Oh, the horror! THE HORROR! There's lots of page space devoted to this crisis.Ĭonflating drama out of nothingness is what this book is about. Way more interesting than what we get, which includes a long day where the drama is focused on the fact that Jake has no clean underwear. Well, at least that would have been an interesting direction for the story to go. By the time he's masturbating while secretly watching Kurt in the woods, there's a real stalker vibe going - like maybe Jake's a serial killer-in-training. He doesn't come across as enamored or lovesick, but as pervy - and eventually downright creepy. Whack! The result is that Jake's level of obsession with Kurt is ridiculously over-the-top. Whack! That Jake can think of almost nothing BUT him. The author wants the reader to understand that Jake is ATTRACTED to Kurt. Well, reading this book was like being whacked upside the head with the clue stick, brutally and often.

There's a need for some level of nuance, subtlety, and subtext.

Unfortunately there's more to writing good fiction than just having the mechanics down. The mechanics are all in place: impeccable grammar and the ability to craft interesting sentences results in smooth, readable prose. And it makes me sad to say so, because from a technical standpoint, Singer's writing is rock-solid.

Fire on the Mountain by P.D. Singer