Bashed

The tagline of this novel is "A love story", but how can be a love story if one of the lover is killed at the beginning? well, it all depend on what you consider love, and then don't forget that the most famous love stories in the world haven't an happily ever after (Erich Segal was only one of the last...). Ahah, now some of one are thinking, so this novel has not an happily ever after? wrong, and again, it all depend on what you consider happily ever after. Donald and Mark are happy and in love. They are actually still in the apex of their story, a six months old couple, a love at first sight that led to a sudden life in common. They are talking of the future, they are building a future. There is quite a wide age difference between Donald and Mark, something that Donald briefly considered, at 50 years old he didn't like to play the role of the daddy, but Mark won his every resistance. They would have been probably a very happy couple, but it's not fate to see it. Mark is killing during a gay bashing and Donald is left with his memories. And strange to say, I believe that the fact that they were a quite "new" couple allows Donald to survive; he is in pain, he misses Mark, but he is not thinking to kill himself, something that probably he would have thought if the one to die was his long-term partner. Instead Donald has still a life other than the one he shared with Mark, their relationship was still fresh enough to allow Donald to move on after a right mourning period. And maybe it helps that Mark didn't really leave him, he is still a steady presence in Donald's life, not exactly a ghost, but more the projection of Donald's love for him, an output of Donald's mind who speaks through Mark's image to tell Donald what he has to do. Life is also helping Donald to move on, a new neighbor, Walter has moved upstair, and Walter is friendly and gay and willing... They have sex, and someone could question the choice of Donald to "come" out from his mourning period so soon, but actually it's not the real Donald, but, ab absurdo, the type of man that in their ill and twisted minds the gay basher were targeting. Mark and Donald were an ordinary couple, they were exclusive and committed, they were talking of adopting a puppy. All right, they were coming out from a leather club, but they were in a gay friendly neighborhood, and they had just spent a nice night out and were heading home. Now, I'm not saying that, if they were different, the gay bashers would have been some reasons more, absolutely not, I'm saying that, where one of the basher was obviously a criminal and totally crazy, not even for one moment I feel pain or remorse for his wasted life, the other one, Jeremy, is a boy that probably, with the chance to have a different perspective in life, he would have seen the thing in a different way. If he would have been allowed to see Donald and Marc in their everyday life, maybe he wouldn't have been there taking part to the murder of a man. When Do

When you pick up a copy of Rick R. Reed's Bashed, don't expect it to be an easy throwaway read. This is a novel about love, violence, fear, and hope that will capture your attention with the very first page and hold it hostage until you close the book at the end. It tosses its reader into the middle of a nightmare as all the fears that one man holds come true and he and his lover are attacked for daring to be a different from what society might call a norm. It takes a peek into the ugly mind of someone who would take their pleasure in causing harm and pain, and it pulls the reader along for a painful ride in the aftermath of violence. If you are familiar with Mr. Reed's work, you know that horror is his forte, and in Bashed he has almost outdone himself. This is not a tale à la Freddy Kreuger or Dawn of the Dead. The horror here is in just how real it all is, knowing that these acts of violence really do happen to innocent people and that they are not as rare as we might want to believe. This story will fully engage both your heart and your mind. It will make you think about the nature of love and how it shows itself in our lives as well as what hate actually means. In general, we hate what we fear, and we fear what we don't understand or agree with, and that is illustrated clearly in this book. Mr. Reed has written this story from multiple points of view, which gives his readers not only a well-rounded view of the storyline but also insight into the actions and motivations of various characters. We experience Donald's terror and pain during the attack and his hopelessness as he deals with the gigantic rift that losing Mark has placed on his soul. We watch Justin deal with the angst of being sixteen and the peer pressure that causes him to go along with his friends' decision to bash a few gay guys even though in his heart he knows that what he is doing is immoral. And most frightening of all, we share in the poisonous thoughts of Ronny, the main perpetrator, as he prepares to take his crime one step further. Yet with all the horror and suspense, there is an underlying thread of hope that runs through Bashed. There is hope that Donald will be able to rebuild some semblance of his life after losing his lover, hope that he may find love once again, and hope that Justin might find the strength to do the right thing. As I read this novel, I found myself at times tense with suspense, at times wiping a tear, and always feeling a sense of shame that such hate and intolerance exists in the world. For its depth of emotion, realistic horror, and atmosphere that lingers long after the story is complete, I'm storing Bashed on my keeper shelf. This isn't a story that you finish and forget. It's one that you'll remember for a good long time.

"Bashed" is one of Rick R. Reed's most compelling stories to date. A tale of love and murder, and the damaged lives left in its wake, this is a page turner like few I've read in recent months. Donald Griffith has so much to look forward to until one irreversible moment in time when his world is shattered and his life is sent reeling into limbo. His climb back up from the depths of his despair is frought with the nightmare of rebuilding his existence and finding the ability to not only move past that terrible night but to also let himself love again. Told in the manner that only Mr. Reed can command, "Bashed" is one of the best efforts of his literary career.

Reed, Rick R. "Bashed: A Love Story", MLR Press, 2009. From Grief to Hope Amos Lassen I always look forward to a new book by Rick Reed and thus far I have not been disappointed. He is at home in a variety of genres, his plots are great and his characters have become my friends. Reed's newest novel, "Bashed" had me riveted from cover to cover. Donald and Mark went out to a leather bar, "The Brig" for a night of fun and they certainly had no idea of what that night would bring them. As they were walking home the two lovers were attacked and beaten by three punks. Mark was killed at the scene and Donald was hospitalized. It is what happens after the attack that is the subject of "Bashed". The story is related to us by Donald and his sister Grace who is his comforter. Walter, a neighbor, tries to be a friend and we learn that Justin, Walter's nephew, a teenager, was one of the three punks who was to blame for Mark's murder, The novel becomes psychological as Reed probes the minds of his characters and lets us share in their secret thoughts as well as their fears. We also experience Justin's paranoia and weakness and I could do little more than hate him. Justin is just a sad character who is obsessed with Ronny and his childish behavior. I am not sure if I was to feel sorry for Justin or hate him but even though I did not get to know Mark well, I could not help myself as I detested Justin. As Donald recovers, he is able to put some of his life back together. He becomes involved with anonymous sexual trysts but it was his meeting and experience with neighbor Walter provides him with more than he bargained for. For those of you who have read Reed, you know that the paranormal plays a role in a lot of what he writes and through the use of the paranormal we meet Mark whom we lost at the beginning of the book. His role is important in the story but if I were to write about I would spoil the book for you. The climax of the story will kept you reading as quickly as you can. The only negative thing I can say about "Bashed" (and it's not really about the book) is that now I have to wait for another Rick Reed book. However, that is not much of a problem as he is prolific.