Calendar Boy

by Andy Quan

On the edge of adulthood, self-discovery, coming out; in university towns, Europe, Vancouver, Toronto, Sydney, the protagonists of the short stories in Calendar Boy unravel cultural heritage, community, identity on the road to - they hope - love, happiness and self-acceptance. Set around the globe, fifteen adventurous stories weave fictions with real-life smarts, guts and oomph underpinning them. In "How to Cook Chinese Rice," a recipe format - 10 Percent called it "the gay Like Water for Chocolate" - yields insight into what it's like to be young, Asian and queer in Canadian society. "Higher Learning" pitches a hormone-fuelled, Vancouver-bred, first-year university student into the alternate universe of a small Ontario community. A love triangle of sorts anchors "Maintenance," a story heavy with the ache of jealousy and unrequited desire. Throughout, Quan shifts gears effortlessly from street-smart colloquial voice to rapid-fire monologue to the bemused, exhilarated tone of immigrants new to Canada or to gay male culture. With one foot in urban Canadian life and the other in the global village, Calendar Boy will hit home even as it makes you see the world in new ways.

Genres: Fiction, Gay

240 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2001

About the author

Andy Quan is the author of four books, one of short fiction, Calendar Boy, two of poetry, Slant and Bowling Pin Fire, and one of gay erotica, Six Positions. He was the co-editor of Swallowing Clouds, an Anthology of Chinese Canadian Poetry. His work has appeared in a broad range of anthologies, magazines and literary reviews in Australia, Canada, and elsewhere. His work often deals with the themes of identity, community, and culture.

Born in Vancouver of Cantonese origin, Andy has lived in Toronto, Brussels, and London before settling in Sydney, Australia. A singer and songwriter, he has also self-produced tapes and CDs.

Reviews

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this collection of intelligent stories - way to many reviews would lead you to imagine they are about being 'Asian' and 'gay' but they are far more about what it means to be Asian? and what does it mean to be Gay? They are individual questions which sometimes overlap, but sometimes don't. More important is who or what is 'Asian' - seriously does it have to be pointed out that saying someone is Asian is as meaningful as saying someone is 'European' and about as cliched and racist? Still not sure what I mean - then go read a little history of Vietnamese and Chinese relations. Quan's characters wonder about this, and about whether his lack of Chinese makes him less Chinese, less oriental? How much of who we are is wrapped up in language, birthplace, cultural background, etc.?

So these stories are far more interesting and subtle than any synopsis or most reviews would suggest. You don't need to read Edward Said (who is a terribly dull writer anyway - and full of his own prejudices and blind spots) to know that the way anyone in the 'West' views people from the 'Orient' is freighted with the most dreadful cultural cliché - what makes Quan's book interesting is that he was looking at this from a gay perspective - and it is hard, no embarrassing, to remember now how weighted with the most unthinking, objectionable stereotypes gay culture was until recently.

I can only repeat that these stories are still relevant - but if you read only one I recommend 'How to Cook Chinese Rice' - so funny, a really brilliant tour de force - they are still well worth reading and have a great deal to say and if you can find this or any of Andy Quan's work then I suggest you are in for a great treat.

[Andy Quan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Calendar Boy was my first book of short stories, with many of the stories having been published in other collections of gay fiction (in that lost age of about 10-20 years ago when those anthologies were popular). My publisher and I were confounded that readers couldn't always tell the difference between the characters - as if the markers of both Asian and gay overrode anything else. But in retrospect, I can see there was a little too much similarity in theme, and that it's hard for readers at times to disassociate an author from the characters that they've created. While some of the characters in my stories are fairly autobiographical, others aren't.

At the same time, I got many positive reviews: reviewers liked the poetry of the writing, as well as the originality of theme - tackling race and sexuality at the same time in a complex way. If you pick up the book, I hope you like it, and if you have any questions, please ask. More information about the book - and all of the reviews that came out at the time - are on my website at http://andyquan.com/?page_id=169 and check out the section, "Featured Reviews", also.

[George Ilsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of these stories I've read so many times now, I'm starting to think I wrote them. Did I really write "How to Make Chinese Rice"? I wish I had.

[Jerry Delaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quan is a good writer and it's refreshing to read fiction from the perspective of an Asian Gay male. Unfortunately I found too many of the stories following the same path when I would have been interested in more variety. Still, he's worth watching because of his talent.

[Matty · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not a big fan of short stories collections and this one didn't help improve my feelings. For the first 3 or 4 stories I forgot that it was even supposed to be different characters. Most of the themes carried on from one story to another - traveling in Europe, traveling in Australia, mommy issues, first time out at the bar, etc. A few of the stories did stand out, such as the only one from a girl's perspective and the one on the ferry in Europe. I think if it had been an anthology with different authors it would have been better. Since everything was by the same author the stories all pretty much sounded the same; no one had a unique voice or point of view. If it had been just one novel instead of short stories it would have been better too.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of stories offers an intelligent, quirky and unexpected take on queer "otherness" in cultures, and a worldly view of various cultures in different cultures. The subtle differences of gay life in France, Canada and Australia show commonalities and similarities with a poet's eye for detail.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was ok. I wanted to like it more. the characters all felt the same. andy quan comes off as kind of conservative and mean-spirited.

[Jolie G.]

May 16, 2005