SubSurdity: Vignettes from Jasper Lane

Vignettes from Jasper Lane #1

by Eric Arvin

Jasper Lane is the perfect, sunny, American neighborhood, or so it would seem. Melinda Gold is a young mother whose desire for position in the neighborhood is at odds with her upbringing by her ultra conservative mother. The same mother who makes life hell for Melinda's son, Patrick; Cassie Bloom is the grand dame of Jasper Lane, living on a cul du sac and doing her best to annoy Melinda. But she has a secret of her own regarding her missing husband and son that only a few, including the transsexual Vera, know about; Rick has just moved into the neighborhood and has immediately fallen for the ex-Army man, James. Will he find the courage to go after what he wants?; Terrence, Rick's good friend, has found out he has a son from a one-night stand years before where he dallied with heterosexuality; and the perfect couple Steve and Sandy have run into a rough patch which forces Steve to find employment in the porn industry.All these stories interlock and play out in a brightly comic way with gay porn parties, sexually confused animals, and dead bodies all being thrown in the mix. It may not be perfect, but it sure is fun!

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Contemporary, Humor, LGBT, Gay, Own

158 pages, Paperback

First published June 21, 2007

About the author

Eric Arvin resided in the same sleepy Indiana river town where he grew up. He graduated from Hanover College with a Bachelors in History. He has lived, for brief periods, in Italy and Australia. He has survived brain surgery and his own loud-mouthed personal demons. Eric is the author of WOKE UP IN A STRANGE PLACE, THE MINGLED DESTINIES OF CROCODILES & MEN, SUBSURDITY, SIMPLE MEN, and various other sundry and not-so-sundry writings.

Reviews

[Nik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eric Arvin gives me fits when I try to figure out where to put his books. They never fit neatly on any of my shelves to the point, I gave up and made him his own. As a matter of fact, I'm officially making Eric Arvin a verb. When a book is so confounding to the point I can't qualify it, the author Eric Arvined that shit. *sigh*

This author has yet to write a book that didn't impress the hell out of me. His characters are unique and interesting and the stories are entertaining.I don't know when I last spent a few hours laughing my ass off at a book. He managed to seamlessly weave together stories of multiple characters/couples in a way that was not only intersting to read but also easy to follow, which to be honest was my one bit of trepidation when I read the blurb for this book. The pacing was great and everything just flowed easily. If are looking for something funny, entertaining and light to read-look no further!

I can't wait to read the next book in this series so I can catch up with everyone and all their shenanigans on Jasper Lane!

Love, love, love.

[Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually feel sorry for rating this story so low. It was an extremely entertaining read with LOTS of quirky, funny and unique characters. Although the book was too short to dive deep into each of the characters’ lives, the story gave an interesting overview of the inhabitants of Jasper Lane (any similarities to Wisteria Lane are pure coincidence, of course).

Rick, who moved in with his friends in Jasper Lane after he left his boyfriend following an incident with said ex-boyfriend that cost him his eye. I kid you not; the guy is wearing a eye patch now, covering a hollow eye-socket.

Terrence, the promiscuous gay guy (and Rick’s BFF) who just found out he has a son who is now a teenager and who wants to meet his daddy for the first time. Needless to say, Terrence is out of his mind, trying to impress the boy by butching up his voice pretending to be ‘straight dad’.

Cliff, a bodybuilder on steroids who is a power bottom porn star. He lives with his boyfriend David, a freelance writer for gay magazines on Jasper Lane and shares their house with Terrence and Rick.

Melinda (or should I say ‘Bree van de Kamp’?!), the conservative bible belt mother who ignores her husband’s affairs and represses her teenage son trying to keep him away from the evil influences of the gay men in their immediate neighborhood.

James, the ex-military hunk who inherited a house on Jasper Lane from his uncle and is now jogging down the street shirtless in super tight pants, to the entertainment of the ladies (and the gay guys). He is just trying to come out after years in the DADT environment of the Army. He falls for Rick and the two have a very sweet romance .

Patrick, Melinda’s straight son who wants nothing more than get away from home and his deranged mother and wicked grandmother, who is a farting old b**** always spying on her grandson trying to prove he left the path of Christian righteousness.

Cassie, the wealthy open minded lady who everybody thinks has killed her husband. She regularly throws gay porn parties that the straight/gay neighbors enjoy immensely. She is doing her best to show Patrick that life is worth living and things aren’t as bad as they seem.

Steve (by far my favorite character), the straight and reliable all-american boy who lives with his pregnant wife Sandy and just lost his job. He is terrified that he cannot provide Sandy and the baby with their current life style anymore and follows Cliff’s advice to sign up with a gay for pay company to shoot porn without telling Sandy about it. He quickly becomes a star in the business – and with a gay porn party just around the corner you can imagine what will happen…

All in all, this was a great, quirky and funny read, but I had two major problems with it that completely ruined the whole book for me:

Steve’s gay for pay stunt:
I think that a guy being forced into porn is the worst thing that can happen. So many guys in real life feel the need to do that and there are actually whole porn companies producing that kind of porn. As a gay man, I just hate it. It’s something that these men wouldn’t do if they weren't getting paid for it, so what’s the point? There are enough gay performers out there who enjoy themselves, so the whole gay for pay business is just ridiculous.

However, the worst thing is how this whole issue is treated with a comedic angle. At first, Sandy is shocked when she finds out what her husband is doing behind her back and she kicks him out of the house (and very understandably so).
However, the weird crowd of Jasper Lane seems to be glorifying gay porn and when Sandy realizes that her husband Steve is a star among the ‘desperate’ gay porn watching housewives of Jasper Lane, she actually wants him to continue doing it, because she enjoys being a gay porn star’s wife.

I found that twist totally insulting to anyone who is in that situation in real life. It reminds me of gay porn star Nicholas Dent who even went to a talk show with his wife, trying to make people understand how gay porn can be just a job while having a straight family in real life.



I mean, his poor wife. Of course, she said she was fine with it (what else is there to say for her? Otherwise she’d be his ex-wife by now), but she also stated that ‘she doesn’t want to think too much about what he’s doing when he’s gone for a few days’.

Who wants to be in this lady’s shoes? Come on!
That’s certainly no comedy material that I can laugh about.

And the second issue is (big spoiler) – a covered up murder!
Cassie, David and Vera (a drag queen friend of Cassie’s) have murdered Cassie’s husband who wanted to send their gay son to a conversion camp. They not only killed him, but cut him into tiny pieces and buried him all over Cassie’s garden – as fertilizer for her beautiful flowers.
I am speechless about this. And they treat this crime as an act of loyalty or friendship and even joke about what body part might be underneath those roses to make them bloom so beautifully.



I’m sorry, but these two issues were so grave for me that I can only bring myself to giving 2 stars!
And as anyone might have deduced by now: This book was written at the height of fame of ‘Desperate Housewives’ and is a gay-themed parody of the tv show. You could switch the names of some of these characters and find yourself back on Wisteria Lane. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, DH was a pretty decent show, LOL.

Anyway, when dealing with porn, I prefer a deep layered angle (my favorite porn themed novel is First by KC Wells), but this comedy approach did not work for me at all.
The writing is stellar, though.

2 stars!

[L-D · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was bitch-ass-CRAZY but I loved it! This is my second book from Eric Arvin and this one was honestly right up my alley! It was so entertaining and funny the entire time and each character was so well developed. They all had very unique personalities and I enjoyed spending over 200 pages with all of them. First of all - thank you Eric for writing an M/M book that is not an insta-love 100 page novella. Finally a book with some real meat on its bones!

Usually I spend some time talking about the two MCs and what I liked or didn't like about them, but in this case, there are too many characters to really get into and I loved them all. I have watched a couple of episodes of Desperate Housewives and this book had that same feel to it. A tight-knit suburban backdrop where gossip rules and everyone's business is NOT their own. If you want to know about the characters, read the Goodreads description - it does a good job of getting to the nitty gritty. I will say though that I loved Terrance's shamelessly out-and-proud, bigger than life personality. Why does it always crack me up when gay men call each other "bitch"? I enjoyed the blossoming romance between new guy on the block, Rick, and ex-military hunk, James. James can jog down my street shirtless any day of the week! I wanted to plunk a chair right out on David and Terrance's lawn and drink a martini with them as we ogle James' bouncing pecs.

But that's enough about the characters, I'd like to instead focus on Eric Arvin's writing style in this book. It is extremely witty, fast-paced, and exciting. I was smiling the whole way through. It's not a humor like Ethan Day, however, it's much more "frantic" feeling. You have to really be on your toes and bob and weave in order to avoid the barrage of snarky bullets going back and forth. It was an extremely fun, fun place and it made me wish the neighborhood was real. I'd move right on in! He very delightfully colored each of his characters with an artist's pen and brought them to life for me. I jumped right into the second book in this series and enjoyed it just as much.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

To review, but HILARIOUS.

[Kassa · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the inside cover of this book are several quotes from reviews. Most often these are ignored or skipped over but one caught my attention right off “... a gay Desperate Housewives.” I immediately wondered what I had gotten myself into with this book and I came to find out that quote is completely apt. This hilarious spoof depicts a seemingly peaceful, quaint neighborhood that beneath the surface is teaming with drama and gossip. The story shifts from person to person as the everyday angst of life is played out over the top and outrageously amongst a beautiful summer backdrop. The hilarious antics of the various residents will have you wishing you lived among their crazy drama.

The story is told from numerous points of view from the different neighborhood residents. The action follows the residents over the course of one summer as they drink, party, find love, lose love, uncover secrets, get married, start porn careers, end porn careers, and engage in enough delightful drama to keep readers laughing. The large cast is filled with heterosexual couples, gay couples, widows, young men, older women, fag hags, and transsexuals. There is something for everyone on Jasper Lane. From Rick’s missing one eye to Terrance’s unfortunate tongue ring, their antics are priceless entertainment ~ setting up the perfect material for a soon to be sequel.

The writing is crisp and sharp with a flair for comic timing and witty dialogue. The characters are often ridiculous, but in such a way to engage the reader to laugh along with their ludicrous antics. The constant shifting point of view is both a benefit and a detriment to the story. Often the musing shifts mid-scene, so fast the head hoping is somewhat jarring. This also leaves the characters very superficial without much depth to their personalities. However, this style keeps the action moving swiftly and the dialogue snappy. The various points of view allow the reader to view the Jasper Lane residents and actions from all angles and delight in their absurdity. Most stereotypes are included and exaggerated from the fag hags to the ultra religious housewife, even the gay-for-pay porn star.

The story has too many laugh out loud moments to count, parodying itself and the insanity of suburbs with a deft mastery. The various storylines mix and mingle with each other, bringing continuity to the fun and entertaining stories. The witty and sharp dialogue brings the large cast into focus, never allowing any to be overwhelmed or forgotten in the group. Although there is no explicit sex, the story has an undercurrent of sexuality ~ partly due to the hot summer temperatures and tendency of male residents to wear very little. The story starts on a high, hilariously funny note and never makes a misstep, even up to the very last page.

I thought about including a few quotes but there were too many wonderful scenes and fabulous lines of dialogue to choose from. The superhero fetish scene is perhaps one of the best so you won’t want to miss this delightful romp through “perfect” suburbia. With a sequel promised soon, be sure to acquaint yourself with the quirky and zany residents of Jasper Lane now. Be cautious of the liquids you drink while reading and enjoy this completely wonderful comic treat.

[Cindi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is no secret that I am a huge fan of this author and his writing style. I know going into anything that he's written that it will be a blast. His sense of humor comes through in almost everything he writes. I actually found myself giggling throughout the entire book. I never giggle. :)

This has the kookiest cast of characters I have ever seen. There is the religious fanatic and her sheltered son and psycho mother, the boys, 3 roommates who live on the same street, the ex-army man who jogs around the neighborhood half naked and the perfect little Barbie and Ken couple. Then there's the wealthy woman who is really the matriarch of the neighborhood, on top of all of her kooky friends and other unique characters. Oh, and we can't forget Gayhound, the gay dog. All of these folks live in Jasper Lane, the all American neighborhood.

I laughed so hard reading this book. Each character is hilarious. There are secrets, a missing husband, a coming out scene that was funny when it probably shouldn't have been, gay-for-pay porn, gay porn parties, an illegitimate son.... the list goes on. I absolutely fell in love with Terrence, the ultimate drama queen (and one of the boys). Oh... and we can't forget Hot UPS Guy. Ouch! lol

I could never do this book justice in a review. There are so many different stories going on at once. I thought I would get confused. I didn't. They were very easy to keep up with. Each story is unique and each had me laughing and wondering what would happen next. The only thing that kept me from reading this in one sitting was my Kindle battery. I did not want to put it down.

I always know to go to this author when I need something different. No one can ever say that his books fall into any kind of mold. That is what I love about his work. He steps out of the box (so to speak) and doesn't give us more of the same. I (as a huge reader) appreciate that.

I am kicking myself for not reading this before now. I can't wait to jump into #2.

[Brandon Witt · Rating 5 out of 5]

SubSurdity was such a fun, ridiculous ride! A ride full of every cliché (intentional) imaginable. That alone would typically spell disaster. However, with great writing and irrepressible heart, each character was lovingly endearing, interesting, and human. Even the ‘ultra-evangelical’, who so often is only used to play the villain was a sympathetic character—one you grew to care for. Her elderly mother is spying from the bushes despite her explosive flatulence! Really, can it get better than that? If you are looking for a delightfully enjoyable read that will allow you escape your own suburban reality for awhile, this is the perfect way to do it! I can’t wait to return to Jasper Lane! LOVED this book!

[Phoenix · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how versatile Eric Arvin is. The first book I read of his was Woke up in a Strange Place, one of the most beautiful and compelling adventures in the after-life I've ever read. Then The Rest Is Illusion which was very highbrow, and existentially Metaphysical. Next was Simple Men which was kind of Eh for me, even though it was an important story. Almost Last was Galley Proof which was a hard read but by the end had me in tears.

Now we have Subsurdity: Vignettes from Jasper Lane, which is the anti-Wisteria Lane but just as funny. I laughed, I cried, I wished I had a golf cart and an old lady with a target on her back side.

I think I've found my next obsession. Reading everything Eric Arvin has published. I might not like it but I know it will get some kind of reaction from me.

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious, witty, biting, fun. Loved it. Desperate Housewives meets Tales of the City. I giggled so many times that I couldn't stay in the foul mood I was in when I started reading. It's a light-hearted, well-written pick me up with characters that are archetypes on acid. I will definitely be picking up Suburbilicious the next day I need a really good laugh.

[Cole Riann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a blast reading this book. I have a feeling that I'll be reading it many times in the future, which is a big deal for me. I almost never re-read. I would love to see this as a movie. It's totally a classic!

I can't wait to find out what happens in Suburbilicious :)

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another one of those writers that I cannot eat or drink while reading on pain of choking. Really fun read with lovable and hate-able characters. Can't wait to start the next book.

[Lynda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suffers from the same problems as almost all shorts - a variety quality. Liked it though.

[Roger Hyttinen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jasper Lane appears to be a typical middle-class neighborhood complete with manicured lawns and manicured wives. However, once we go behind the scenes and meet the residents of Jasper Lane, we quickly discover that Jasper Lane is anything but typical. We meet all sorts of zany and complicated characters:

- Religious fanatic Melinda Gold and her "flatulent" mother (who is even more of a religious kook than Melinda)
- Melinda's son Patrick who is suffocating from his mother's oppressive rules religious views -- and starts working for neighbor Cassie Bloom
- Cassie Bloom who throws porn parties to which the entire neighborhood is invited to attend and who may or may not have murdered her husband (and buried him in the back yard)
- Vera, a transexual club owner
- The sexy UPS man who ran into an issue with his Prince Albert and another man's lip ring
- Rick Cooper - a one-eyed gay man who has the hots for an ex-army neighbor, James
- James, who really needs to come out of the closet
- Rick's gay roomates David and Terrance
- Cliff, David's muscled-by-steroids boyfriend who is also a porn star
- Terrance, a somewhat effeminate gay man who discovers that he has a 17-year old son -- and his son wants to meet him
- Sandy and Steve Jones who at at first glance, appear to be the most "normal" couple on the block....but not for long.
- And of course gayhound, the gay dog

I can't begin to describe how much fun this zany book was. I laughed out loud many, many times while reading and ended up absorbing all 200 pages in one sitting -- I simply could not put it down.

While the characters and the situations portrayed in the book are hilarously over-the-top, this quirky novel does make a biting commentary about the crazy suburbinization of our society as well as how extreme beliefs can alienate you from others.

This talented author not only pens a fantastic tale, he does so with wit, style and elegance. The novel reminded me a tad of Armistead Maupin's "Tales of the City" series with perhaps a bit of influence from Desperate Housewives. My only disappointment with this book was that it eventually came to an end. Luckily for me, I learned that there is a sequel!

Recommended -- I give this book 5 zany, romping stars out of 5!!

[Nene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so awesome! I laughed and laughed! Only a talented author can make you fall in love with a whole community of characters in a couple hundred pages. And what a varied community it was! Straight couples, gay couples, singles, young and old! My only complaint is that I wanted to know more about Vera! Hopefully in the next one!

[DeeNeez · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a hoot! Jasper Lane is the gay version of Wisteria Lane of Desperate Housewives. Lots of laughs, and I mean the laugh out loud type of humor. There are so many characters and they were all great. My top favorites are: Terrence the over the top flaming queen, and David and Clifford as a couple. I can't wait to read what happens next.

[Hank Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Eric Arvin's wicked sense of humor. He created a fun, diverse cast of characters and managed all the storylines well, keeping me interested, amused, and, at times, turned on. A great read and I'm going to be reading more of this author.

[Elisa Rolle · Rating 5 out of 5]

2009 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention (5* from at least 1 judge)

[Kira · Rating 5 out of 5]

so fun, with great loveable characters.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a hoot and a half! Somehow it managed to be utterly absurd, but also incredibly sweet. It's a big cast of characters, and I got sucked in right away. I want to live on Jasper Lane.

[Cheryl Anne Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Snooty, sexually repressed, self-righteous, bible-beating suburban lawn Nazi Melinda Louise Gold has the perfect suburban life: perfect hair, perfect clothes, and a house that just screams, “Look at me!” Life couldn’t be more perfect on Jasper Lane. And then James moved into the neighbourhood with his running shorts and exposed nipples, adding just one too many half-naked gay men to her perfect paradise. But sometimes the illusion of paradise is just that, what goes on behind closed doors may not be as pretty as the shutters on the house. This story got off to a roaring start.

As we meet the cast of characters:
Terrence gives Ricky sanctuary upon his break-up with a gambling addict, which resulted in the loss of his eye; and then there is David and his porn star steroid enhanced boyfriend Cliff; Cassie with the secret government agent dead husband, whom everyone gossips that she might have killed him herself; Becky who does editing in the porn industry…Not to mention Steve, who recently lost his job and can’t begin to fathom how to overcome his feelings of being a disappointment to his wife. We also have sexy UPS men, a drag queen, and naked running military man who has just discovered he shares a secret with his deceased uncle.

The story is well written and the dark humour is funny as hell, witty, sarcastic, campy even, and yet so full of truth. The story has a wonderful mix—shaken not stirred—of quirky albeit rather clichéd soap-opera styled characters, and it reads a little like the script to a Queer as folk/Desperate Housewives episode, gay porn parties and all. But that’s not a bad thing. There is a lot going on with this grouping of oddly intertwined lives. The catch is, these are all very normal everyday lives and that is the beauty in this type of story—it exacerbates the ordinary and makes us laugh at our own ridiculous struggles and miseries. We have everything represented in this tale: marital issues, job loss, errant teenagers, Christian moral values at stake, illegitimate children, wicked mother-in-laws, addictions, block parties, pornography, tinis and sex in the afternoon, a little stereotypical bigotry, a minor jewellery entanglement, intrigue, desperation .. and some of the sex scenes are absolutely hysterical. Oh, did I mention the dead body?

This book is a good fun comedic romp into the absurdity of the suburban lifestyle—albeit a dark yet very realistic one, as the subplots provide for some very serious themes. And although the ending is predictable, it still gets you where it counts, right in the heart.

You don’t have to be gay to relate to the struggles in this story. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes gripping human drama peppered with a little camp to lighten the mood. This is also a remarkably clean text; I only noted a few typos.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

In suburbia, the residents of Jasper Lane seem to live rather idillic lives with immaculate gardens, barbecues, chats over the fence and jogging. But, beneath the shiny neighborly halos lurk much more delicious goings on and some less than sterling behavior.

The initial chapters unfold around the image of a young man jogging down the street, with each residents experience of this leading the reader through the intricate, entwined lives of the people who live on Jasper Lane. The author has a smart, astute and engaging style. Even the obnoxious Melinda Gold and her dreadful mother had a certain charm! The sly wit and humor definitely had me sniggering and banned from reading it in bed. hehe.

The romance between Rick and James, while not the novels sole focus, was sweet. I loved Ricks kindness. He was so appealing and had me quietly cheering him on as he learned to take a few risks in life with James, who is not out to his friends and family. Even though Rick could have given it all away at times, he doesn’t and I kinda liked his courage. He’s had such an incredibly raw deal that his ability to let himself be open to that kind of pain was beautiful and subtly written.

The cast of secondary characters are myriad, but the other one who stood out was Melinda strangely enough. She’s so uptight and a total prig. The book leaves you just dying to know what will happen if she finally looses it. I feel so wrong about the glee in that statement, but it was so true. hehe.

From pool parties to porn parties, hot bodies to dead bodies and weird old ladies sneaking looks through the neighbors window; this is a wonderfully vivid, romantic and entertaining read, with much heart and a rather perceptive eye.
http://sharrow.wordpress.com/2009/09/...

[Emanuela ~plastic duck~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very fast read. It resembles Desperate Housewives, with more gay characters. As the title says, the narration is no traditional, there are vignettes, often made up especially of dialog. We rarely get very close to the characters, but at the same time I couldn't help sympathize with them.

There is a love for the absurd that appealed to me very much and that made this an engaging read. I couldn't put it down. The choice of the narration was at the same time winning, because it condensed the most important events, but it was also a limit. Rick and James' story, for example, would be great told in a traditional way, especially because Rick was so interesting, a man with a lot of baggage, who wears - as one character explains - his scars on the outside. His need of being loved and his difficulty to find an emotional connection with people was incredibly interesting. It was fascinating to see him open himself to the world, forgetting his eye-patch, thanks to the confidence James' love gave to him.

The other characters were more like caricatures, but it's not a flaw in a book like this, because that was clearly the intent of the author. Everything is a bit over the top, so it might not appeal to everyone, but if you want to try something different, you might give this a try.

[TT]

This book is just about exactly like reading an episode of Desperate Housewives. Why I thought I would enjoy it when I don’t watch the show escapes me but the premise sounded interesting. I like this author and wanted to give it a chance, but for every clever turn of phrase I came across, I had to trudge through characters and storylines that were just clichéd, tedious and uninteresting. Plus, not sure if this was the authors intent, but I kept feeling sympathy for the villain of the piece-Melinda. Since I never finished it, guess I'll never know if she redeems herself, escapes her loneliness and her controlling mother. Nanna seems to be the real troublemaker anyways-excessive flatulence and all. I finally quit half way through because I didn’t care for the sacrilegious Jesus/sex jokes. Am afraid that was the deal breaker for me. One thing I will say, the guy (can’t remember his name, too many guys to keep track of) who’s gay who finds out he’s a dad of a teenager was funny. Reading about him trying to butch up and wear ‘itchy father clothes’ did make me chuckle.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’d never before read a book that made me feel resentful and jealous. SubSurdity changed that. Why, you may ask, was I experiencing these ill emotions? Did I covet Melinda Gold’s perfectly manicured lawn? Did I wish I was blessed with Sandy Jones’s impressively abundant rack? Did I want to replace Patrick Gold as the filling in that gay man sandwich? Hmmm, actually…

No, what I’m sinfully lusting after is a house on Jasper Lane. Why can’t the street I live on be like Jasper Lane? It’s actually a bit sad to realize that this street doesn’t truly exist. I just became completely invested in the lives of all these characters to the point that I felt their loss when I finished reading.

You can find my full review and a sneaky excerpt at The Blog of Sid Love http://sidlove.com/2014/03/12/author-...

[Suze · Rating 3 out of 5]

Put your tongue in your cheek, suspend reality checks and enjoy a slapdash soap opera of misdeeds, misadventures, risky ventures, a crime of passion, new experiences - and one nasty old lady.
Don't expect this to resemble reality. I found it amusing and enjoyed the reference to Mrs Slocombe. Terrence becoming attached to Hot UPS Guy was funny too. And I did chuckle when the odious Nanna tried to escape in the golf cart (though Patrick should have a more secure hiding spot). There are a lot of characters thrown in initially but they soon get sorted out.
There is also a poignant mention of the cavernous hemangiomas which ultimately Eric Arvin didn't beat. It's all a bit larger than life, with some extreme actions and reactions. Enjoyable humourous 3.5* read for me. And enough hooks for book 2.

[Mason · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an entertaining read. Someone described it as a m/m desperate housewives/wisteria lane tale. I quite agree. The writing is very tongue in cheek. I quite enjoyed it and the characters. However, I tend to give higher scores to stories that I remember afterward and to be honest, even though I read it a month ago, I just can't remember too much of the plot.

This is not to say that it is a bad story. Try it and you will find yourself well entertained. It did not leave too much impression on me but that does not mean that it won't for others. I read the book in one sitting well into the early morning so it was that much fun. There are a lot of m/m books that others have given high praise, which I have quit halfway through because I found them to be boring.

[Neet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Think Desperate Housewives combined with Tales Of The City and you will understand what you're getting when you start reading the first of this fun read...We meet the neighbors of Jasper Lane, a diverse fun bunch who truly care about each other.In this fun group we meet Melanie Gold, an outsider who is all about appearances and narrow -minded religious views.Mel is repressed and joyless woman, in a marriage were the husband isn't seen, a mother who is as cruel as she is flatulent and a teenaged son who is unhappy, and wants to escape his awful home life. This is a fun read, and you cheer the good guys and boo the villian...stinky granny..
What a. fun summer read!!

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book if you need some guaranteed laughs to brighten up your day! I don't know where Eric Arvin comes up with his ideas, but his characters manage to get themselves into the funniest predicaments. Jasper Lane is like a cross between Desperate Housewives and Monty Python. The more books I read from Eric Arvin, the more I want to read.I'm currently working on Suburbilicious, which so far is just as funny as Subsurdity. Absolutely a solid five stars!

[Barb ~rede-2-read~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to say what I loved best about this book but I think I have to say it's a tie between the author's vivid imagination and his sense of humor. This was a wonderful, campy romp through a warped Peyton Place. The characters were complex and many and the incidents were both bizarre and humorous.

From neighborhood porn parties to Nana's gas-ripping spying on her grandson, this one is indescribable and unforgettable. If you need a laugh, read this.

[Rochelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book greatly exceeded my expectations. Arvin adds depth and perspective to the modern suburb drama. Who knew the diversity and similarities hide behind the manicured lawns and perfect homes? Mother and son bond over oppressive standards. 'The Boys,' steadfast friends, who stand together in the face of boyfriends, fatherhood and gay for pay porn. Neighbors who will even help you hide the body. Awesome book! Can't wait to see what Arvin writes next.