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dunnadam's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't know chickens could be straight, I thought it was a gay thing. So when I started reading this I thought the author was gay. Chapter one did not disabuse me of this idea.
Turns out he's straight and has a couple good stories to tell. The book borrows heavily on City of Night with many run together words and sexmoney. The parts about his childhood are less relevant to the overall story and too frequent.
Turns out he's straight and has a couple good stories to tell. The book borrows heavily on City of Night with many run together words and sexmoney. The parts about his childhood are less relevant to the overall story and too frequent.
jannaruth's review against another edition
4.0
I was recommended this book without any hint to its content and thus I was in for a surprise. I might have never given it a shot and at the beginning I was rather sceptically but I really grew to appreciate the book the further I read.
So let's see what we've got. For a book being about a lot of (kinky) sex, you'd be hard pressed to find anything erotic about it which I appreciate. Reading about the various acts makes you uncomfortable but in a good way. You shouldn't truly enjoy this but rather marvel at this dark display of human nature. Still Sterry manages to embody his tellings with humanity. When he shows sympathy to those who abuse him, it's more than the reader is capable at the moment. Instead of painting a pure black and white picture with a clear role association, this is one grey mess of reciprocative abusal.
Intersected in the "present" day recollection are stories from Sterry's childhood. Now, I can't say I always understood why he chose to juxtapose a particular memory with the current happenings other than contrasting that "normalcy" with the craziness, but when I did I found it masterfully done. It's very rarely on the nose but rather hidden between the lines, so much even that I didn't get them all int the first read.
Sterry's style has been lauded much in this book, to which I have to say that it wasn't my cup of tea. While it undoubtly worked for this setting, it didn't quite capture me or made this an easy read. Some things are quite repetitive. Again, I do understand why he chose to write it like that, but it annoyed me a little while reading. That said, the "Whatever" grew a lot on me and in the end it transported so much hurt that I didn't mind it at all.
One thing that I really find commendable of Sterry's style of writing is his ability to deliver gut-punching final sentences (and rarely an opening sentences). Whenever you start to grow accustomed to what's happening there will be a sentence that - bang - makes you feel all over again and I think that is a great gift.
In conclusion, it's probably not a book I will read again, but nevertheless it is an important book, a raw book and a brave book.
So let's see what we've got. For a book being about a lot of (kinky) sex, you'd be hard pressed to find anything erotic about it which I appreciate. Reading about the various acts makes you uncomfortable but in a good way. You shouldn't truly enjoy this but rather marvel at this dark display of human nature. Still Sterry manages to embody his tellings with humanity. When he shows sympathy to those who abuse him, it's more than the reader is capable at the moment. Instead of painting a pure black and white picture with a clear role association, this is one grey mess of reciprocative abusal.
Intersected in the "present" day recollection are stories from Sterry's childhood. Now, I can't say I always understood why he chose to juxtapose a particular memory with the current happenings other than contrasting that "normalcy" with the craziness, but when I did I found it masterfully done. It's very rarely on the nose but rather hidden between the lines, so much even that I didn't get them all int the first read.
Sterry's style has been lauded much in this book, to which I have to say that it wasn't my cup of tea. While it undoubtly worked for this setting, it didn't quite capture me or made this an easy read. Some things are quite repetitive. Again, I do understand why he chose to write it like that, but it annoyed me a little while reading. That said, the "Whatever" grew a lot on me and in the end it transported so much hurt that I didn't mind it at all.
One thing that I really find commendable of Sterry's style of writing is his ability to deliver gut-punching final sentences (and rarely an opening sentences). Whenever you start to grow accustomed to what's happening there will be a sentence that - bang - makes you feel all over again and I think that is a great gift.
In conclusion, it's probably not a book I will read again, but nevertheless it is an important book, a raw book and a brave book.
suspendedinair's review against another edition
3.0
"Then it hits me. I'm pushing that big huge rock up that big huge mountain, knowing it's just gonna roll back down again. And then tomorrow I'm going to do it all over again. I'm Sisyphus, naked in a black see-through French maid's apron."
dannafs's review against another edition
4.0
I decided to read this book after reading Sterry's more recent compilation Hos, Hookers, etc.
I really enjoy his writing style. He uses a lot of metaphors and similes, most of which I found creative and funny.
The book, although it is a continuous stream, could easily be read as short stories. Each chapter builds on the next rather than continuing from the last, if that makes any sense at all.
Some of the stories of him turning tricks are hysterical, some heart-wrenching. It gives an intimate look into the world of a boy prostitute and its ups and downs. It gives you an understanding of how a sex worker can get through some really horrifying situations by thinking about the money.
One of his stories was particularly disturbing for me, can't get it out of my head. I recommended this book to my mother, and I'm considering telling her not to read that particular chapter. It made me want to cry, and knowing it's real makes it all the more disturbing.
The last chapter, Sterry manages to escape the life and it is such a relief. I felt like each trick got more twisted and harder to swallow, so it was wonderful that he got out relatively early.
I was a little confused by how he often montages childhood memories into the stories of turning tricks, but not so much that it bothered me. Just an interesting choice on how he did it, and it kind of interrupted the flow for me towards the end of the book.
Very fast read, read it in about a day.
Finally, it's wonderful knowing that Sterry finally got to let this stuff out. He talks about in Hos, Hookers... that until he wrote this book, he had never told a single person about his experiences as a boy prostitute. I imagine that writing this memoir was incredibly freeing, and for that, I think he should be admired and respected. Putting it all out there is never easy, and he did a damn good job of it.
I really enjoy his writing style. He uses a lot of metaphors and similes, most of which I found creative and funny.
The book, although it is a continuous stream, could easily be read as short stories. Each chapter builds on the next rather than continuing from the last, if that makes any sense at all.
Some of the stories of him turning tricks are hysterical, some heart-wrenching. It gives an intimate look into the world of a boy prostitute and its ups and downs. It gives you an understanding of how a sex worker can get through some really horrifying situations by thinking about the money.
One of his stories was particularly disturbing for me, can't get it out of my head. I recommended this book to my mother, and I'm considering telling her not to read that particular chapter. It made me want to cry, and knowing it's real makes it all the more disturbing.
The last chapter, Sterry manages to escape the life and it is such a relief. I felt like each trick got more twisted and harder to swallow, so it was wonderful that he got out relatively early.
I was a little confused by how he often montages childhood memories into the stories of turning tricks, but not so much that it bothered me. Just an interesting choice on how he did it, and it kind of interrupted the flow for me towards the end of the book.
Very fast read, read it in about a day.
Finally, it's wonderful knowing that Sterry finally got to let this stuff out. He talks about in Hos, Hookers... that until he wrote this book, he had never told a single person about his experiences as a boy prostitute. I imagine that writing this memoir was incredibly freeing, and for that, I think he should be admired and respected. Putting it all out there is never easy, and he did a damn good job of it.
bluepigeon's review
4.0
I received this book from Goodreads First Reads. Thanks!
Chicken is a slice of sparkling, sizzling, up-and-down nightmare of an adventure. Perhaps the best thing about it is that it is very well told. I like that there is a common childhood, some usual 17-year-old hormones pumping, and nothing really too drastic, other than the first encounter the author finds himself in when he goes to Hollywood for college. It is, I do agree, a bit unbelievable that with $27 in his pocket, and a relatively normal family, he finds that he is "homeless." Either the definition of homeless needs to be revised, or, most likely, there was much more going on than the author is allowing himself to tell. I like that there are no sweeping judgements about any group of people (perhaps other than the fact that all rich women like to see their hunky boyman naked (well, and who can blame them?). I like that though he may not love being a "sex technician," the author enjoys sex and most of the sexual encounters, though this doesn't mean he loves it all.
As for the encounters (tricks) described, none of them seemed too weird or unusual or freaky or fringe to me. All pretty in line with the human condition. I am not sure if it was meant to be shocking. Perhaps will be shocking to those who thought Fifty Shades of Gray was groundbreaking; I doubt it will seem shocking or freaky to anyone who is remotely familiar with the realities of human sexuality and everything related to it.
Recommended to those who like well-written memoirs, fast-paced accounts, fried chicken, nuns, and chocolate-covered strawberries.
Chicken is a slice of sparkling, sizzling, up-and-down nightmare of an adventure. Perhaps the best thing about it is that it is very well told. I like that there is a common childhood, some usual 17-year-old hormones pumping, and nothing really too drastic, other than the first encounter the author finds himself in when he goes to Hollywood for college. It is, I do agree, a bit unbelievable that with $27 in his pocket, and a relatively normal family, he finds that he is "homeless." Either the definition of homeless needs to be revised, or, most likely, there was much more going on than the author is allowing himself to tell. I like that there are no sweeping judgements about any group of people (perhaps other than the fact that all rich women like to see their hunky boyman naked (well, and who can blame them?). I like that though he may not love being a "sex technician," the author enjoys sex and most of the sexual encounters, though this doesn't mean he loves it all.
As for the encounters (tricks) described, none of them seemed too weird or unusual or freaky or fringe to me. All pretty in line with the human condition. I am not sure if it was meant to be shocking. Perhaps will be shocking to those who thought Fifty Shades of Gray was groundbreaking; I doubt it will seem shocking or freaky to anyone who is remotely familiar with the realities of human sexuality and everything related to it.
Recommended to those who like well-written memoirs, fast-paced accounts, fried chicken, nuns, and chocolate-covered strawberries.
billil1957's review
4.0
If even half of this is true, it's a pretty astonishing life this guy has led. The writing is a little California hip at times (think James Ellroy, but not as grandiose or annoying) but it is a very quick read. And the story (as horrifying as it is compelling, when you really think about it) is told with just enough detachment and charm that it doesn't make you despair for humanity.
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