California Screaming

I was jumping around my apartment after I read this book. I got that same feeling you get after you'vd just talked to your biggest crush on the phone. I tore through this novel and cancelled all my Saturday night plans to finish it. I hated and loved the characters. And I recognized them which was sort of terryfing but thrilling. This is top notch gay satire and more than just a beach read. It sort of fills you with hope too. I want another one.

I've never read a book where I was laughing and wincing at the same time like this- the author's darts are so well placed. As a resident of the Wilshire Corridor and working in West Hollywood the thing I find most amazing is that Mr. Guinan's book is classified as fiction. It's all true!

Not the most sympathetic character you'll ever meet, Kevin embodies all that is glitz and glam about the party boy scene. Materialistic, and not just a little shallow, our hero cuts a wide swath through the gay world of West Hollywood. By turns truly hilarious and truly sad, Doug Guinan succeeds in winning the reader over, creating characters at once pathetically jaded and ultimately redeemable.Spend a nice day at the beach, and while you are out there, read this book!

I gave this a 10, not as in "the greatest novel of all time", but because it sure is great for the type of novel it is...a totally fun trashy romp. I couldn't put this book down and I've sent copies to friends so they could enjoy it. Sure, the jacket got lots of attention on the beach at Fire Island, but it's the writing that makes this a superb read. Doug Guinan is one heck of a story-teller and I can't wait to read whatever he writes next. This books moves and shakes and laughs out loud, and oddly enough, actually had me caring for some seemingly unlikeable characters. Read it...it will confirm what you always suspected lurked behind the captivating eyes of the oh-so manipulative super-beautiful and those that acquire them. I'd like to read the author's take on a New York story next as he's so excellently captured LA here!

I was entirely ready to disagree and despise any novel where beauty reigns, only to find myself drawn into the lives of the denizens of "California Screaming", and boy do they ever. The pains of the glamorous life have never been seen as so enviable , and empty as they do here in this absorbing , and still glib story of the reigning bottom dwellers of LA's glittery youthful gay set. Breezy and funny , this book managed to make me see myself in almost every character at some point while offering no easy outs for any of them , or us. Yes Virginia, you can tell a real sad story and not chase the readers away with grim self rightousness! The clever and hilarious writing style paints a vivid picture while the effortless humanity pulls one to the conclusion of this freshest of reads. If a gay novel can cross over and tell a simple and universal story , this one is it.