Book Review: Gargoyle
Gargoyle by J. Scott Coatsworth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
College life is difficult. Now, add on the extra challenge of being Mattie, a young gay man with a huge crush on a straight quarterback.
Randy, the quarterback, has been well-named. He’s so randy that he takes sexual advantage of the frequent crushes gay men have on him. And Mattie is so smitten that he can’t see he’s about to be used, terribly.
And it’s Halloween night… 1974.
You may think you know how this story goes, but you don’t. It’s a short story, and can be read in just about the same amount of time as it takes to have a furtive encounter in the shadows. But the climax is one you didn’t see coming. (yes I went there.)
But there’s another angle to the story, if you choose to find it. You may find yourself with more empathy and understanding of what life can be like for a guy like Maddie, who must try to hide who he really is. It’s not 1974 any longer, but the need for kindness, understanding and empathy is still with us today.
Lori Alden Holuta
Lori Alden Holuta lives between the cornfields of Mid-Michigan, where she grows vegetables and herbs when she’s not writing, editing, or playing games with a cat named Chives.
