Alert: This is one of those books that is hard to summarize for review without spoiling the plot to some degree. I’ve tried to keep the spoilers to a minimum.
In this episodic tale of one man’s troubled journey through life, we first meet Josh as a young boy. He seems to a relatively happy child, despite a somewhat unsettled home life, with two half-brothers and a father that has trouble holding down a job. From these early glimpses, it’s clear that Josh has gay tendencies, and in his early teen years, it’s also obvious to some of the other boys in school. In his early teens, or perhaps tweens, Josh is the victim of a rather brutal attack - a true bashing - by two other boys. His response is to ‘man up’ and try to deny his feelings. He drops weight and feigns an interest in girls, to the extent that he becomes something of a teenage douchebag.
The charade continues through high school, after which, rather than following his dream of going to college and escaping his small-town drudgery, Josh goes to work in the very factories he despises. It’s very clear that denial of who he really is eats away at him, along with his loser lifestyle. He drinks away the afternoons before work with his buddies in a stripper bar, and then takes amphetamines to make it through his night shift. Of course, that’s a recipe for disaster and the inevitable happens.
Out of a job, Josh finally manages to go to college, although it’s only a community college. He meets new friends, a man and his girlfriend, and the trio become close. Josh is so used to playing it straight by now that when the girl comes on to him, he offers no resistance. That spells the end of the trio, but the beginning of what may be the worst chapter of Josh’s life: his attempt at marriage, to a woman. The question is, will Josh ever face up to who he really is?
“Shirts and Skins” is definitely a different kind of story. It definitely isn’t a sweet romance, yet despite the rather downbeat arc of Josh’s life, it’s not an overly maudlin tale, nor is is melodramadic. Josh is definitely not a very likeable character, and at times you will most likely want to smack some sense into him, but it’s hard not to cheer him on. His true nature is there, right under the surface. He just doesn’t bother to think about it.
Perhaps the most telling thing about this book is that, no matter how different Josh’s story may be from your own experience, it still rings true. There are, unfortunately, probably a lot of men in the world like Josh, who are trying to deny their attraction to other men and pretend to be straight. It may be cliché to think of them as inevitably unhappy, but it’s very hard to believe that you can be truly happy pretending to be something you’re not.
You can find out more about the author at his web site. “Shirts and Skins” may be purchased from Smashwords and Amazon
