Arcade: A Novel
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.25 (911 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1939419727 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 222 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-08-23 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Sardonic, sad, and laugh-out-loud funny." Andrew HolleranSmith has one of the most honest and original voices of any of our young novelists. It’s almost impossible to be simultaneously deadly serious and extremely funny. One of Time Out New York's Best Books of the Summer"If you’re a fan of conflicted characters who struggle with identity and desire, then this novel is for you. It's also a highly auspicious beginning for a Texas writer with certain promise.” The Bay Area Reporter"In his debut novel Arcade, Smith explores the underground world of an adult video store where gay men cruise for casual sex and enjoy XXX peepshows. Drew leads us behind closed doors with a firm but gentle grip.” Paul Kwiatkowski, author of And Every Day was Overcast"A dark valentine to American men, mailed from a booth in a gay v
Amazon Reviewer said A highly recommended new novelist. I am a straight, married man of 60 who is intrigued by the first novels of new writers, and I was not disappointed by "Arcade". The author's command of narrative and keenly-observed detail—wholly apart from sexuality—is remarkable, as is the progression of the vignette chapters. In Sam, the reader encounters a fully-realized, recognizable fellow human, making his way through the slog of life as best he can. This is an honest, incisive portrayal, a fine book to read, and a writer to watch.. Searching for truth in a world of anonymous hookups Mariners' Fan Thoughtful, well-written, moving. The unnamed and unreliable narrator finds meaning in what is usually dismissed as "meaningless" sex. It's a close study of anonymous rituals, hidden sexualities, fears, desires, and curiosity. "Sam" -- one of the pseudonyms he goes by -- seems blind to the depths of his own obsession, turning into a stalker, even as he remains a likeable guy that this reader sympathized with. Packed with some of the best writing of explicit sexual scenes I've read -- never prurient, often erotic, sometimes revealing. I enjoyed it thoroughly and devoured it in two sit. Every gay man's autobiography! M This book is autobiographical for any young gay man that reads it. I literally was him (at 21 years old) walking in to the arcade the first, second, and admittedly the 10th and 12th time. This book is spot on!
Then, of course, there is the subject of sex.As his connection to the place strengthens, and his actions both outside and within the peepshow escalate, Sam wavers between dismissing the arcade as a frivolous pastime and accepting it as the most meaningful place in his life. When the bizarre setting triggers reflections on his own history and theories, he contemplates his anxious, religious upbringing in small-town Texas, the frightening overlap between horror movies and his love life, and the false expectations created by multiple childhood viewings of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. More than a mere venue for closeted men to meet for anonymous sex, it’s an underground subculture populated by regular players, and marked by innumerable coded rules and customs.A welcome diversion from his dead-end job and the compulsive cyberstalking of the cop who broke his heart, Sam returns to the arcade again and again. Arcade is a relentlessly candid and graphic account of one man’s attempt to square immutable desire with a carefully constructed self