Says Who

SAYS WHO consists of two gripping novella-style stories ladened with tensions and neuroses when repressed gay impulses simmer to the surface. Growing up gay is the same as looking at yourself in a rearview mirror. You are impelled to play catchup with your sexual emotions. The first story, Jay, a sexual neophyte, is outed by his trickster college roommate, leaving him face to face with suicide as his only viable alternative. Along struts out and about unapologetic Benson, a rambunctious free spirit who holds to the concept that the world is there for the taking. When queried by Jay how he grappled with the realization of being gay, Benson quipped, "I didn't grapple one iota. My penis made that momentous decision for me." Hand in hand they proceed to carve a rollicking pathway across campus in a fast moving tale of one hilarious happening after another of controversy and confrontation with academic authorities. Also, located in a collegiate setting, the companion piece filled with truth fulfilling moments, is a pensive tale told in part through a series of heart-wrenching flashbacks. Brad and Mike, students reared in contrary cultures, are brought together as freshmen roommates. From the beginning Brad hero-worships GI Bill veteran Mike. In return, streetsmart Mike's attempt to reciprocate becomes bogged down with an inferiority complex. As the yearning for each other ripens, layers of love pats coupled with lust ripple into a romantic saga culminating into a climatic test of wills. Both stories are a must read for anyone wishing to comprehend the gay-lesbian innate force to mate.