Serendipity: The Gay Times Book of New Stories

This book is a great collection of twenty-four short stories and one poem, each by a different author. A lot of creative and effective writing talent is displayed. Serendipity was the perfect book companion on my recent 3-week trip to Brazil. The stories range from 4 pages to 28 pages in length, so are great to fit into spaces between other activities. I would highly recommend Serendipity as a gift for yourself or a friend. Peter Burton's introduction provides an interesting history of the short story (including gay authors) after pointing out that there has been "almost complete banishment of short fiction from magazines and newspapers, thus destroying what was once a flourishing market for both new and established writers...." Fortunately, books like Serendipity may fill that gap. The stories are set several locations around the world and in various time periods. Many unusual situations are included, but I found several that had some personal parallels to my own life. As I read, I gave each story a grade (ex-teacher that I am) and 75% got A's. Below are some comments on the ones I liked best. In "A Small Triumph" Perry Brass does a brilliant job of telling a story that starts at a YMCA gym in Chelsea. The narrator is a thirty-eight-year-old writer who admires a body that turns out to be a 19-year-old with downs syndrome. The boy's straight and ignorant father is in the gym and a relationship between the three characters is gradually and realistically developed. I particularly appreciated the way someone with downs syndrome was portrayed. In Tim Ashley's "1949" the narrator is presumed to be brain dead in a hospital but he discloses his past life to the reader as he reports what visitors say and do. To quote one paragraph: "I have not made a will. None of them is aware of this fact, and they must therefore be waiting, in their different ways, for the traditional denouement. At first, they were rather shy about discussing the matter in front of me but that has begun to change over the past few days. I'm starting to get a feel for what each of them hopes or expects to receive." "Body Parts" by Drew Gummerson was another one of the stories that got an A+ on my list. The opening paragraph sets the scene: "Me and Mickie James were moving down to London together. We were 24. We were going to be pop stars,Mickie James on keyboards and me on lead vocals. Mickie James had a hunchback but that didn't matter. Even I knew it. He was the talented one." Gummerson goes on to create situations and scenes that I found totally engrossing. My one complaint was that I wanted more at the end. I think it could be the beginning of an excellent novel. I found "Collecting Remains" by David Patrick Beavers to be especially creative, and I think anyone would enjoy it. However, it had a special impact on me. In the second paragraph I find my name, Latham. Turns out that the narrator is James Latham and it is later disclosed that he is from Watsonville. Watsonv