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What Binds Us (2012)

by Larry Benjamin(Favorite Author)

4.23 of 5 Votes: 1

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Carina Press

review 1: This book reads like a fairy tale, from the deliciously crafted language (Larry DOES have a way with words, and him describing himself as a wordsmith is really spot on) to the description of characters, milieus and sceneries.The story is a fairytale of the middle class black boy meeting the filthy rich white kid and the whole happily efter after, had it not been for the fact that this is the 1980ies and AIDS was slashing homos like a scythe cutting fresh green grass. I remember seeing my first movie on the subject, way back when "Longtime Companion". It's very safe to say (and this is no pun) that had I been five years older, I would probably not have lived to reach thirty, given my lifestyle choices back then.Reading books like this reminds me just how lucky I am, to have... more slithered by these dreadful years, to have survived, to be healthy and well.Yet "What Binds Us" isn't primarily about AIDS or the epidemic, although the last third of the book deals intimately with the effects on one of the main characters. No, the story is about love, about friendship, about a society changing rapidly, with the very first signs of acceptance along with everything else, from marriage and even the hope, as slim as it must have been back then, of children."What Binds Us" is a beautifully written book, it is the fin de siècle of writing or Art nouveau if you prefer, flowery words, beautifully wound and lingering sentences, paragraphs that melt on your tongue, literally inviting you to read them out loud. Larry truly IS a master wordsmith, un artiste in the true sense of the word.
review 2: This is a beautiful book filled with love, laughter, heartbreak and hope.I cried, and that's a big deal for me because I only cry when I get so invested in the characters that I feel as if I'm actually involved in their story. The way that Larry Benjamin was able to make all of the characters jump off the page.. it's breathtaking and I hope that he continues to create such amazing art. I'm kind of at a loss at what to say about this book, other than that I loved it and would one-click it again and again. My only complaint is that I wish the Epilogue was longer.. I really would have loved to see further into their future. less

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