The Boys in the Brownstone:

This is a truly excellent read. Mr. Scott does the nearly impossible. We are brought into the lives of a rich and diverse set of characters, less by their actions and more by their dialogue. The lives and stores are artfully woven.

Could this be "Tales of the City" for New York? While this first installment may not have allowed for Maupin's depth of character development, "Brownstone" certainly shows promise. This was a great invention to introduce a number of lives, most of them intersecting each other. The characters were believable because the author didn't resort to stale stereotypes or tired queerisms. I do hope that we'll be seeing more of the Brownstone. If only there were such a place in every neighborhood. Not a bad place to weather either the storms of reality or metaphor.

A rare form, this work can be read in 2 hours at the beach or on a plane, or can be savored and analyzed for weeks.

Kevin Scott writes an intelligent, compassionate and witty novel about the condition of man. In this case the setting is the turn of the 20th century in the United States. Many of the divisive issues of the times are reflected in the lives of several gay men whose different backgrounds intersect at the Brownstone, a gay bar on the Upper East side of Manhattan. The author is a master at exposing both the very real and the very human vulnerabilities in his characters as they manifest themselves against the backdrop of an unusually fierce snowstorm hitting the east coast during the holiday season and the refuge the club provides. This is a book that will make you laugh and cry as it exposes the complexity of human nature, which is often as irrational as it is rational, and whose altruistic impluses are usually darkly shaded. The book begins slowly but soon draws you into a great read. Many of the lines and observations will linger in your thoughts long after you have finished the book. While "Boys of the Brownstone" is published as part of a series of gay men's fiction its appeal is sophisticated and universal. I am looking forward to Kevin Scott's next book!

Combine a late night December blizzard, a group of gay men who have lives that intersect each other in unexpected ways, and an Upper East-Side "gentlemen's" club~cruise bar~hustler haven, and you have the makings of a wonderfully amusing and sometimes sad story. THE BOYS IN THE BROWNSTONE is an engaging novel that deals with the crisscross lives of several of the bar's patrons and employees. Each of the characters revealed has a significant story unto himself, but we, the reader, are only afforded a brief glimpse of their story on the day in question, a few days before Christmas. Events that precede that evening at The Brownstone are recounted as memories that flood the minds of the characters that day. In this way, the reader is permitted to understand the mental workings of each character and understand the intimacy of the relationships among the boys of The Brownstone. The blizzard outside is a constant throughout the novel, and becomes a metaphor for the lives of the patrons and employees of the bar. The stories recounted are those that most people either know or have knowledge of, i.e., confusion, despair, insecurity, betrayal, loneliness, self-doubt, self-denial, exploitation, realized love, and death. The list of potential stories is capable of going on ad-infinitum. Amidst this backdrop of seemingly depressing situations, the author, Kevin Scott, is able to put an amusing "spin" on most of the stories told. While simply snippets of each character's life, the reader becomes so involved in the stories told, he wants to know the resolution of the situations presented. Particularly gratifying to this reader was the tale of Ian and Nathan. Their tale is one that I believe was most poignant. The saddest tale in the book is that of Mike, and perhaps the most intensely felt and fully understood tale is that of Neil. There are others, and they too will each carry a message to the reader. This is a fast read, one that a potential reader will not want to put down, one that will leave the reader disappointed that it has ended. I heartily endorse this book and eagerly await any new offerings by Kevin Scott.