Love, Sal: Letters from a Boy in the City

Funny how some experiences and drives transcend gender, age and sexual orientation. I laughed, I cried, it became a part of me? Sure, but it also made me think, and reexamine issues I had thought resolved. I suppose one of the points made by the book is that the issues which are truly important are never truly resolved, and always bear further examination. I'm very glad to have come upon this book. My thanks go out to those who convinced the author to compile his cross-country musings into a piece for all to read.

I'm Jett Blakk, director of such gay adult fare as LEATHER VIRGIN, the LEATHER INTRUSION series and DAMNATION: HELL IN LEATHER, and I would like to add my five cents here.Let me assure you that "Love, Sal" is right on target in its depiction of the San Francisco leather scene, and Mr. Iacopelli's adventures make for some of the hottest, most intense and funniest moments I've read in some time. From examples of loving S & M to untrustworthy trust issues to the joys of leather to the complex, emotional conflicting mental states of a desire to be controlled and a fear of giving up control, this book runs the gamut of things you desire and things that repulse you...and keeps you laughing the entire time.It will turn you on, it will make you wince, it will open your eyes and it will open your mouth...with laughter. Mostly with laughter.

Sal is not only a great story teller, but a genius at observing and articulating the behaviors and idiosincracies of people in general. Equally enticing is his ability to overlap pleasure and pain, humor and distress.I particularly like the semi-autobiographical format of the book that chronicles a significant portionn of his life and that eloquently portrays experiences filtered only by his openess to them. There's an honest searching, a vulnerability bordering on narcissism, but not quite. There's also an introspection that leaves him virtually "naked" to the eyes of the reader, making him the more endearing a hero of this modern tragic-comdey.In essence, I loved this book for its refreshing reliance on genuine writing and transparent creativity.

From the first moment I started to read Love, Sal, I had a very difficult time putting it down. In fact, I was so mesmerized I almost missed my "El" stop on my way home from work. Sal, you made me laugh. You made me cry. You gave me hard-ons. And, at times, I thought I was reading MY own letter to a friend! Sometimes, all of these feelings within two pages! I didn't realize that you and I (and all gay men?) have so much in common. You touched on many emotions and feelings that I, too, have had in dealing with life, sex, drugs, and relationships. I envy you for having the balls to put it all down for all to read. Thanks for sharing your journey.Love, Jim

Okay, I did his web site... but one reason it was such fun to do was the nature of the material in "Love Sal". Here Sal provides a look at the generally misunderstood, often frustrating but always erotic life of those into the kinky side of life.Not everyone will experience the kinds of things Sal writes about, especially if you've never explored the leather lifestyle in that fantasyland called San Francisco. But anyone who has been active in the leather community will chuckle at the recounts of domination and submission gone awry and smile at the simple romance of it all. Think you missed out on leather in the 70's? Sal shows us that its still alive and well in "The City" and still as fun and annoying as it always has been.I recommend Love Sal, especially for those who are a bit disgruntled about their involvement in the community today. It will cause you to laugh and cry at the familiararity of it all and will help you to see that, for all it's annoyances, being into kink is who we are...and life wouldn't be the same without the experience of it!