Julian is an aspiring young fashion photographer in the early 90’s New York. While he may have an eye for beautiful women, Julian has very little interest in the opposite sex. He seems comfortable with his sexuality despite a religious upbringing in Georgia, although he hasn’t done much about acting on his attractions as the book opens.
“Two Natures” reads like an autobiography, although it’s definitely fiction. The use of real people and events makes it seem very true-to-life. Julian fits, at least initially, our idea of a fashion photographer; he’s an observer from behind the lense, not really a part of what’s going on. But as the book progresses and Julian begins to mature, we see that he is more affected by what he sees than he might let on, as well as more innocent than he might seem.
The story is told in a highly episodic style, in little vignettes of events in Julian’s life that are almost like short stories. In fact, it wouldn’t be too far off to say that the book has little in the way of an over-arching plot line. Characters come and go in Julian’s life, and he along with his core group of friends grow with the passing of the years. It’s a very different style of story-telling that I rather liked, even though it felt like slow going at times.
The unusual plot is just one of the reasons this story defies easy categorization. It doesn’t quite fit your normal romance pigeon hole, and even though it’s set in the recent past, it’s not what you would describe as an historical novel. Some books just won’t be easily defined, and that can be part of their charm.
“Two Natures” is available from Amazon.
