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Title: The Long Blue Moan by L. M. Ross ISBN: 1-55583-621-6 Publisher: Alyson Publications Pub. Date: 01 August, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.33 (6 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: The circle of life
Comment: Four men growing up in New York City learn about life, love, and loneliness in THE LONG BLUE MOAN, an insightful novel by author L.M. Ross. The story itself is told in a series of flashbacks and remembrances about the lives of these four men intertwined by, at times, friendship, and at other times, much more. The men, both as individuals and as a unit, represent the hard times and struggles of young black men in the 1980s and 1990s.
Browny is a thuggish young man with the voice of an angel. All he wants is to be able to showcase his talents and to be appreciated for them. He refuses to be punked by anyone. But Browny is quick to take people on their word, causing him more trouble than anything.
Face Depina relies on his looks to get ahead in life. A man with the face and body of a god, many people flock to him for all the wrong reasons. The hard countenance that Face shows the world is lined with that of a broken spirit, a scarred man, and an abandoned child.
Tyrone is the father figure of the group. He is a cautious, talented man who searches for more than just one night stands and fly-by-night relationships. He wants a man who is spiritually connected with him; his soul mate. But a series of events cause Tyrone to question the validity of his desire to love and be loved.
David, an expert dancer, looks for love in all the wrong places, including in Face Depina. His carefree attitude about shacking up and going on the prowl for fresh meat makes his best friend, Tyrone, uncomfortable. But David represents loyalty in its purest form, standing by his homies in good times and bad.
What we see from the collective of these men is a gritty tale of gay urban life. Ross constructs these characters with depth and strong voices, and they all want to be heard; they demand it. There are a lot of sexual situations in this book, but they aren't thrown in there for shock value. Each episode plays a significant role in the makeup of the characters.
This emotional rollercoaster disguised as a novel is one that I was glad I had the chance to ride. I was educated and intrigued. I was saddened and outraged. I was a passenger and I loved every minute of it.
Reviewed by CandaceK
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
Rating: 4
Summary: Solid novel full of vivid description and drama
Comment: Tyrone, David, Face, and Browny: four seemingly different boys of the 70s, all students at Performing Arts High, are brought together when they are assigned the task of forming a musical group. Despite the success of their first song, the group falls apart, and what "The Long Blue Moan" shows the reader is the 20-year history and aftermath of these men's lives, lives that are full of drama, dreams, passion, sex, violence, and so much more.
There are several positive qualities to Ross' "The Long Blue Moan," such as the frankness of his writing and of his characters. These four main characters represent a myriad of personalities, all unique in their pains and wishes, as well as their desires. Another kudo to Ross must go out for his detailing of New York City and his rhythmic, poetic writing style which flows well with the NYC setting and the entangled personalities of his main characters. Ross keeps it real with his male characters, who love men and yet, a few of them, must
deal with the conflicts within themselves that arises because of this love. Ross places the drama right in the readers' faces and forces us to look at every crevice of these characters' lives.
Though the novel's 'realness' is a positive for me, it also presented a negative reaction as well. There was way too much drama and problems for these characters, and for me, a little drama goes a long way. Another minor concern for me was the character of Browny. His character does not grow too much in the story and, typically, this isn't a problem; the problem came when I read various phrases of Browny's that he used as an adult that he used as a kid and it just did not ring true to me. It was the continuous usage of those phrases throughout the novel that rankled me a bit.
Overall, this is a novel that I would definitely recommend to others. E. Lynn Harris and James Earl Hardy have been two of the most popular black authors to introduce readers to the loves and lives of gay Black men, and I would encourage everyone to add L. M. Ross to that list. I don't think you would be disappointed.
Shon Bacon
Rating: 4
Summary: Maybe too much going on
Comment: I liked the booked but I think the book would have been better if it focused on just one or two of the characters. Sometimes I found it hard to get close to the characters because I was felt like I was reading a list of events. And he liked to go back and forth in time. The plot was interesting and it was a real depiction of gay life. Good first novel.
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