Based on a True Story

by Jameson Currier

Two gay couples meet at an idyllic mountain cabin to celebrate Thanksgiving. As the four men reminisce of their college years, coming out, and recall their past friends and former lovers, a shocking and fatal tale of obsession unfolds.

ebook

First published October 2, 2015

About the author

Jameson Currier is the author of five novels, Where the Rainbow Ends, nominated for a Lambda Literary award, The Wolf at the Door, The Third Buddha, What Comes Around, and The Forever Marathon, and four collections of short fiction: Dancing on the Moon; Desire, Lust, Passion, Sex; Still Dancing: New and Selected Stories; and The Haunted Heart and Other Tales, which was awarded a Black Quill Award for Best Dark Genre Fiction Collection. His short fiction has appeared in many literary magazines and Web sites, including Velvet Mafia, Blithe House Quarterly, Confrontation, Christopher Street, and the anthologies Men on Men 5, Best American Gay Fiction 3, Boyfriends from Hell, Mammoth Book of New Gay Erotica, Best Gay Erotica, Best American Erotica, Best Gay Romance, Best Gay Stories, Circa 2000, Rebel Yell, I Do/I Don't, Where the Boys Are, Nine Hundred & Sixty-Nine, Wilde Stories, Unspeakable Horror, and Making Literature Matter. His AIDS-themed short stories have also been translated into French by Anne-Laure Hubert and published as Les Fantômes. His reviews, essays, interviews, and articles on AIDS and gay culture have been published in many national and local publications, including The Washington Post, Newsday, The Philadelphia Inquirer Magazine, Lambda Book Report, The Harvard Gay and Lesbian Review, The Washington Blade, Southern Voice, Metrosource, Bay Area Reporter, Frontiers, The New York Blade, and Body Positive. In 2010, he began Chelsea Station Editions, an independent press for gay books, and the following year launched Chelsea Station, a literary magazine devoted to gay-themed writing. In 2013 he edited two original anthologies for the press: Between: New Gay Poetry and With: New Gay Fiction. He currently resides in Manhattan.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gifted novelist Jameson Currier, whose renowned collection of work includes "Where the Rainbow Ends," "The Third Buddha," and "The Forever Marathon," has an incredible knack for portraying gay men as complex and flawed yet like-minded, mostly likable and relatable individuals. His latest, "Based on a True Story," presents an intriguing, introspective examination of two gay couples who spend Thanksgiving weekend together in a rustic mountain cabin.

Tom, a forty-something native of Georgia who traded his earlier life in Manhattan for his current, more bucolic surroundings, has invited his longtime, west coast friend, Scott, and his boyfriend, Aiden, to celebrate the holiday. Tom and Scott first met in New York, fresh out of undergrad, and have kept in touch since, while Aiden is meeting Tom, and his boyfriend, Harley, for the first time.

The author does a splendid job creating the awkward tension commonly associated with introductory small talk and watching a friend interact with his significant other for the first time. More importantly, Aiden has just come from visiting his sister, Michelle, whose son, Perry, had a relationship that ended badly (to say the least) with Neal, a college friend of Tom's.

While the unfortunate details of Perry and Neal's overarching relationship are slowly revealed throughout the short novel, these men of a certain age spend their time together reflecting on the ghosts of their pasts, including first loves, former close friends, those they lost to AIDS, and acquaintances who either simply disappeared or became inconvenient to remain friendly with.

The title refers to the spark of success Tom had as a writer where he used the actual events from his own life as the basis for short stories. Currier, of course, is calling attention to the indisputable authenticity and profundity of his writings based on his personal experiences.

"Based on a True Story" is a moving, meditative demonstration of the impact friends, lovers and acquaintances has on our lives and in our minds, regardless of longevity and despite how the rest of the world may see them.

[Mel]

Based on the sample, I think not, or I'm not sure, at least...