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The Freezer Counter: Stories by Gay Men
144 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1989
8 people want to read
About the author
David Rees
40 books24 followersLibrarian 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 24, 2024
"This is the second collection of short stories by gay men from Third House Publishers. There are nineteen stories by both previously published, established and previously unpublished authors. Age-old interests and themes like coming out, forming relationships and the scene are touched on but urgent and more contemporary issues are also dealt with like AIDS and living in Margaret Thatcher's Britain.
"Some of the stories in 'The Freezer Counter' are by unpublished authors; some by authors who appeared in 'Oranges and Lemons'; and there are some established authors whose writing is always popular - Tom Wakefield, Michael Carson, Patrick Gale, Peter Robins and David Rees..." From the back cover of my paperback edition of 1989.
I adore this collection because it's part of my youth and also of UK gay history. So much has changed so recently that the world these stories reflect is of course not 'relevant' but the line up of writers is fantastic Patrick Gale, Tom Wakefield, Peter Robins, Joel Lane, Michael Carson and Martin Foreman amongst others. And why do stories or fiction have to reflect the here and now? I think quality of writing is what matters and this collection is full of quality.
But what is an exceptional joy in this collection is seeing authors like Michael Carson ('Sucking Sherbet Lemons' and 'The Knight of the Flaming Heart' amongst many others) and Joel Lane ('Scarcity' and 'From Blue to Black' amongst others) in one of their first published appearances. All the stories are fine and worth reading and I will again bemoan the loss of anthologies such as this - they provided both an outlet for authors and a place for readers to go to for fiction that meant something. I believe this was especially important for gays, things may have changed but I don't think the number or frequency of outlets for gay writing has improved.
"Some of the stories in 'The Freezer Counter' are by unpublished authors; some by authors who appeared in 'Oranges and Lemons'; and there are some established authors whose writing is always popular - Tom Wakefield, Michael Carson, Patrick Gale, Peter Robins and David Rees..." From the back cover of my paperback edition of 1989.
I adore this collection because it's part of my youth and also of UK gay history. So much has changed so recently that the world these stories reflect is of course not 'relevant' but the line up of writers is fantastic Patrick Gale, Tom Wakefield, Peter Robins, Joel Lane, Michael Carson and Martin Foreman amongst others. And why do stories or fiction have to reflect the here and now? I think quality of writing is what matters and this collection is full of quality.
But what is an exceptional joy in this collection is seeing authors like Michael Carson ('Sucking Sherbet Lemons' and 'The Knight of the Flaming Heart' amongst many others) and Joel Lane ('Scarcity' and 'From Blue to Black' amongst others) in one of their first published appearances. All the stories are fine and worth reading and I will again bemoan the loss of anthologies such as this - they provided both an outlet for authors and a place for readers to go to for fiction that meant something. I believe this was especially important for gays, things may have changed but I don't think the number or frequency of outlets for gay writing has improved.
Displaying 1 of 1 review