Reviews

Gaysia: Adventures in the Queer East by Benjamin Law

ellibe's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative medium-paced

4.0

tildahlia's review against another edition

3.0

Informative and fun, this was a good read and I appreciated the audiobook narration. This book showcases the real and genuine suffering and oppression so many queer people face while also sharing their joy, resilience, pride and creativity. I learnt a lot and got a fantastic sense of some of the people he interviewed.

kirbyhunt's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted sad medium-paced

4.75

This reads like a Loui Theroux documentary. So good.

andrew_w_giddings's review against another edition

5.0

‘Gaysia’ is so hard to pin down, that I needed help finding it in a bookshop. With about 5 different genres, diverse subjects, and multiple techniques of exploration and exposition, Benjamin Law makes his book hard to place. Nevertheless, ‘Gaysia‘ is well worth finding. Law’s second published work explores the lives of LGBTQIA people across Asia, and shares his experiences with his readers through the lens of his personal experiences in gonzo journalistic style.

Read the rest of this review on my blog!

https://awordbythewayside.wordpress.com/2017/04/24/gaysia-by-benjamin-law-review/

booksteabedby7's review against another edition

adventurous funny informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

This is a great book for anyone interested in travelogue and/or LGBT cultures around the world. Each chapter is dedicated to Law’s observations and interviews as a gay Australian Chinese man in a different South/East Asian country. Not all chapters will interest everyone, and I admit the final two had be quickly skimming due to a large focus on AIDs that I wasn’t fully vining with. However the chapters dealing with Trans women in Thailand and visibility of gays in China were really interesting. I recommend it but also would encourage all readers to excessive various degrees of ‘focused reading’ depending on your interest in the chapter’s focal issue. 

anna_hepworth's review against another edition

3.5

Law has done something very interesting here, and I appreciate having read the book, but it was a right slog to get through, because I don't enjoy their writing style. Informative, yes, but I also felt just a little bit like I was being gossiped at, in that kind of 'I'm going to tell you ALL the stuff that isn't really your business' kind of gossip. 

nkz21752's review

adventurous funny informative medium-paced

4.5

sonjbean's review against another edition

5.0

SO GOOD. somehow benjamin manages to keep a good sense of humour while talking to people spewing forth the most vile rubbbish i've heard!

i loved the descriptions of edmund, one of the pray away the gay preachers - at one point he is wearing a purple vest and pants with an embroided white shirt. yeah, okay! haha

was particularly interested by how many countries only accept homosexuality if it's presented in a very "cartoon-like" way. for example, japan aired a reality tv show where a real gay man went out looking for love but all the men he went on dates with were actors!

overall, some great, and often heartbreaking insights into how life is for queer people in asia.

carleesi's review against another edition

3.75

Incredibly informative and personable. At time heart breaking, at times wonderfully celebratory.

catsforlenny's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.0