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The Harvest of Inadequate Lives
Finn Wallace's difficult childhood in England leaves him trailing through life seeking a true love to call his own. His journey takes him all the way to America - where he finally finds what he has longed for - the love of his life. Although to Finn it seemed like a lifetime to find happiness, it only takes a few months for it to be ripped away, when his lover loses his life under tragic circumstances. Grief transitions into anger, and this emotion thrusts Finn out into the world again in search of something to ease his troubled mind. Finn discovers the perfect This time it is a killing spree, spanning 15 years from the Mediterranean to Alaska, from Venice to London. But now this serial killer is out once again looking for love. Author Patrick S. Stokes resides in Marbella, Spain, where he is busy working on his next projects. Publisher's
258 pages, Hardcover
First published March 19, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 4, 2019
A book I probably wouldn’t have read, I came across this through a recommendation on Twitter from a follower there. Unusually, I bought it without reading the sample, but entirely on the basis of the synopsis. This made no mention that the lover referred to was male, so I was unprepared for the homoerotic content that came as a surprise.
In a sense, this lack of preparedness meant I read the early part of the book free from the possibility of unconscious prejudice as a heterosexual man. I’ve never been consciously prejudiced; in fact, one of my good friends when I was in the Royal Air Force was a self-confessed gay (though, at the time, in the early 1960s prior to the change in UK legislation, he had to keep this secret). It was a platonic friendship in which we shared an interest in photography. I knew he felt entirely differently and would’ve loved a sexual encounter, but I had no interest; I’ve never desired sexual activity with a man. I explain this here simply to let other potential readers know from what point of view I describe this book.
The story, written as a mix of confession and explanation, in the first person, is also in the form of an autobiographical account. Bearing in mind the nature of the confessions, it had better be fictional, too!
The book is generally well written, and the characters are conveyed in a manner that elicits empathy; an essential quality for me as a reader. There are odd instances of change of tense from present to past, sometimes occurring within a single sentence. These jarred but not enough to stop me reading. In fact, once I was engaged by this life story, I was determined to finish the book and discover what happened to the serial killer who is the narrating protagonist.
The tale is an education for those unfamiliar with the proclivities of homosexuals, describing their activities and giving insight into their thoughts, desires and sometimes ambivalent attitude toward women. It’s probably a reflection on my own view of sexual activity that I found the casual approach to liaisons, often entirely devoted to the sex act, as disturbing between men as I always have when portrayed between men and women. I’ve never liked the idea of casual sex: that’s not a judgment, simply the natural result of my respect for women and my personal association of sex with love.
There were a couple of chapters I skimmed, as these were mainly cataloguing sexual encounters that held no interest for me. I assume gay men will find some erotic element here, but there was none for me. And, had the activity been between men and women in these series of physical adventures, I would probably have still skimmed these passages. Personal taste, no more.
There is in this novel remarkable insight into the mind of the serial killer. The absolute lack of guilt, regret, or care for the life so easily ended, the body so simply disposed of, paints a picture of extreme disassociation from humanity. Yet the murderer is also capable of deep and enduring love for his siblings and for the few men who touch him and remain with him for long periods. This duality is deeply disturbing, but written so well that the reader accepts it as normal for the narrator.
Is this man evil, or is he mentally ill, or, perhaps both?
Undoubtedly a courageous piece of writing, this novel is easy to read and enjoy in some parts, difficult and even repugnant in others, yet the compulsion to read on is almost constant (the passages of casual sex aside).
I’m still uncertain whether I’d have given this story a chance had I known at the start that it dealt with gay love, but I’m glad I did. It’s given me insights I would otherwise have missed, an understanding deeper for knowing how such men view others. Of course, the fact that the narrator is also a serial killer distorts the picture so that it can’t be applied to gay men as a general group. But the passages of sane encounter do provide information and knowledge of an area of life that might otherwise remain unexplored and unknown to the majority of us. A troubling but worthwhile read.
In a sense, this lack of preparedness meant I read the early part of the book free from the possibility of unconscious prejudice as a heterosexual man. I’ve never been consciously prejudiced; in fact, one of my good friends when I was in the Royal Air Force was a self-confessed gay (though, at the time, in the early 1960s prior to the change in UK legislation, he had to keep this secret). It was a platonic friendship in which we shared an interest in photography. I knew he felt entirely differently and would’ve loved a sexual encounter, but I had no interest; I’ve never desired sexual activity with a man. I explain this here simply to let other potential readers know from what point of view I describe this book.
The story, written as a mix of confession and explanation, in the first person, is also in the form of an autobiographical account. Bearing in mind the nature of the confessions, it had better be fictional, too!
The book is generally well written, and the characters are conveyed in a manner that elicits empathy; an essential quality for me as a reader. There are odd instances of change of tense from present to past, sometimes occurring within a single sentence. These jarred but not enough to stop me reading. In fact, once I was engaged by this life story, I was determined to finish the book and discover what happened to the serial killer who is the narrating protagonist.
The tale is an education for those unfamiliar with the proclivities of homosexuals, describing their activities and giving insight into their thoughts, desires and sometimes ambivalent attitude toward women. It’s probably a reflection on my own view of sexual activity that I found the casual approach to liaisons, often entirely devoted to the sex act, as disturbing between men as I always have when portrayed between men and women. I’ve never liked the idea of casual sex: that’s not a judgment, simply the natural result of my respect for women and my personal association of sex with love.
There were a couple of chapters I skimmed, as these were mainly cataloguing sexual encounters that held no interest for me. I assume gay men will find some erotic element here, but there was none for me. And, had the activity been between men and women in these series of physical adventures, I would probably have still skimmed these passages. Personal taste, no more.
There is in this novel remarkable insight into the mind of the serial killer. The absolute lack of guilt, regret, or care for the life so easily ended, the body so simply disposed of, paints a picture of extreme disassociation from humanity. Yet the murderer is also capable of deep and enduring love for his siblings and for the few men who touch him and remain with him for long periods. This duality is deeply disturbing, but written so well that the reader accepts it as normal for the narrator.
Is this man evil, or is he mentally ill, or, perhaps both?
Undoubtedly a courageous piece of writing, this novel is easy to read and enjoy in some parts, difficult and even repugnant in others, yet the compulsion to read on is almost constant (the passages of casual sex aside).
I’m still uncertain whether I’d have given this story a chance had I known at the start that it dealt with gay love, but I’m glad I did. It’s given me insights I would otherwise have missed, an understanding deeper for knowing how such men view others. Of course, the fact that the narrator is also a serial killer distorts the picture so that it can’t be applied to gay men as a general group. But the passages of sane encounter do provide information and knowledge of an area of life that might otherwise remain unexplored and unknown to the majority of us. A troubling but worthwhile read.
January 6, 2013
DON'T READ THE SYNOPSIS! There is a twist in this story that would be totally unexpected if they didn't give it away in the synopsis here and on Amazon. All you need to know is that you will fall in love along with the main character, experience his grief, and almost understand how he manages to deal with it. Along the way, you get to travel the world.
August 8, 2016
A must read
Just finished reading this book and I would recommend it to all, not my usual type of read but thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish, I felt I was with Finn on all of his life journey which makes for an excellent writer, my only disappointment was getting to the last page, 5 stars for this, A must read
Just finished reading this book and I would recommend it to all, not my usual type of read but thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish, I felt I was with Finn on all of his life journey which makes for an excellent writer, my only disappointment was getting to the last page, 5 stars for this, A must read
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews