The Colour of His Hair

by David Rees

1976 -- a more liberal time for gay men and women than the mid-eighties. That doesn't mean an easy ride, however, for the central characters. Mark, aged eighteen, and Donald, aged seventeen, who fall in love and begin a relationship. When their so-called friends at school find out what is going on, the persecution begins. Donald nearly breaks down under the strain, despite help from an unexpected quarter - his English teacher, who is also gay. But the relationship survives into early adulthood, and ten years on it undergoes some surprising twists and turns in less liberal, AIDS-conscious 1986

Genres: LGBT, Gay, Fiction

136 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1989

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

David Rees was born in London in 1936, but lived most of his adult life in Devon, where for many years he taught English Literature at Exeter University and at California State University, San Jose. In 1984, he took early retirement in order to write full-time. Author of forty-two books, he is best known for his children's novel The Exeter Blitz, which in 1978 was awarded the Carnegie Medal (UK), and The Milkman's On His Way, which, having survived much absurd controversy in Parliament, is now regarded as something of a gay classic. He also won The Other Award (UK) for his historical novel The Green Bough of Liberty. David Rees died in 1993.

Reviews

[JOSEPH OLIVER · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title refers to an A.E. Housman poem 'The colour of his hair' and is the focus of an English lesson when prejudice raises its head in the 6th Form. This novel is a lively read as one would expect from this author. His characterisation is spot on and you see the characters changing as circumstances alter. At its centre is the relationship between Douglas and Mark. They meet in secondary school. Mark is one year older. They have to put up with some homophobia initially but this eventually dribbles into indifference by Douglas' peers and he goes from sporting star to being ditched fromt he team for undermining cohesion. They go to college and live together for 10 years until one day, for no reason Mark can tell, Douglas decides he's had enough and wants out. He feels he's been trapped for 10 years and never had a chance to be himself. He was always a part of a couple.

The second part of the novel deals with how Mark copes with the loss of the centre of his life. He changes reluctantly and surprises himself in many respects. He learns it is possible to hate as much as one can love - and he really loved Douglas. His ex-lover on the other hand embraces his freedom with gusto and can't get enough of other men, parties etc, everything he felt he had been deprived of living a 'settled' life from too young an age - even though Mark is only one year older.

Douglas' sister Helen plays a consistent part through the novel and acts as Mark's sounding board and close friend - much resented by her husband.

The plot is a good exploration of one person who just gets tired of a relationship but doesn't know why. It's not subtle. It's clear enough what is happening. I was quite disappointed with the ending though. It really came to a crashing halt. I won't spoil it for readers but I got the impression that the author didn't know how to end the plot and came up with what he did. It is plausible but far too condensed to be real. The time line is wrong.

Still - a good read.

[Nikolas Koutsodontis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Το τελευταίο Young Adult μυθιστόρημα του Βρετανού David Rees πριν χαθεί κι αυτός στην μάστιγα του AIDS. Χωρισμένο σε δύο μέρη, περιγραφεί την ερωτική σχέση του Mark και του Donald από την εφηβεία ως την ενηλικίωση. Το πρώτο μέρος με το σχολείο, αν και κοινότοπο, είναι όμορφο. Γνωστά θέματα: ομοφοβία, το coming out στην αδερφή και τους γονείς, η δυναμική των σχέσεων, καπως ο Rees πετυχαίνει ένα καλό σασπένς και το μυθιστόρημα είναι γλυκό.

Το δεύτερο μέρος, ωστόσο, είναι βαρύ, κάπως μίζερο, καθώς δεν καταφέρνει να μπει βαθιά στην ψυχοσύνθεση των ηρώων. Είναι κάτι τυπικό, δυσάρεστο, κάπως αναμενόμενο. Παρόλα ταύτα το βιβλίο διαβάζεται εύκολα και, χωρίς να είναι σπουδαίο ή ιδιαίτερα αξιομνημόνευτο, ένας λάτρης του είδους θα το εκτιμήσει.