Fannish Fifty: Matt Cain
Nov. 22nd, 2023 02:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smallhobbitMatt Cain is an author I would thoroughly recommend if you're looking for LGBTQ+ books with a satisfying ending.
The first book of his I read was The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle, which I read when it came out in 2021. Albert Entwistle is a postman who is about to retire. His secret is that he is gay, although he has denied this for the whole of his adult life. The book shows Albert coming to terms with the idea and setting out to find the secret boyfriend he had when he was still at school, and in the process making new friends in unexpected places. There's a wide variety of believable characters, most of whom have their own problems they're wrestling with.
Then came The Madonna of Bolton. This was issued in 2020, but I only read it in 2022 since it was in our local library. It's still a story of a boy growing up gay in the Bolton of the 1980s and his moving first to Cambridge for university and then to London. Well worth reading for the descriptions of life at the time and how his family refused to acknowledge his sexuality.
Lastly Becoming Ted which I read when it was issued at the beginning of this year. Ted is a gay man, whose greatest dream is to become a drag queen. The book is full of normal people muddling along in the way most people do and they remain very likeable. And that is one of the things I do like about Matt Cain's books: most of the people are just normal, coping with difficulties as best they can and as the reader I want things to work out for them.
And now I have One Love reserved at the library for when their copy comes in. It's due to be published in January 2024 and I'm second in the queue for it.
Of course buying books is good, (depending on where you buy them from) and the author will get royalties. But also they do benefit every time a book is borrowed from the library and by borrowing such books you prove there is a demand for them, which means other people, who either couldn't afford to buy or just want to try a book without the financial commitment, have that opportunity.
The first book of his I read was The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle, which I read when it came out in 2021. Albert Entwistle is a postman who is about to retire. His secret is that he is gay, although he has denied this for the whole of his adult life. The book shows Albert coming to terms with the idea and setting out to find the secret boyfriend he had when he was still at school, and in the process making new friends in unexpected places. There's a wide variety of believable characters, most of whom have their own problems they're wrestling with.
Then came The Madonna of Bolton. This was issued in 2020, but I only read it in 2022 since it was in our local library. It's still a story of a boy growing up gay in the Bolton of the 1980s and his moving first to Cambridge for university and then to London. Well worth reading for the descriptions of life at the time and how his family refused to acknowledge his sexuality.
Lastly Becoming Ted which I read when it was issued at the beginning of this year. Ted is a gay man, whose greatest dream is to become a drag queen. The book is full of normal people muddling along in the way most people do and they remain very likeable. And that is one of the things I do like about Matt Cain's books: most of the people are just normal, coping with difficulties as best they can and as the reader I want things to work out for them.
And now I have One Love reserved at the library for when their copy comes in. It's due to be published in January 2024 and I'm second in the queue for it.
Of course buying books is good, (depending on where you buy them from) and the author will get royalties. But also they do benefit every time a book is borrowed from the library and by borrowing such books you prove there is a demand for them, which means other people, who either couldn't afford to buy or just want to try a book without the financial commitment, have that opportunity.
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Date: 2023-11-25 08:58 pm (UTC)[I am sorry I so behind commenting on your feeds, AO3 and DW. As you can tell, I'm trying to catch up. btw, my copy of Rosemary Shrager's The Last Supper just arrived from better books. I may try to read it before I wrap it up for my sister's Xmas gift :) ]
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Date: 2023-11-25 09:06 pm (UTC)No worries - I guessed as much, knowing how busy you'd been. I found The Last Supper an easy read, so you may manage it.