A review by mslaura
Martin and John by Dale Peck

4.0

This is a very difficult book for me to review. My impressions were all over the place as I was reading it. I can't say I quite "enjoyed" it but I can certainly say I appreciated it. The prevailing tone of this book is quite somber and sordid, though there are some glimpses of beauty, and the sex is often a bit graphic for my admittedly middle-aged taste. The writing, however, is stellar from start to finish. I was having trouble grasping how all of the stories fit together, but in the final chapter it all gelled and made sense and was really very brilliant. On its literary merits this book probably deserves 5 stars, but I am settling on 4 stars as the most accurate reflection of my personal reading experience.