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Any Kind Of Luck

by William Jack Sibley
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Product Details

  • Publisher: Kensington
  • Publishing date: 01/08/2001
  • Language: Français
  • ISBN-13: 9781575667669
  • ISBN: 1575667665

Synopsis

In William Jack Sibley's high-spirited debut novel, a transplanted Texan discovers that you really can go home again. The real question is...who in his right mind would want to?

Grit, Texas Is A Helluva Long Way From Christopher Street… That's Manhattan hand model Clu Latimore's first thought upon his return to an all-too-familiar rural hometown with Chris, his laid-back lover, in tow. Mere moments after his arrival, Clu is up to his stylish cut in problems that include caring for a dying mother and her pack of prize-winning Chihuahuas, and of course, initiating the incredulous Chris into the reality of life in the land of blue bonnets, barbecue, and Baptists.

Naturally, Clu can't turn to his siblings for help. His eternally-broke redneck older brother Jaston is obsessed with renting heavy machinery in hopes of unearthing treasure behind the abandoned house next door. And his perpetually pregnant—yet still childless—sister Laine has troubles of her own, thanks to Sherrod, her jailbird accountant husband. It's solely up to Clu to lend support to their mother, Bettie Jean, who is on the verge of not only death, but marriage to Brother Ramirez, a Mexican-American evangelist.

Just when Clu's all but ruled out suicide, along comes his former piano teacher and Grit's answer to Brooke Astor, Miss Oveta Canfield. It seems Miss Oveta intends to transform the Espinosa County Livestock Barn into a dinner theater with a little help from Mr. Jeffrey, her dwarflike sixty-something hairdresser-slash-adopted son. Before you can say "Agamemnon," Clu has been recruited to direct a country-western musical version of the Greek tragedy—starring none other than Mr. Jeffrey's shockingly virile offspring, Preston, a beefy blonde studlet whose mission in life, until now, has been tending the gardens around the pillared pink Canfield mansion.

Before Clu's journey is over, there will be a wedding, a birth, a funeral and, of course, a no-holds-barred production of "Agamemnon—The Musical" that proves nobody is immune to Preston's seductive charms: not the audience, not Chris, not even Clu himself. Convinced he's seen everything, Clu can't help wondering how long a couple of gay New Yorkers can possibly survive in a dry county crawling with Bible thumpers, fire ants, and temptation in the last place they ever expected to find it...

William Jack Sibley is a screenwriter and playwright who divides his time between Los Angeles and a ranch in Texas. A former writer for Interview magazine and TV's "The Guiding Light," several of his screenplays are in various stages of "Hollywood Hell" and (should he live long enough) will be coming to a cineplex near you—Amor, Dead Giveaway, December Story, Approximate Lives, and the award-winning Where All the Rattlesnakes Are Born.


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  • An Amazingly Fun Read !
    From Amazon

    This book was terrific. I have had it on my shelf for awhile and picked it up not expecting anything special. To my surprise it was one of the most fun reads I have had in a long time. The characters were amazingly well developed. Probably the best thing about this story was that it was one that caused me to laugh out loud (those around me would ask what I was reading, I mean we're talking a good hearty laugh), and at the same time Sibley confronted issues that were serious and important. I recommend this one highly, it addresses important issues in a humorous way with characters that you truly get to know and love...don't miss this one!

  • THERE IS LIFE AFTER DEATH !
    From Amazon

    ANY KIND OF LUCK is one of those gems that hides among those not so great pieces of gay fiction, and with "any kind of luck", you, the lucky reader will discover. This book is one that is touching and sobering at the same time. Impending death is the driving force behind the plot line, since the slow death of Clu Latimore's (he's our hero) mother is what precipitates the story. Clu is a Texan who left the Lone Star state for a brighter career in modeling. He and his lover of 8 years, Chris, are summoned back to Grit, Texas, (Clu's hometown) to care for his failing mother. This doom however is a metaphor for what is happening in Clu's life, his preconceived notions, his razor sharp advocacy of gay rights, and his life in general. There is also a underlying theme of life renewed; a circus tent minister bringing "rebirth", the dawn of love, the birth of puppies, and ...well....the plot will tell you itself. While this book appears to be somewhat "fluffy" if one simply takes it for its face value, if one reads with acuity, one will discover the wonderful messages hidden within. I liked this book, liked its message, and highly recommend it. Like I said, it is a hidden gem.

  • What a whirl!
    From Amazon

    Oy! This has all the spice of Tex-Mex, the pathos of going home to Mom, and small-town hickness that will have you rollicking with laughter--and empathy! It's the story of Clu, a somewhat successful 30-something New Yorker, who returns to his small hometown in Texas (called "Grit" of all things). His mother has cancer, but that doesn't stop the announcement of an impending marriage to a minister. Clu has to overcome small-mindedness, getting the hometown to accept Chris, his lover (who happens to be psychic) and has to deal with his redneck brother and ever-pregnant sister. You won't be bored!

  • Chihuahuas, Musicals, Tex-Mex, Coming Home, Staring Over...
    From Amazon

    Normally, when I read gay fiction, I get frustrated by the plethora of perfect-looking single men with adequately successful lives bemoaning the tiny imperfections that plague them. When a perfectly built jock-stud with a long string of one-night-stands suddenly wakes up one day and says, "Gosh, I wish I had a true love," I have a hard time gathering much empathy.

    This isn't one of those stories.

    Here's the deal. Moderately-successful Hand-model Clu Latimore lives on Christopher street in Manhattan with his eight-year-long lover Chris, the Latin teacher. Though Clu has a lot of internal monologue about how he can't figure out why Chris, such an attractive man, is still with him, they're a good, solid couple.

    Clu gets called howe - to Grit, Texas - when his mother's impending death to cancer looms. And though the plot from there really shines with a lot of really odd bits and pieces (a tex-mex musical version of Agamemnon, a pack of breeding Chihuahuas, his brother digging for buried treasure, his sister's umpteenth attempt at being pregnant, and a country that just screams hick and angry), it's the characters that keep this one going.

    Clu is alternately enjoyable and frustrating. Anyone with emotional baggage from their family can easily empathise with the guy's situation, but you want to smack him over the head every time he takes a well-meaning comment someone else made and turns it into an impromptu "This is why what you said is homophobic" seminar. Clu's relationship with Chris takes a path I really didn't expect, and there's a betrayal that made me ill, but - let's face it - read quite true.

    I guess the word "plausible" doesn't sound like it should belong in a tale that includes a tex-mex musical Agamemmnon, but honestly, I can't find a better word to describe the characters nor the emotional reactions. I'll watch out for Sibley in the future.

    'Nathan

  • Pleasant but ultimately disappointing!
    From Amazon

    I found the book to be a diverting read, but ultimately disappointing. Character development was lacking. The characters were created so shallowly that I never really got to know any of them, and I wanted to, especially since the narrator (at least to the extent we got hints as to his character) did not seem to be likeable. There were great possibilites in these cartoon figures, but the author was never willing or able to delve into them. I guess it is a compliment that I wanted to know them better. It was like eating cotton candy. The faint taste I got was intriguing, but there needed to something more solid to it.

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