Tommy's Tale

Hi. I am a great fan of Alan Cumming, so when I heard he wrote a novel, I had to read it, so I got it from the library and now I'm buying it. Don't think my love for him prejudices my opinion of the book, though. It really is a masterpiece. Any psychologist or druggie alike would love this book. It goes into the head of a truly "true" guy and brings you into a different world. The name is perfect, it is really Tommy's Tale. It's amazing and people should read it. However, keep in mind that you must be prepared for it. I know there are plenty of people who wouldn't understand it at all. That's okay, though; there's always those people. Read it. If you don't get it, just leave it alone. You either will someday or have already passed that point. I love it, but liking it probably isn't really the point. Read it.

This was the most fun I've had reading a book in a long time. I will say, however, if you don't have an open mind, it's not for you. Even if you have to tell yourself you have an open mind, it's not for you. As a previous reviewer pointed out, the rambling narrative is intentional. You're meant to be inside the mind of this character, and the author does a wonderful job of taking you on the roller-coaster ride that is Tommy's existence. If you're able to sit back and just let the story take you, I promise you will have a great time.

Tommy's Tale was simply amazing, for lack of a better word. Many would complain that Cumming's style (rather erratic and jumpy) becomes annoying fairly quickly. The novel is written in a journal-like fashion, with there really being no distinct plot line and no real purpose save the story of the life of the main character, Tommy. That, I believe, was the entire point. I truly do not think that this book was meant to be like a regular story. Only those with an open mind can truly understand the deeper emotions hidden behind the words. If you are looking for a regular beginning, rise, climax, fall, end story, this is not the book for you. However, if you're looking for something comepletely different, unique, deliciously addictive and a little sex, drugs, and more sex thrown into the mix, then you need to get this book as soon as possible.

Because of my newfound interest in Alan Cumming as the brilliant actor he is, I was pleased to find Tommy's Tale so readily available. I was pleased as well to see it portrayed in The Anniversary Party, Cumming's "insive and realistic comedy of manners," per Stephan Holden of The New York Times. I have read the book once and suspect I will like it more each time I reread it. As a literary scholar, I can see its merit not only as Lesbigay fiction, but also as an important modern day parallel The Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter, who wrote of the debaucheries of Nero (65 A.D.), who "compelled [Petronius] to kill himself" (14). The autobiographical content on each book is worthy of further study. Interestingly, my 1934 copy of the latter was translated by no less than Oscar Wilde, another important observer of human existence. Although many readers will no doubt go no further than the surface details of each book, the true value of each is in between the lines. As Shakespeare says many times in many ways, a reader/listener who would do the work of delving deeper is much appreciated by the writer. In the end of both Petronius and Cumming's tales, the sadder but wiser narrator learns the joys of a more modest and intentional lifestyle, but notes that in order to gain such wisdom, painful mistakes must be made. Though this applies to both narrators, ancient and modern, it is a life lesson for us all: as Glinda the Good Witch of the North says to Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, you have to learn it for yourself.

This book surprised me. I have always been wary of actor- turned- novelists, but Cumming manages to pull it off. Ths book manages to deal with some pretty important issues like fatherhood and commitment, while at the same time being a rollicking good read filled with sex, scandal and pithy and bolshie rejoinders. Don't read it if you don't want to laugh or be charmed. This is a book for the open-minded to revel in and sigh a huge sigh of relief that someone is fnally speaking their language. And for those of a more conservative frame of mind it might be just the thing to show you how the other half lives, loves and thinks. A real gem.