Ok. The weekend was not all that. I went to Oakland (for a business meeting). My two bois that I hoped to hook up with were either out-of-town or tied up handling bizness. Plus the weather kinda sucked, and I wasn't really feelin' jumping the train into San Francisco and going to the Castro district by myself. The most I did was work, catch a quick movie (Big Mama's House 2), and READ. Now, let's talk about that last one.
I know this is not a book review site, and I make no pretenses about it (although I will continue to shamelessly promote Rashid Darden, Fred Smith, Tim'm West, Lee Hayes, Keith Boykin and others that I feel deserve ya support - lol). Anyway, I left the novel that I was reading, Love the One You're With, by James Early Hardy in my car at the airport parking lot. So, I needed a replacement and popped into Waldenbooks in Monroe, NC to get something. Well, if you're into ready novels by gay authors, let me tell you that Monroe ain't the place to shop. I saw one book by E. Lynn Harris and that was their entire gay section. Didn't have time to get into nearby Charlotte, so I grabbed a novel with an interesting cover (but for the life of me, I can't remember the name of it) but the reading was ho-hum. Since I had a layover in DC, I popped into Borders to find something a little better. I was about to give up and leave when I spotted these novels by Carl Weber on the bottom shelf at the end of the fiction section (hey Carl, get a last name at the beginning of the alphabet brotha). I had just ordered his book titled "The Preacher's Son" but didn't have time to get into it yet. I figured it wouldn't hurt to read one of his older works since I hadn't read any of them. I picked up "Married Men" (published in 2001). A'iight, I admit that I am behind the times on this author and some of you may already have read him. If so, this post ain't for u.
Now, if you haven't read it, then let me tell you this book is FIRE. I got pulled into it right away and couldn't have made a better choice for my 5.5 hour flight from Dulles to Oakland. Hell, I would have turned on the light in the back seat of the taxi to keep on reading even after I landed. I don't want to spoil it for anybody, but let me tell you it has all of the things that are near and dear to my reading heart -- cheating spouses, baby mama drama, lying men, whorish women, lies, deception - (excuse me while I wipe my eyes). These four guys are thick as thieves and yet display that basic bond that binds so many of us in the black community as brothas. They have issues with each other, issues with each other's girlfriends, issues with each other's wives, but through it all, that which binds them together is greater than that which could break them apart. The four characters, Kyle, Wil, Allen and Jay each take turns telling the story. You will find that each of them is in us a bit, and you will also know somebody who acts just like them.
That's all I'm going to tell ya about this book. Like I said, this blog is not a book review site. Disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are purely my own whether you agree with them or not. I finished the 373 pages in a restaurant last night after getting back to NC. I know I will be reading more of this brotha's works. I think you ought to as well. If you've read it, comment here. If you haven't read it, go buy it and remember - you heard it here first!
I gotta a date for dinner, so I'm out.
Shem hotep.
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