morning after. Buy it. Read it. Love it. P.S. Much better than his first novel.
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| Okay book... good for a rainy day... |
| Customer Rating: 3 out of 5 |
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Let's face it, Rettenmund isn't going to win a Pullitzer prize for "Blind Items" anytime soon, but it was a cute little story that's good for one of those rainy days, or slow afternoons. The novel is full of campy fun, hilarious little quips here and there, and Rettenmund has an awesome eye for kitsch and oldies culture (sorry dolls, I'm a 19 year old who really didn't get a bunch of the Jon-Erik Hexum, and other dated jokes... not my generation.) I loved reading this novel, great to read to while away the hours.
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