Paul Lisicky

After reading the sentences about anger and Paul’s relationship with his father, I knew I was in the hands of a master. “He wanted his skin to rub off into us so we would not forget the cost of everything he did to give us the life we had. The martyring. And if that isn’t anger in the purest, most frozen form, then I can’t read the world.”

This memoir revolving around Provincetown in the early nineties is full of choice writing. With our current Corona Virus, it’s hauntingly refreshing to remembers the AIDS crisis and the impact on relationships through the lens of Paul Lisicky.… (more)

This is a story told from the point of view of a young man who is exploring his own identity. They all believed me to be kind, kind, affectionate, and upright. Of course, I could be all of those things. However, there was much more to me than that, a side that even I found unsettling, and this side involved William.
The story begins with seventeen-year-old Evan agreeing to mow his next door neighbor's lawn during the summer. This employment leads him into more than just a summer job, but introduces him to an erratic world of desire and treachery. He moves in with 41-year-old William after being estranged from his parents and older brother. This starts a series of unsuccessful attempts to create a new home. He must decide whether to put his family or his passion first. Lawnboy by Paul Lisicky traverses the lush and turbulent landscape of the early 1990s, its south Florida environment as fertile and problematic as Evan's inner turmoil. It was first published to widespread acclaim in 1999.… (more)

I understand why Lisicky used the device of alternating memories of his friendship with Denise Gess and his marriage to M (Mark Doty), but I still found it a bit confusing and off-putting. Both ended (the first through death, the other divorce), and both were both difficult and profound at the same time. It was difficult, however, to follow the chronology at times - I might have preferred one long chapter about Denise followed by one about M. Plus, for some reason I couldn't stand Denise, and that interfered with my enjoyment of the book.

These caveats aside, I love his writing and want to read more of his work.… (more)