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Normal? #1
Normal?
"Were it a dream, it would be a most wondrous dream; but it's more. It's a life. And I don't have to remember any of it. It remembers me." With these words, Gene Poole-Hall takes us on a beautiful coming-of-age journey that will leave you questioning any preconceived impressions of the definition of normal, and lead you to the conclusion that when it comes to family, at the heart of the matter, it's the heart that matters. Gene's story begins with his adoption into an extended family that includes everything from a few drag queens to a well respected rabbi. If Gene's life is anything but normal, he isn't aware of it. He enjoys all the advantages of being an only child at the heart of a family of unrelated adults bonded together by mutual love and respect. The core of Gene's family is Mother, who is actually his biological uncle Ben. Mother is a bigger than life female impersonator whose warmth and compassion has attracted the most unusual extended family you will ever meet. Mother's partner, Tom, whom Gene calls Dad rather than Uncle Tom for obvious reasons, is a Wall Street executive. Gene's Uncle Josh, the rabbi, is Mother's life-long best friend and first unrequited love interest. Gene's aunts, Allie and Sue, whose lives are anything but a drag, are famous, if not infamous, drag queens from Mother's band of performers. And that's just the beginning of Gene's family. A sudden move to the suburbs and the unexpected addition of three new family members, Chip and Dale, an unusual set of twins, and Robbie, an attractive farm boy, soon add colors that Gene has never imagined, to his already colorful world. Travel through all the trials and tribulations of a young teen's life as he explores all the joys, wonders and pitfalls of coming of age and experiencing the emotional and biological dramas and traumas of infatuation and love for the first time. This is a story you'll want to read over and over again. It is a beautiful tale that anyone who has ever loved, desired, and reached for a yearning just beyond their grasp can relate to. Gene's story is our story, and he tells it in a manner that will awaken all the remarkable and beautiful memories that have slept in some far corner of our hearts for too long.
- GenresHumor
196 pages, Paperback
First published February 10, 2013
1 person is currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Stephen J. Mulrooney
4 books2 followersStephen Mulrooney’s thirty-something year dream of becoming a writer began to take shape in 2009 when the characters in these books began telling him their stories. It took another three years before he realized the best way to become a writer was to actually sit down and write. It helped. Stephen Mulrooney’s critically acclaimed first novel, NORMAL? was the first book in, what has become, the Normal? series.
NORMAL TOO? was Steve’s second book and the much-anticipated sequel to its predecessor. Apparently, the characters that told Steve their story in the first book haven’t stopped talking. He hopes you enjoyed their further adventures in that book as much as he has.
NORMAL CURVE? was Steve’s much awaited third novel in what Steve decided to extend into a series. It was ten years since Steve finished the first draft of NORMAL CURVE?. During most of that time, it sat patiently waiting for our return to it, to cut and polish it into the beautiful gem it became.
NORMAL VISION? is the latest, and fourth novel in the continuing Normal? series. It turns out his characters have much more to say than Steve ever imagined. He hopes you enjoy the ever-increasing Poole-Hall extended family, and their continuing adventures as much as he loves listening to them. By the way, Steve and the entire Poole-Hall family always think of you, dear reader, as one-of-the-family.
Steve still lives in Kansas City, MO with his husband, Jerome P. Van Wert, and their feline family. Tigger, the incredible cat, showed up one day and eventually took up residence.
NORMAL TOO? was Steve’s second book and the much-anticipated sequel to its predecessor. Apparently, the characters that told Steve their story in the first book haven’t stopped talking. He hopes you enjoyed their further adventures in that book as much as he has.
NORMAL CURVE? was Steve’s much awaited third novel in what Steve decided to extend into a series. It was ten years since Steve finished the first draft of NORMAL CURVE?. During most of that time, it sat patiently waiting for our return to it, to cut and polish it into the beautiful gem it became.
NORMAL VISION? is the latest, and fourth novel in the continuing Normal? series. It turns out his characters have much more to say than Steve ever imagined. He hopes you enjoy the ever-increasing Poole-Hall extended family, and their continuing adventures as much as he loves listening to them. By the way, Steve and the entire Poole-Hall family always think of you, dear reader, as one-of-the-family.
Steve still lives in Kansas City, MO with his husband, Jerome P. Van Wert, and their feline family. Tigger, the incredible cat, showed up one day and eventually took up residence.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 2, 2013
Normal by Stephen J Mulrooney is anything but normal. Normally, in a gay fiction novel, you'd find a jaded, snarky narrator. Normally, you'd find sarcasm and meanness and humor at the expense of others. Normally you would not get a happily-ever-after ending (that just wouldn't be good literature). Normally, you'd find gay characters who were equally as masculine and butch as any straight character, because, as you know, there is really no difference between gay and straight people... those perceived differences are simply unfair stereotypes. Normally, you'd find political correctness and lots of big words you've got to look up in the dictionary (or just pretend you know the definition of).
No, there are none of these norms in Normal. Normal is remarkably, beautifully, memorably ABNORMAL. It's a story of a sweet adorable kid named Gene who has the most amazing family you'd ever meet. He has two fathers, one that he calls Mother. Mother's a drag queen, and he's very motherly. He rules the house with an iron fist and a heart full of love. Gene's Uncle Josh, a rabbi, is Gene's closest confidant, and he tells the most wonderful stories. Gene has three siblings, all also adopted. And his older brother Robbie is Gene's hero. He harbors a not-so-secret crush on him from the moment they lay eyes on each other.
This story is so magnificent, I just might have to go back and read it again. I laughed. I cried. And I kept turning the pages, until sadly there were no more. But believe me, that's the only disappointment I had with this book--that it didn't go on and on.
I loved the writing style. I loved the little stories within that Gene told. He was a writer, and every time something touched his heart, he'd write a story about it. The author used a lot of puns that made me smile and sometimes laugh right out loud.
Really, this book was like candy to me. It was such a treat, and if I could give it more than five stars, I certainly would. From a literary standpoint, I'm sure plenty of the experts will have lots to bitch about, but as a reader, it was absolutely perfect, and anything but normal.
No, there are none of these norms in Normal. Normal is remarkably, beautifully, memorably ABNORMAL. It's a story of a sweet adorable kid named Gene who has the most amazing family you'd ever meet. He has two fathers, one that he calls Mother. Mother's a drag queen, and he's very motherly. He rules the house with an iron fist and a heart full of love. Gene's Uncle Josh, a rabbi, is Gene's closest confidant, and he tells the most wonderful stories. Gene has three siblings, all also adopted. And his older brother Robbie is Gene's hero. He harbors a not-so-secret crush on him from the moment they lay eyes on each other.
This story is so magnificent, I just might have to go back and read it again. I laughed. I cried. And I kept turning the pages, until sadly there were no more. But believe me, that's the only disappointment I had with this book--that it didn't go on and on.
I loved the writing style. I loved the little stories within that Gene told. He was a writer, and every time something touched his heart, he'd write a story about it. The author used a lot of puns that made me smile and sometimes laugh right out loud.
Really, this book was like candy to me. It was such a treat, and if I could give it more than five stars, I certainly would. From a literary standpoint, I'm sure plenty of the experts will have lots to bitch about, but as a reader, it was absolutely perfect, and anything but normal.
May 6, 2013
This was a very enjoyable read and I can scarcely believe it is the author's first novel. The language is as rich as any I've read. I highlighted my favorite lines and my book is rainbow bright. I loved the characters...Gene, Robbie, Chip and Dale, Mother, Dad, the aunts and John. A happy story of love and family that is anything but normal! I will be looking for more from this author...
August 1, 2013
2.5 stars
Gene is adopted by two men who have hearts with an overwhelming capacity to love. Surrounding these men, Ben and Tom are a core group of the most unusual characters who make up the family unit that raises not only Gene but 3 other adoptive children as well. Ben, a drag queen by weekend and "Mother" to Gene is the sphere that essentially all the other characters in Stephen J. Mulrooney's novel gravitate around. His partner, Tom is a quiet, yet insightful father to his brood and the steadiest of anchors in a seemingly rollicking household.
Along with Tom, is Uncle Josh, Ben's best friend and a rabbi to boot who has seen his fair share of loss and pain but has somehow managed to remain wise and patient and so very loving. Interwoven are a few close friends, also drag queens and a cast of minor characters that bring their own brand of zaniness into the mix.
At its heart, Normal?, is a coming of age novel that follows Gene from the age of ten to adulthood. Along the way he nurtures a deep crush on his adoptive brother, Robbie, falls into his first sexual affair with an abusive and dominating friend of his brother and meets, in one brief, shining moment, a young man who will show him what love is really all about.
The story describes with sometimes poetic detail what it is to grow up in a household that is rife with unconditional love and support. While it is a fantastical tale that finds each adoptive child also gay, and seemingly no real hardships for two gay men to be raising such a brood or even adopt easily each addition to their household, it manages to convey a sense of family and loyalty that is sweet in many ways. In fact, the author's keen sense of humor graces each page, keeping even darker moments in Gene's life light and often enjoyable to read.
So...why not five stars then? Well, it is just this fantastical air to the novel that I felt was its ultimate downfall into a less than perfect story. With each nonsensical addition to this memoir, I felt myself doubting the veracity of the author. Instead of understanding more fully what made Gene and his family tick, I found myself reading about a cast of characters that remained just that--characters. I wanted more meat. I wanted to know the hearts and minds of these people, develop an affinity with them, care about what would happen next in their lives.
Instead, I found myself thinking that none of them seemed real enough for me to relate to on any level. When the main character began to insert his early attempts at writing stories into the main plot line, I got excited because I thought this might be the vehicle which the author would use to reveal more of the heart and soul of not only Gene but others in his family as well. Instead these "mini-stories" served to just pull me out of the main flow of the overall journey and, in fact, began to be annoying at best.
I do believe it is the author's prerogative to present a coming of age story with as much imagination and humor as possible. However, somewhere in there we should be privy to the very real heartaches and trials a gay boy would go through on his way to adulthood. Regardless of how lovely a family we have, we all experience certain traumas and setbacks in our lives and Normal? fails to really address these in a way as to show how they impacted and allowed the main character to grown and change. This lack of reality was disappointing for me as a reader. I felt I had been cheated out of the real heart of Gene's journey and give mostly the fluff of his life instead. For me, Normal? by Stephen J. Mulrooney seems incomplete and left me wanting more.
Normal? is a sweet coming of age novel but it is curiously somewhat emotionally removed and distant. It is a well written story, with many lovely passages that will have you sighing over the author's word choice and beautiful turn of phrase. However, Normal? stops just short of having the impact a novel of this genre should have. I am not sure that many young adults could relate to Gene's journey and that many adults might dismiss it as "nice" but not real.
Gene is adopted by two men who have hearts with an overwhelming capacity to love. Surrounding these men, Ben and Tom are a core group of the most unusual characters who make up the family unit that raises not only Gene but 3 other adoptive children as well. Ben, a drag queen by weekend and "Mother" to Gene is the sphere that essentially all the other characters in Stephen J. Mulrooney's novel gravitate around. His partner, Tom is a quiet, yet insightful father to his brood and the steadiest of anchors in a seemingly rollicking household.
Along with Tom, is Uncle Josh, Ben's best friend and a rabbi to boot who has seen his fair share of loss and pain but has somehow managed to remain wise and patient and so very loving. Interwoven are a few close friends, also drag queens and a cast of minor characters that bring their own brand of zaniness into the mix.
At its heart, Normal?, is a coming of age novel that follows Gene from the age of ten to adulthood. Along the way he nurtures a deep crush on his adoptive brother, Robbie, falls into his first sexual affair with an abusive and dominating friend of his brother and meets, in one brief, shining moment, a young man who will show him what love is really all about.
The story describes with sometimes poetic detail what it is to grow up in a household that is rife with unconditional love and support. While it is a fantastical tale that finds each adoptive child also gay, and seemingly no real hardships for two gay men to be raising such a brood or even adopt easily each addition to their household, it manages to convey a sense of family and loyalty that is sweet in many ways. In fact, the author's keen sense of humor graces each page, keeping even darker moments in Gene's life light and often enjoyable to read.
So...why not five stars then? Well, it is just this fantastical air to the novel that I felt was its ultimate downfall into a less than perfect story. With each nonsensical addition to this memoir, I felt myself doubting the veracity of the author. Instead of understanding more fully what made Gene and his family tick, I found myself reading about a cast of characters that remained just that--characters. I wanted more meat. I wanted to know the hearts and minds of these people, develop an affinity with them, care about what would happen next in their lives.
Instead, I found myself thinking that none of them seemed real enough for me to relate to on any level. When the main character began to insert his early attempts at writing stories into the main plot line, I got excited because I thought this might be the vehicle which the author would use to reveal more of the heart and soul of not only Gene but others in his family as well. Instead these "mini-stories" served to just pull me out of the main flow of the overall journey and, in fact, began to be annoying at best.
I do believe it is the author's prerogative to present a coming of age story with as much imagination and humor as possible. However, somewhere in there we should be privy to the very real heartaches and trials a gay boy would go through on his way to adulthood. Regardless of how lovely a family we have, we all experience certain traumas and setbacks in our lives and Normal? fails to really address these in a way as to show how they impacted and allowed the main character to grown and change. This lack of reality was disappointing for me as a reader. I felt I had been cheated out of the real heart of Gene's journey and give mostly the fluff of his life instead. For me, Normal? by Stephen J. Mulrooney seems incomplete and left me wanting more.
Normal? is a sweet coming of age novel but it is curiously somewhat emotionally removed and distant. It is a well written story, with many lovely passages that will have you sighing over the author's word choice and beautiful turn of phrase. However, Normal? stops just short of having the impact a novel of this genre should have. I am not sure that many young adults could relate to Gene's journey and that many adults might dismiss it as "nice" but not real.
March 26, 2014
“Normal?” by promising new author Stephen J. Mulrooney:
He expands the reading audience beyond the LGBT community. He introduces the straight readers to a world they know so little about, and it is done in such a loving and caring manner.
He shares lessons regarding bullying, prejudice, and loyalty while handling them with extreme clarity and purpose.
He raises awareness and offers understanding of the LGBT issues which are generally unknown to many straight readers.
These lessons are beautifully woven into the tapestry of his novel “Normal?” which was published by his husband Jerome P. Van Wert.
Stephen J. Mulrooney is not only an emerging LGBT writer, but he is also opening minds of the straight readers around the world. The Universe is listening and doors are opening. As his creative and inspirational words come forward, he will reach within and beyond generations, and all will embrace his messages of unconditional love and acceptance.
He is so worthy of your kind consideration as he begins his promising career.
January 18, 2025
I could give this book five stars but the fact that I have been friends with the author, attended his wedding, and think he and his husband are two of the greatest people I ever met would have a part in my decision. Let's make it four and a half.
That being said this was a superlative first book by Stephen J. Mulrooney. If you are looking for meanness and evil in the world then there is plenty out there for you to read. The best thing I can say about the book is the storytelling and characters are wonderful. The worst thing I can say is that good triumphs over evil in most instances. But is there really anything wrong with that?
It is a true family values book as that term should be understood.
That being said this was a superlative first book by Stephen J. Mulrooney. If you are looking for meanness and evil in the world then there is plenty out there for you to read. The best thing I can say about the book is the storytelling and characters are wonderful. The worst thing I can say is that good triumphs over evil in most instances. But is there really anything wrong with that?
It is a true family values book as that term should be understood.
July 27, 2014
A bit boring and too perfect.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews