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Gay Zoo Day: Tales of Seeking and Discovery
The central characters in Gay Zoo Tales of Seeking and Discovery are all searching for something more than what life has handed them. They trace their paths through landscapes of love, death, violence, ambition, and sex. Some seek deliberately, some stumble blindly, but all find more than what they were looking for. Each story takes a queer approach to a familiar an adventure in space, a cowboy romance in Panama, a ghost story in upstate New York, a revenge drama in colonial Kenya. Gay Zoo Day uses the map of the world to explore the map of the heart.
274 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 11, 2017
‘I didn’t hide my sexuality in my private life, but since getting the NASA contract I’d been hesitant to talk about it’
Pennsylvania born/Georgia transplant author Mike McClelland is a graduate of Allegheny College, the London School of Economics, the MFA Program at Georgia College, and is working toward his doctorate at the University of Georgia. Though GAY ZOO DAY is his literary debut he has authored works in several anthologies and in a variety of literary journals including Queen Mob’s Teahouse, Permafrost, Windmill, Quail Bell Magazine, ImageOutWrite, among others.
The PR release distills the content well – ‘Gay Zoo Day: Tales of Seeking and Discovery is a collection about gay and lesbian travelers seeking more than what life has handed them. Eight stories explore themes of love ad alienation, race and gender, class and privilege, using a variety of genres and perspectives form humorous to the horrific. The collection uses the map of the world to explore the map of the heart, ranging from colonial Kenya to an embattled embassy in Yemen, from a haunted winery in upstate New York to the International Space Station, and in time from the early 1900’s to the near future. Characters approach their inevitable destinations across landscapes of love, death, violence, ambition, and sex. Some seek deliberately, some stumble blindly, but all find more than they were looking for.’
But simply surveying the territory in this magically imaginative book hardly does it justice. Not only are the themes unique and spectrum of feelings immense, but the quality of pros is outstanding. A tidbit of dialog hints at this – (from Mombasa Vengeance) ‘Do you know about the woman? About the baby?’ I hissed. “Yes,” he said, meeting my eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me? She’s your friend, isn’t she. One of the Rabai orphans, Scottish and Kikuyu. The one who married the Englishman and now lives in Nairobi!” I was floundering. How could I widow someone? How could I take a parent away from his child?’
The stories are all over the place physically, in time values, and in extremes of human behavior. And every one of them is a success. Welcome to center stage, Mike McClelland!
Pennsylvania born/Georgia transplant author Mike McClelland is a graduate of Allegheny College, the London School of Economics, the MFA Program at Georgia College, and is working toward his doctorate at the University of Georgia. Though GAY ZOO DAY is his literary debut he has authored works in several anthologies and in a variety of literary journals including Queen Mob’s Teahouse, Permafrost, Windmill, Quail Bell Magazine, ImageOutWrite, among others.
The PR release distills the content well – ‘Gay Zoo Day: Tales of Seeking and Discovery is a collection about gay and lesbian travelers seeking more than what life has handed them. Eight stories explore themes of love ad alienation, race and gender, class and privilege, using a variety of genres and perspectives form humorous to the horrific. The collection uses the map of the world to explore the map of the heart, ranging from colonial Kenya to an embattled embassy in Yemen, from a haunted winery in upstate New York to the International Space Station, and in time from the early 1900’s to the near future. Characters approach their inevitable destinations across landscapes of love, death, violence, ambition, and sex. Some seek deliberately, some stumble blindly, but all find more than they were looking for.’
But simply surveying the territory in this magically imaginative book hardly does it justice. Not only are the themes unique and spectrum of feelings immense, but the quality of pros is outstanding. A tidbit of dialog hints at this – (from Mombasa Vengeance) ‘Do you know about the woman? About the baby?’ I hissed. “Yes,” he said, meeting my eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me? She’s your friend, isn’t she. One of the Rabai orphans, Scottish and Kikuyu. The one who married the Englishman and now lives in Nairobi!” I was floundering. How could I widow someone? How could I take a parent away from his child?’
The stories are all over the place physically, in time values, and in extremes of human behavior. And every one of them is a success. Welcome to center stage, Mike McClelland!
January 6, 2018
This is the book I read for Book 12. A book with an LGBTQ+ protagonist.
This book is a collection of short stories which range from space to Mombasa, from sweaty bars in South America to elegant country estates. In all the stories, the protagonists are searching for something – love, connection, status, or social standing. And they all happen to be gay.
The humanity of each character and story is what McClelland creates so perfectly. Each story and situation is completely real as you read it. He manages not only to tell unique stories, but to tell each of them in a suitable and appropriate way. His language use changes, his sentence structure shortens or lengthens, his very style matches the story perfectly. This kind of skill and attention to detail adds a dimension to these stories you may not notice until you realise how deeply each crawls into you.
The love and human connection each character seeks, or rejects, links the writer, the characters and the reader – the very humanness of us all is so evident it is palpable.
Loved these stories.
This book is a collection of short stories which range from space to Mombasa, from sweaty bars in South America to elegant country estates. In all the stories, the protagonists are searching for something – love, connection, status, or social standing. And they all happen to be gay.
The humanity of each character and story is what McClelland creates so perfectly. Each story and situation is completely real as you read it. He manages not only to tell unique stories, but to tell each of them in a suitable and appropriate way. His language use changes, his sentence structure shortens or lengthens, his very style matches the story perfectly. This kind of skill and attention to detail adds a dimension to these stories you may not notice until you realise how deeply each crawls into you.
The love and human connection each character seeks, or rejects, links the writer, the characters and the reader – the very humanness of us all is so evident it is palpable.
Loved these stories.
September 11, 2017
Mike McClelland shows his skill in writing short stories in his successful book Gay Zoo Day. Although a genre that I do not normally read, I am game for any published work. I was totally blown away by the amount of background research that was done, especially in the story YEV. The author's knowledge of life on a space station shows his exceptional attention to detail.
The stories are real in a sense that you can almost "see" the characters. They come alive in front of you as you are reading. You can feel their sadness, joy, fear and pain.
The last story, OLIVE URCHIN is a touching end to the book. One feels that it is a lovely story to end off with.
I am mightily impressed with the way Mike has used his travel experiences to place his characters in various parts of the world - from the USA, to London, Hong Kong and South Africa amongst other destinations. This personal knowledge adds substance to the stories and familiarity.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading. It is a MUST!!!!!!!!
The stories are real in a sense that you can almost "see" the characters. They come alive in front of you as you are reading. You can feel their sadness, joy, fear and pain.
The last story, OLIVE URCHIN is a touching end to the book. One feels that it is a lovely story to end off with.
I am mightily impressed with the way Mike has used his travel experiences to place his characters in various parts of the world - from the USA, to London, Hong Kong and South Africa amongst other destinations. This personal knowledge adds substance to the stories and familiarity.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading. It is a MUST!!!!!!!!
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December 7, 2020Read it. And blurbed it, yo.
“Mike McClelland’s writing is like the love affairs he writes so lovingly about: urgent, intimate, and sometimes sordid, yet always attuned to the smaller gestures and details.”
“Mike McClelland’s writing is like the love affairs he writes so lovingly about: urgent, intimate, and sometimes sordid, yet always attuned to the smaller gestures and details.”
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews