My Favorite Uncle in Ask Marshall Thornton

May 19, 2014 LenaRibka rated it really liked it

Shelves: marshall-thornton, make-me-laugh, religion-in-plot, humor

4,3 stars!

I want to start with the cover. Isn't it ADORABLE?!
Yes, it is! And made personally from Marshall Thornton!

Dear readers, how often have you been browsing through different books with the same half naked males? The same covers, the different titles.
I HATE THESE COVERS that keep constantly appearing in my update field.
Dear authors, ask Marshall Thornton for a favour next time.
Maybe he'll agree to design a cover for your new book.

Most of you know Marshall Thornton from Boystown series b ...more

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May 19, 2014 Rosa, really rated it liked it

Shelves: read-2014, own-read, mm-gay-fiction, contemporary, mm-fave-authors, non-kindle, a-reviewed

It comes as no shock to me that I enjoyed this book. Marshall Thornton is a great writer and has a shrewd sense of humor that I relate to and find relaxing. Reading one of his books is like talking to an old friend. I loved the idea of this novel – a funny but closed-off man is forced back to life by his teenage nephew (but, you know, less clichéd than that description). However, I found I couldn't really get into it. I felt like an observer and not a participant. I liked both main characters, M
It comes as no shock to me that I enjoyed this book. Marshall Thornton is a great writer and has a shrewd sense of humor that I relate to and find relaxing. Reading one of his books is like talking to an old friend. I loved the idea of this novel – a funny but closed-off man is forced back to life by his teenage nephew (but, you know, less clichéd than that description). However, I found I couldn't really get into it. I felt like an observer and not a participant. I liked both main characters, Martin and his nephew Carter - they're total opposites but both are full of wry, thoughtful observations. But they felt distant and I didn’t feel fully engaged by either of them. I waited for about 80% of the book for something to happen, some event that would tie it all together (I have no idea what exactly), only to realize during the last part that, well…that was it. A series of humorous, thoughtful scenes, that never really coalesced.

Take Carter, for instance. Carter grew up with born again Christian parents, knowing from a young age that he was gay and that his parents would not approve of his orientation. When they do find out, there's one short scene where his mother happily informs him there's a "cure" and then we're told Carter is shipped off to a "Renewal Center,” a mental hospital for those with “gender dysphoria.” (Barf.) Sounds really shitty doesn't it? Terrifying for anyone, especially a 17 year old kid.

But when Carter arrives at his Uncle Martin's doorstep shortly later, having left the "Center" after turning 18, he seems totally unaffected by it. We have no idea what went on at the Renewal Center and for the majority of the novel it seems like Carter couldn’t care less about it. The only strong emotion he expresses is an extremely negative reaction to talking to or seeing his parents, which is completely understandable. We read about Carter’s reactions to sex, picking up men, his job, his uncle, his new love interest, even what strapping his penis back feels like as well as the typical selfish teenage stunts he pulls (I totally wanted to slap him upside the head a few times), but we're never given any insight into Carter's experiences at the "Renewal Center" or even his feelings toward it. There are a few brief mentions that he doesn’t wish to return but other than that we're almost left with the impression that - hey! Maybe it didn't suck too hard! The fact that thought crossed my mind even for an instant left me feeling like an insensitive douchebag. But I just couldn't see where it had any effect on Carter at all. Or at least, the profound sort of effect I was expecting from the blurb.

Towards the end of the novel, Carter finally tells his uncle, Martin, one of his experiences at the “Renewal Center.” It's truly scary in its malicious subtlety and excellently portrayed by Thornton. It doesn't come until nearly the end of the book and it's only then that I felt like I could empathize with Carter. But what takes away from this scene is that although it's being related to Martin through Carter’s flashback, the scene never returns to Carter & Martin. Any reaction Martin may have had is completely skipped over. A scene where Martin expresses sympathy or just pats Carter consolingly, nothing too dramatic but something, would’ve have said a lot about any familial bond growing between uncle and nephew.

In the end I would've responded to the book more if Thornton had either left out some of the darker elements, like the "Renewal Center," and added more humor, or left out some of the humor (I don't think Thornton could entirely skip it nor would I want him to) and written an even deeper novel about an emotionally orphaned teenager and his reluctant uncle. As it is, it feels a bit uneven.

Two things saved this novel for me. First, like in The Perils of Praline and The Ghost Slept Over, I loved the humor & sly observations about Christianity, love, relationships, family, sex and life in general. Second, the ending. It was happy without being unrealistic. I really felt like Martin & Carter were growing to love each other and learning to depend on each other as family does. I also felt hopeful about their respective futures. And though this is NOT, repeat NOT, a romance, there is a very minor romantic subplot in the last half of the book. It’s probably not enough to satisfy a dedicated romance reader, but it satisfied my romantic heart. I closed the book feeling slightly ambivalent about the journey, but with a warm glow that while all was not perfect, everything turned out alright in the end.

Thanks for the BR Otila, Sofia, Lena & Irina!

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May 19, 2014 Sofia rated it liked it

Throughout his short life, Carter had always considered his Uncle Martin to be his safety net, the person he could turn to in times of trouble. So when trouble came to Carter, Carter went to his Uncle Martin. There he found that his real Uncle Martin was somewhat different to live with than the Uncle Martin of his imagination.

His Uncle Martin on the other hand was safely in the rut he had deposited himself in after his great disappointment. So for him too, the advent of Carter in his life was, l ...more

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May 19, 2014 Otila rated it liked it

***3.5***

Martin’s ten year relationship ended badly…fifteen years ago. Since then he has very carefully managed to keep his life quite and drama free, if somewhat lonely. That all changes when his nephew, Carter, shows up at his door and announces he’s gay.

Carter was raised in a very Christian family and has been taught that being gay is wrong. When his father catches him having sex with a boy he is sent to a psychiatric hospital to “cure his gayness”. As soon as he turns 18, Carter leaves the h ...more

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Jun 15, 2014 Irina rated it really liked it

Shelves: adult, br-sofia, gay, romance, contemporary, funny, ya, marshall-thornton, lena-rec, br-lena

BR with Lena, Sofia and Rosa

3.8 stars

“It’s different. Carter is homeless.”
“You’ve never slept with a homeless person? You do need to get out more.”
“I’m not throwing him out.”
“Well, congratulations, you’re a parent.”
“Oh my God, what am I going to do?”
“Do what any red-blooded American woman does. Call his father and ask for child support.”

No, actually, Martin wasn't that malicious. For all his talk of giving up on Carter, he was protective, caring and supportive (well, most of the times anyway ...more

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