All the trappings of Aussie gay culture…
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, LGBT
No. of pages: 301
Stephen ingeniously bypasses his landmark 30th birthday, only to have the cosy life he took for granted unravel completely. Abandoned by friends and lovers, he finds distraction in online dating websites and real-life impersonations. But has Stephen met his match in Damon, the wicked witch of the inner west, whose conniving tricks threaten to eclipse Stephen’s own antics? Life for Stephen beyond his twenties just seems fraught with heartaches, deception, and humiliation in this witty, sexy satire on contemporary gay Sydney life.
I was so excited to return to Stephen’s story that was introduced in ‘Vanity Fierce’ and see how he further fares in the Sydney gay scene, how he has grown. Aitken’s writing was so comedic and satirical ‘The Indignities’ should prove to be a snapshot of Aussie queer culture.
Not so much… this was basically a sex romp. The characters feel two dimensional and there isn’t much character development… mainly because the story is so focused on sex there isn’t much room for anything else. The novel was very predictable, the tone and hints were set in the first chapter – and there were no surprises. To be frank I found myself speed reading most of this book because I wanted more substance. ‘The Indignities’ should be categorized as erotica instead of contemporary.
Disappointed and recommend everyone give this a big miss. It adds nothing to the story established in the debut ‘Vanity Fierce.’
This feels like it hasn’t aged well (written nearly 15 years ago.) I could almost taste the self-obsessed white privilege dripping from the pages. I was hoping to see a transformation in our protagonist Stephen from the debut, but he is the same body-conscious, sex obsessed, whining-that-my-life-is-over-because-I’m-thirty, gay man that had me rolling my eyes. So superficial – I’m bored. I can’t express how much I wish I could thwack Stephen over the back of the head with a two-by-four!
When I reached the halfway and there was still no plot: just all this talk about sex, cheating, sexcapades, a so called married couple bickering and trying to seduce the hot neighbour. None of this was even delivered in a comedic way or sexy way (like it was in ‘Vanity Fierce’) – it just fell flat. It’s all kind of pitiful, sad, and distasteful. It was disheartening after such notable works from Aitken like the debut and ’50 Ways of Saying Fabulous.’
Where book one, ‘Vanity Fierce’ was ground-breaking when it was first published, launching into a landscape that had little mainstream GLBTQIA+ representation, and was unapologetic about the nuances of gay culture in Sydney. It broached serious topics like AIDS, discrimination, and the youth/looks obsessed culture prominent in the club scene. It was witty and satirical and not afraid to poke fun at itself. ‘The Indignities’ by comparison has the tone of some whiny old queen who can’t understand why he isn’t the centre of attention anymore. Totally not cute. Like the protagonist, this book has not aged well.
Overall feeling: *face palm*
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Genre: Contemporary, Romance, GLBT
I think writers are much like albino animals – rarely seen in the wild, perceived as odd, weird, or magical, but on the whole, (apart from the propensity to get sunburn) no different to the regular coloured masses. I’m beginning to learn that the general public’s assumptions of what a writer is, is so vastly different to what I actually do. It’s up there with astronaut or vascular surgeon – it sounds impressive but we don’t know the ins and outs of what they actually do every day. (Not that being a writer is as important as an astronaut or a vascular surgeon – just that they are job titles not many know details about) I’m frequently launching into the mechanics of writhing and the publishing world for friends and family. Their notions that I sit at my computer for a few weeks, churn out a novel and then send if off into the ether to be transformed into a book on the shelves of stores is completely naive.
I know I’m a bit of a prude. That’s just how I am. And I don’t mind a bit of titillation – and there are times I pick up an erotic title for a bit of a change to my normal reading habits. But I like my erogenous encounters to mean something, to have a point to make within the plot. Pages and pages of banging bodies in different positions with no story is porn. Flashy, pointless and unsatisfying. It gets the same reaction I have with watching porn – I feel violated, objectified, and my skin feels itchy and dirty. If there is no emotional connection to the characters and plot it just feels wrong. For me. If that is something that you enjoy reading, I say wave that flag from the highest mountain… but it’s a big no-no for me. I’ll squirm, eye-roll and eventually put the book down. When did I turn into an old Nun?
– if the ‘hook’ on the back cover does not hint at some emotional connection to the main character, or at least a point of interest, I’m not going to buy it. Nine out of ten times it has proven right that a terrible blurb has meant the story was lacking in some way.
I’m no atheist or anything, but when I’m reading a book, I don’t want to feel like the author is shoving his or her spiritual beliefs down my throat. With fantasy books, we get magic systems, mythology and never do those aspects of the narrative feel like they are imposing on me as a reader. But for some reason when it comes to religion, many of the novels I read are so heavy with worship and forced opinion, I can feel the vomit gurgling in the back of my throat. It’s a sensitive topic to talk about, but I feel a fictional story should be balanced and not overshadowed by the authors personal beliefs. I feel a great author will not isolate their audience.
Sometimes they work if the author is great, but on the most part, I’ll skim over, or simply refuse to finish if it is littered with unoriginal content. The main reason for reading about characters is to walk in their shoes, experience something new… so it needs to be inspired and not a regurgitation of many books that have already been published. A number of books deal with stereotypes and tropes in a tongue-in-cheek way, completely aware of these devices, and that can be fun. Others submerge themselves into the genre but include a twist or great dialogue, which usually fit into the guilty pleasure category. But cookie-cutter writing is about as palatable as eating a brown paper bag.
This one is hard to judge until you’ve already made it a ways into your novel, but having protagonists constantly making silly decisions – just to fit into the plot are a sure fire way to have me throwing the book across the room. Nothing worse than being aware of the authors guiding hand – or having a delusional main character that can’t think for themselves. Some may find it endearing or even cute, I feel like I want to push them in front of a bus.
You can usually gauge this from the blurb, or by reading a few pages and a light skim. I’ve read some books that have great writing, but the whole novel ended up being a number of scenes attached together through a flimsy line of narrative. I need a discernible beginning, middle and end. I need to know what the protagonist is risking for the pay-off at the end of the novel – and a well written climax! There is a fine line between a great concept and fitting it into a story format…
– they are a selling point! If you don’t go to the trouble of designing an attractive cover I’m going to think you don’t value your writing, and therefore, skip your title in favour of another. Also covers with models in a half-naked display are a big turn off, I’m going to think your book is one big naked sex romp… see first point above. Plus who wants to be on the tram flashing about sexy body parts on the cover – people will think you’re a sex fiend! Some other book covers look like they’ve been put together by a fifth grader with ‘Paint.’ With so many easy to use tools available, PhotoShop, and a bit of imagination there is no excuse not to have an attractive cover that fits to your genre and target audience. You spent a lot of time writing a book, so take some time to get the cover right. There are so many cover artists for hire out there too. When I see stock photos and crappy covers now, I take it as a personal insult. Boo to you!
If a character is living in their head all the time in ponderance, it often comes across as boring or whiny. It’s also a bit of a case of telling instead of showing. I like characters who act on their convictions and interpret them through the scene. Long lamentations also bog down the pacing of the novel – and continual navel gazing is not an attractive quality. I come across this from time to time, protagonists getting on their soapbox, all hidden in the stream of consciousness of their mind. All I can say is they probably look like those first person video game characters when they glitch and continually run into a wall. No fun for anyone.
If you are going to go to the point of describing facts, objects, or scenarios in your story, make sure you’ve researched them thoroughly – I’ve read too many novels where the scene is so unrealistic that it has pulled me from the narrative…. Ultimately leaving me with the thought that the author couldn’t be bothered taking the time to present a realistic story. Insulting. Sheesh, Google it, crack a reference book, it’s not that hard.
Another aspect to the scantily clad musculature of the male figure decorating literature is the fact that it practically yells “BUY ME!” Like a desperate attempt to get you to reach into your purse and fork over the money. Like you bought the guy all for yourself. There’s a word for that…
Genre: Y/A, Contemporary, GLBT
Casey Carlisle 