What do you think?
Rate this book
Antiartists
What do you do when you don’t know who you are, when who you thought you were, who you thought would become, is destroyed? This is the story of young man, Chris, seeking an identity after the seemingly catastrophic collapse of his life, seeking what it means to be a creator, and, ultimately, seeking a glimpse of hope and recovery after a rock-bottom event.
During his search, he comes to the conclusion that instead of creating beauty for an ugly world, he wants to destroy beautiful things. Because of his background and education in art, Chris knows of a Michaelangelo’s David has a fatal flaw, a weakness that if struck correctly would shatter the marble into fragments. What will Chris and his newfound group of society’s rejects do with this knowledge?
Antiartists is both bleak and darkly comic, playful and serious. It is about broken people doing broken things, and about trying to find a reason to carry on when there seems no escape from the downward trajectory of one’s life. It is, in the end, about redemption and hope, about finding a way to keep living when everything seems lost, about finding a light in the darkness. It is the story of an outsider coming to terms with his differences. This story is ultimately about believing, once again, that it is worth carrying on - that even after seeing rock bottom, life can be beautiful again.
During his search, he comes to the conclusion that instead of creating beauty for an ugly world, he wants to destroy beautiful things. Because of his background and education in art, Chris knows of a Michaelangelo’s David has a fatal flaw, a weakness that if struck correctly would shatter the marble into fragments. What will Chris and his newfound group of society’s rejects do with this knowledge?
Antiartists is both bleak and darkly comic, playful and serious. It is about broken people doing broken things, and about trying to find a reason to carry on when there seems no escape from the downward trajectory of one’s life. It is, in the end, about redemption and hope, about finding a way to keep living when everything seems lost, about finding a light in the darkness. It is the story of an outsider coming to terms with his differences. This story is ultimately about believing, once again, that it is worth carrying on - that even after seeing rock bottom, life can be beautiful again.
228 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
2 people are currently reading
292 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 6, 2016
Review originally published in my blog: http://wp.me/p7a9pe-za
3.5 Stars
At Read Diverse Books, I focus on lifting the voices of as many marginalized groups as possible. I genuinely enjoy this work and will happily do it for as long as I am able. But promoting and uplifting the voices of so many different groups means that sometimes I forget to read the stories that reflect my unique life experiences. In particular, I have neglected to read much gay fiction in 2016.
Reading gay fiction that is written by gay authors has always been my preference, though I sometimes enjoy the stories written by straight authors. But there's something about LGBTQ #ownvoices fiction that resonates with me in particular because I find the voice more authentic, personal, and relatable.
A Safe Place With You resonated with me because I felt and knew that César L. Baquerizo was personally invested in telling the story. The honesty and urgency with which he tells it is palpable. In the Acknowledgements and Author Bio at the end of the book it becomes clear how passionate he is about fighting for the equal rights and acceptance of the LGBT community. This novel is the kind of story that can make a huge difference in a young person's life. We need more of these kinds of books to be published.
The narrative follows several important figures, but it is generally centered around two young men, Tomás and Sebastián who live in Guayaquil, Ecuador during the late 80's and early 1990. At this time, the World Health Organization considered homosexuality a disease and mental illness. In Ecuador, same-sex relationships were illegal and punishable by four to eight years in prison. And for years, there were hundreds of rehabilitation centers around the country that aimed to "cure" homosexuality through inhumane methods that sometimes amounted to torture. I'm sure you've heard the stories.
Tomás and Sebastián are connected by another young man named Christian, who we meet early on in the story after he has committed suicide. Life is a nightmare for young gay men and women in Ecuador who simply want to be themselves and love freely. Society stigmatizes their entire existence and makes them social pariahs. After Christian's suicide, Tomás and Sebastián are admitted into a sexual rehabilitation clinic, abandoned by their parents for months with the hope that their "sexual deviance" would be fixed or cured.
This rehabilitation clinic is called "Grow and Live Normally," and in this facility we meet several other young men and women who have been forsaken and rejected by their parents. Together, they suffer indignities and must deal with physical and mental anguish every day. But together, they also bring each the comfort of their friendship and support. We also meet the staff of the clinic, lead by the villainous Dr. Rutherbor, whose motivation for creating this facility is as corrupt and vile as you would imagine.
A Safe Place With You is not a happy story, which you should all expect, given the subject matter. But at its core, it really is a story about love and learning to accept yourself. Its message is actually quite heavy-handed and at times I found it a bit distracting from the overall narrative. This novel very clearly aims to educate readers about the horrors of sexual conversion therapy, and has a very explicit message and agenda. I obviously support the message, but at times, the characters seemed more like mouthpieces used to relay this message. As a result, the dialogue didn't always sound very natural, it sounded didactic and like a speech.
But this is a minor gripe because the ideas the novel is trying to express are incredibly important. I think this book may be best appreciated by young readers who are trying to understand themselves, and who need a kind and relatable voice to guide them through these tough and confusing years. I would have loved to read this book when I was a teenager who felt lost and isolated. The messages of self-acceptance and finding value in your authentic self certainly would have been a blessing to my ears.
The copy I read was an eARC, which means that it was probably not in its final draft. I try to overlook errors and typos for ARCS, but there were quite a few scattered throughout the entire novel, so it detracted from my enjoyment a little bit. Also, the original story was written in Spanish and what I read was the first translation. Some of the language was awkward and I expect it to be straightened out for its final print.
While I did have some issues with this novel, I did enjoy the story and recommend it to everyone, especially if you like reading #ownvoices LGBT fiction. The story reads very quickly, is filled with interesting and complex characters, and carries a powerful and important message that every young person should hear.
3.5 Stars
At Read Diverse Books, I focus on lifting the voices of as many marginalized groups as possible. I genuinely enjoy this work and will happily do it for as long as I am able. But promoting and uplifting the voices of so many different groups means that sometimes I forget to read the stories that reflect my unique life experiences. In particular, I have neglected to read much gay fiction in 2016.
Reading gay fiction that is written by gay authors has always been my preference, though I sometimes enjoy the stories written by straight authors. But there's something about LGBTQ #ownvoices fiction that resonates with me in particular because I find the voice more authentic, personal, and relatable.
A Safe Place With You resonated with me because I felt and knew that César L. Baquerizo was personally invested in telling the story. The honesty and urgency with which he tells it is palpable. In the Acknowledgements and Author Bio at the end of the book it becomes clear how passionate he is about fighting for the equal rights and acceptance of the LGBT community. This novel is the kind of story that can make a huge difference in a young person's life. We need more of these kinds of books to be published.
The narrative follows several important figures, but it is generally centered around two young men, Tomás and Sebastián who live in Guayaquil, Ecuador during the late 80's and early 1990. At this time, the World Health Organization considered homosexuality a disease and mental illness. In Ecuador, same-sex relationships were illegal and punishable by four to eight years in prison. And for years, there were hundreds of rehabilitation centers around the country that aimed to "cure" homosexuality through inhumane methods that sometimes amounted to torture. I'm sure you've heard the stories.
Tomás and Sebastián are connected by another young man named Christian, who we meet early on in the story after he has committed suicide. Life is a nightmare for young gay men and women in Ecuador who simply want to be themselves and love freely. Society stigmatizes their entire existence and makes them social pariahs. After Christian's suicide, Tomás and Sebastián are admitted into a sexual rehabilitation clinic, abandoned by their parents for months with the hope that their "sexual deviance" would be fixed or cured.
This rehabilitation clinic is called "Grow and Live Normally," and in this facility we meet several other young men and women who have been forsaken and rejected by their parents. Together, they suffer indignities and must deal with physical and mental anguish every day. But together, they also bring each the comfort of their friendship and support. We also meet the staff of the clinic, lead by the villainous Dr. Rutherbor, whose motivation for creating this facility is as corrupt and vile as you would imagine.
A Safe Place With You is not a happy story, which you should all expect, given the subject matter. But at its core, it really is a story about love and learning to accept yourself. Its message is actually quite heavy-handed and at times I found it a bit distracting from the overall narrative. This novel very clearly aims to educate readers about the horrors of sexual conversion therapy, and has a very explicit message and agenda. I obviously support the message, but at times, the characters seemed more like mouthpieces used to relay this message. As a result, the dialogue didn't always sound very natural, it sounded didactic and like a speech.
But this is a minor gripe because the ideas the novel is trying to express are incredibly important. I think this book may be best appreciated by young readers who are trying to understand themselves, and who need a kind and relatable voice to guide them through these tough and confusing years. I would have loved to read this book when I was a teenager who felt lost and isolated. The messages of self-acceptance and finding value in your authentic self certainly would have been a blessing to my ears.
The copy I read was an eARC, which means that it was probably not in its final draft. I try to overlook errors and typos for ARCS, but there were quite a few scattered throughout the entire novel, so it detracted from my enjoyment a little bit. Also, the original story was written in Spanish and what I read was the first translation. Some of the language was awkward and I expect it to be straightened out for its final print.
While I did have some issues with this novel, I did enjoy the story and recommend it to everyone, especially if you like reading #ownvoices LGBT fiction. The story reads very quickly, is filled with interesting and complex characters, and carries a powerful and important message that every young person should hear.
February 16, 2016
So this book! Man! Where to start?
I was just lucky enough to get an ARC of it.
This book left me speechless! With a sad smile on my face.
Because of the fact that it was written in third person, you just got to know every single character better! With their feelings and thoughts they had. And that was so well done! Sadly I had some struggles with those pov's first but that was because I normally read those typical "I" books.
So we follow some young people who aren't straight. We get to know their storys and how it got to the point that they were send to the clinic. And one of the main characters was Tomás Díaz. The book basicly started with him and ended while his story continued(well kind of). It was so painful to read some parts of that book! Expecially the last chapters - I was really touched and shocked by what an awful place this clinic was and how awful those people there were! But it was also interesting to know that something like that was really the point back in the '80/'90s there. I mean today it is kind of normal to be homosexual - well at least in some countries.
But yes the whole storyline was just so unique and amazing!
So a totally recommendation for everyone!
I was just lucky enough to get an ARC of it.
This book left me speechless! With a sad smile on my face.
Because of the fact that it was written in third person, you just got to know every single character better! With their feelings and thoughts they had. And that was so well done! Sadly I had some struggles with those pov's first but that was because I normally read those typical "I" books.
So we follow some young people who aren't straight. We get to know their storys and how it got to the point that they were send to the clinic. And one of the main characters was Tomás Díaz. The book basicly started with him and ended while his story continued(well kind of). It was so painful to read some parts of that book! Expecially the last chapters - I was really touched and shocked by what an awful place this clinic was and how awful those people there were! But it was also interesting to know that something like that was really the point back in the '80/'90s there. I mean today it is kind of normal to be homosexual - well at least in some countries.
But yes the whole storyline was just so unique and amazing!
So a totally recommendation for everyone!
February 20, 2016
Mientras escribía la reseña, me he dado cuenta de que es más un 2 en lugar del 2,5 que le di inicialmente.
Un libro que parte de una idea inicial muy novedosa e interesante, pero que en mi caso no ha terminado a convencerme, principalmente, por el estilo de narración.
RESEÑA COMPLETA: http://dedicadoalosdesvelados.blogspo...
Un libro que parte de una idea inicial muy novedosa e interesante, pero que en mi caso no ha terminado a convencerme, principalmente, por el estilo de narración.
RESEÑA COMPLETA: http://dedicadoalosdesvelados.blogspo...
April 29, 2016
Ralph Pullins' debut novel is a work of art. And like all works of art, people will either dismiss it as pretentious, or have something deep within themselves that becomes ignited, or some will not "get it" but still appreciate its wealth of angst, depth, existential life questions, and overall message. No matter their response, like all art, the artist - or in this case the author - will have done his job.
This story is about a lost, self destructive young art school drop out named Chris who is wandering around in life with nothing but his darkness. Fresh out of rehab, he does nothing but think. He is cynical, miserable and like an athlete who can't play his sport due to an egregious injury, Chris is an artist who can't art due to whatever injuries plaguing his mind. He can't create because he can't see beauty anymore, and whatever is determined to be beautiful by this world, he wants to destroy.
Throughout his tale, he looks for the highs (that don't involve substance abuse) that take him out of his pit of self pity, for a moment anyway - whether it be through inflicting pain upon himself or breaking things or associating himself with other miserable people or pushing people who care about him away - but he is never quite buying into it. He is so self righteous about the world and those who live in it and then so self destructive and full of crap at the same time that you don't know whether to slap him or hug him. Because when he's self righteous, he's right. And when he's full of crap, he's still right.
Ralph writes in stream of consciousness much of the time. Whether it be the thoughts in Chris' head or the dialogue between characters who have reached a certain level of understanding, it is an interesting peek into the rabbit trails that exist within creative minds. Ralph is a gifted writer and has a real eye for details and expression. The story is edgy and disturbing but the foundation of it is the base of pretty much every human being, no matter how lost one is. Throughout the story, you can see how his encounters with certain beautiful things keeps him tethered to his true nature. When Chris finally has his revelation, brought on by an ancient work of art, he is able to at last accept this simple life truth: It is in the living that we find the beauty and the beauty is in the living.
Outstanding debut. I look forward to reading more works by this author. I highly recommend it.
This story is about a lost, self destructive young art school drop out named Chris who is wandering around in life with nothing but his darkness. Fresh out of rehab, he does nothing but think. He is cynical, miserable and like an athlete who can't play his sport due to an egregious injury, Chris is an artist who can't art due to whatever injuries plaguing his mind. He can't create because he can't see beauty anymore, and whatever is determined to be beautiful by this world, he wants to destroy.
Throughout his tale, he looks for the highs (that don't involve substance abuse) that take him out of his pit of self pity, for a moment anyway - whether it be through inflicting pain upon himself or breaking things or associating himself with other miserable people or pushing people who care about him away - but he is never quite buying into it. He is so self righteous about the world and those who live in it and then so self destructive and full of crap at the same time that you don't know whether to slap him or hug him. Because when he's self righteous, he's right. And when he's full of crap, he's still right.
Ralph writes in stream of consciousness much of the time. Whether it be the thoughts in Chris' head or the dialogue between characters who have reached a certain level of understanding, it is an interesting peek into the rabbit trails that exist within creative minds. Ralph is a gifted writer and has a real eye for details and expression. The story is edgy and disturbing but the foundation of it is the base of pretty much every human being, no matter how lost one is. Throughout the story, you can see how his encounters with certain beautiful things keeps him tethered to his true nature. When Chris finally has his revelation, brought on by an ancient work of art, he is able to at last accept this simple life truth: It is in the living that we find the beauty and the beauty is in the living.
Outstanding debut. I look forward to reading more works by this author. I highly recommend it.
March 16, 2017
I am pretty conflicted with this one. It definitely is some much needed representation and discussion done well.
But on the other side I didn't really like reading this and not only because of the subject matter but because the kindle edition has very messed up formatting and the translation isn't really done well. Now I thought this was independently published at first but the Acknowledgments said something different. However the non-American author did a lot of the translation himself which I admire, so I think this gets 3.5 stars and a recommendation from me.
But on the other side I didn't really like reading this and not only because of the subject matter but because the kindle edition has very messed up formatting and the translation isn't really done well. Now I thought this was independently published at first but the Acknowledgments said something different. However the non-American author did a lot of the translation himself which I admire, so I think this gets 3.5 stars and a recommendation from me.
August 25, 2016
I was very lucky to receive this book as an ARC from the author and as a debut he has done wonderfully. You have to go into this knowing that English is not his first language so be fair. It was a tough one to read but also a must. I am very thankful that I was given this opportunity. Thank you Cesar, I'm sorry it took me so long to read and review this but I knew I would have to be prepared for this one and have no distractions to fully appreciate it.
I am so thankful to live in the place and age I do. It is by no means perfect and still less than accepting most of the time but I can't deny that I am lucky. It is just really unfortunate that we are also still talking/debating about LGBTQI rights in 2016. Basic human rights.
I read mainly HEA stories and I try to stay away from anything angsty so this was an anomaly for me. I wasn't disappointed. It was devastating in places and I had to read something fluffy afterwards but this was a worthy read. I cannot imagine living that life. To come out the other end would take so much strength and courage.
I won't go into the plot. It's obvious from the synopsis and other reviews. I would highly recommend it though. It made me want to hug my family. Books like this bring me back to earth. They give me a more appreciate view of my life and the trivial events happening around me.
Give this a go.
I am so thankful to live in the place and age I do. It is by no means perfect and still less than accepting most of the time but I can't deny that I am lucky. It is just really unfortunate that we are also still talking/debating about LGBTQI rights in 2016. Basic human rights.
I read mainly HEA stories and I try to stay away from anything angsty so this was an anomaly for me. I wasn't disappointed. It was devastating in places and I had to read something fluffy afterwards but this was a worthy read. I cannot imagine living that life. To come out the other end would take so much strength and courage.
I won't go into the plot. It's obvious from the synopsis and other reviews. I would highly recommend it though. It made me want to hug my family. Books like this bring me back to earth. They give me a more appreciate view of my life and the trivial events happening around me.
Give this a go.
June 4, 2016
3.5
Un poco didáctico en lugares, pero la historia es muy cautivadora. No sabía nada sobre esas clinicas, fue una educación leer este libro. Tengo curiosidad para leer la nueva traducción en inglés (A Safe Place with You).
Algo que no me gustó fue que la mayoría de los personajes hablan en la misma manera - los diálogos son muy similares, no hay gran variedad en como se expresan.
------
A little didactic in place, but the story is very engaging. I didn't know anything about those clinics, it was an education to read this book. I'm curious to read the new English translation.
Something I didn't like was that most of the characters talk the same way - the dialogues are very similar, there's not a big variety in how they express themselves.
Un poco didáctico en lugares, pero la historia es muy cautivadora. No sabía nada sobre esas clinicas, fue una educación leer este libro. Tengo curiosidad para leer la nueva traducción en inglés (A Safe Place with You).
Algo que no me gustó fue que la mayoría de los personajes hablan en la misma manera - los diálogos son muy similares, no hay gran variedad en como se expresan.
------
A little didactic in place, but the story is very engaging. I didn't know anything about those clinics, it was an education to read this book. I'm curious to read the new English translation.
Something I didn't like was that most of the characters talk the same way - the dialogues are very similar, there's not a big variety in how they express themselves.
dnf
June 12, 2018I'm going to put this book down because I'm finding myself skimming it at this point and I don't think it's fair for me to not take everything in then rate it poorly at the end after not giving it my full attention.
I was really looking forward to reading this book. It's set in Ecuador (I've never read anything set there before) and focuses on a clinic that 'cures' homosexuality. I've never read about clinics like this outside the UK or US so I was interested to see another country's history with this subject. This novel definitely has potential, but I think it falls down in a few places. These are mostly issues with the publisher rather than the author himself.
Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, because I don't know much about this book, but I believe it is translated by the author into English. Because of this I think the translation isn't as great as I've read in the past, or as I would expect it to be from a publishing house. There's a ton of grammatical errors, words in the wrong places, words missing from the right places, things that are to be expected from someone who isn't a professional translator doing this job. It also makes it seem like there was no proofreading or editor involved. Maybe there wasn't but again, from a publishing house I would expect there to have been. With a few tweaks this book could be gut wrenching, but as it is it held me at a distance. The translation is a little jarring at times which isn't a huge deal for me, but some of the errors are things I would have expected to see in an ARC but not a finished copy.
The format of the Kindle edition is shocking, also. The spacing is super big for some reason and there's about four different sizes of font. I've had to mess with the font size so much to get it to a point I can read it.
Despite all of this I really think that this book could be good. Like I said, the author makes some good points. There are a few passages in this already that I loved and I'm not even halfway through. The dialogue a bit off and it's clear that the characters are mouthpieces for the author's own thoughts, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Again, with a good editor to tweak this, it would be much better.
Ultimately, I think that this is probably worth dedicating the time to read properly, and right now I'm not in the right frame of mind to do that. This is an important story to tell and I appreciate what the author is trying to do here, but it just isn't for me right now. I think if Cesar L. Baquerizo released something else (possibly through another publisher) I would still pick it up, but I just can't get through this one unfortunately.
I was really looking forward to reading this book. It's set in Ecuador (I've never read anything set there before) and focuses on a clinic that 'cures' homosexuality. I've never read about clinics like this outside the UK or US so I was interested to see another country's history with this subject. This novel definitely has potential, but I think it falls down in a few places. These are mostly issues with the publisher rather than the author himself.
Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, because I don't know much about this book, but I believe it is translated by the author into English. Because of this I think the translation isn't as great as I've read in the past, or as I would expect it to be from a publishing house. There's a ton of grammatical errors, words in the wrong places, words missing from the right places, things that are to be expected from someone who isn't a professional translator doing this job. It also makes it seem like there was no proofreading or editor involved. Maybe there wasn't but again, from a publishing house I would expect there to have been. With a few tweaks this book could be gut wrenching, but as it is it held me at a distance. The translation is a little jarring at times which isn't a huge deal for me, but some of the errors are things I would have expected to see in an ARC but not a finished copy.
The format of the Kindle edition is shocking, also. The spacing is super big for some reason and there's about four different sizes of font. I've had to mess with the font size so much to get it to a point I can read it.
Despite all of this I really think that this book could be good. Like I said, the author makes some good points. There are a few passages in this already that I loved and I'm not even halfway through. The dialogue a bit off and it's clear that the characters are mouthpieces for the author's own thoughts, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Again, with a good editor to tweak this, it would be much better.
Ultimately, I think that this is probably worth dedicating the time to read properly, and right now I'm not in the right frame of mind to do that. This is an important story to tell and I appreciate what the author is trying to do here, but it just isn't for me right now. I think if Cesar L. Baquerizo released something else (possibly through another publisher) I would still pick it up, but I just can't get through this one unfortunately.
Read
April 8, 2016 A Safe Place With You is a book that truly let's you in to a world unvisited by most. Unless you fit into the category of LGBTQI. I didn't even know there was an "I" to add- so it's true, you learn something new! (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning and Intersex) Anyway, the author, César L. Baquerizo has done his homework. He's also an open book, sharing the most intricate of experiences in his life, as well as the perspicacity of others.
The story, A Safe Place with You, is about Tomás. He is gay and recently come "Out of the closet". He also lives in Ecuador during a time when homosexuality is viewed as a mental illness and not a way of life. His home is distraught and no one knows what to say, so they say nothing, which is an equivalent of anything harshly spoken. While alone one afternoon, Tomás hears about neighborhood boy who'd committed suicide after trying to cope with being gay and loved by family. This news announcement sends Tomás to the young man's house, where he breaks into the home and finds something so precious, so resplendent, he goes on a spiritual journey.
Leaning totally on faith and knowledge, Tomás reads bibles, articles and clings tot he words of people like Harvey Milk, Alan Turig and even Ellen Degeneres. People who were open and honest about who they were and how they felt about life and where they'd stand on it all. They inspired Tomás, but just as he was prepared to make a true stand, he's sent away. To a place that also sees homosexuality as a disease, a sin and a side affect of issues such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. This is where the story truly takes flight.
First, I must say, I struggled with the reading of this book. Not because it was poorly written or because it was initially written in another language, then translated to be shared with the world. No, nothing so simple in the scheme of things. It worked at my conscience and my own faith. The story gives the perspectives of everyone in it, yet distant enough to not show any favoritism towards any one character, other than Tomás. With this detachment, I found myself angry at characters and totally not liking others.
*For full review: http://bit.ly/1Txr1rB
**Book was provided by author for an honest review.
The story, A Safe Place with You, is about Tomás. He is gay and recently come "Out of the closet". He also lives in Ecuador during a time when homosexuality is viewed as a mental illness and not a way of life. His home is distraught and no one knows what to say, so they say nothing, which is an equivalent of anything harshly spoken. While alone one afternoon, Tomás hears about neighborhood boy who'd committed suicide after trying to cope with being gay and loved by family. This news announcement sends Tomás to the young man's house, where he breaks into the home and finds something so precious, so resplendent, he goes on a spiritual journey.
Leaning totally on faith and knowledge, Tomás reads bibles, articles and clings tot he words of people like Harvey Milk, Alan Turig and even Ellen Degeneres. People who were open and honest about who they were and how they felt about life and where they'd stand on it all. They inspired Tomás, but just as he was prepared to make a true stand, he's sent away. To a place that also sees homosexuality as a disease, a sin and a side affect of issues such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. This is where the story truly takes flight.
First, I must say, I struggled with the reading of this book. Not because it was poorly written or because it was initially written in another language, then translated to be shared with the world. No, nothing so simple in the scheme of things. It worked at my conscience and my own faith. The story gives the perspectives of everyone in it, yet distant enough to not show any favoritism towards any one character, other than Tomás. With this detachment, I found myself angry at characters and totally not liking others.
*For full review: http://bit.ly/1Txr1rB
**Book was provided by author for an honest review.
June 10, 2016
[I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review]
One human rights issue that I can’t believe we’re still talking about are LGBT rights. To me it’s obvious that people should be able to love whoever they want without being judged by individuals, societies or religious institutions and I can’t believe that this fight wasn’t won hundreds of years ago. Yet suicide rates are higher among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning than the general population, and there are still people who believe that being gay is cure-able.
And that is what this book is about. It’s set to Ecuador during the late 1980s, before the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from their list of mental illnesses and diseases and when it was illegal to be openly gay in Ecuador. We follow our main character, Tomás Díaz, as he is admitted to a treatment centre to be “cured” for his homosexuality. The story is about Tomás, his new friends in the treatment centre and their everyday lives which are filled with doubts, fear, sadness, friendships, humour, happiness and love. Integrated in the story are intelligent, reflective dialogs about religion and homosexuality, some surprises and an interesting bunch of characters where you are bound to find (at least) one you’ll love.
The story appealed to me because it showed me a new perspective of religious traditions and homosexuality. I’ve never been to Ecuador, and I’ve never been involved with a highly religious environment as described in this book. I also think I went through all the emotions I have during this reading experience – I was angry, disappointed, proud, laughing and happy during these pages. You can tell that the author is personally engaged in the issues that are brought up, which made the book greatly captivating, at least to me.
So if you’re interested in the combination of religion and LGBT issues, or you’re just interested in reading a captivating story, you’ll probably enjoy this one!
One human rights issue that I can’t believe we’re still talking about are LGBT rights. To me it’s obvious that people should be able to love whoever they want without being judged by individuals, societies or religious institutions and I can’t believe that this fight wasn’t won hundreds of years ago. Yet suicide rates are higher among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning than the general population, and there are still people who believe that being gay is cure-able.
And that is what this book is about. It’s set to Ecuador during the late 1980s, before the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from their list of mental illnesses and diseases and when it was illegal to be openly gay in Ecuador. We follow our main character, Tomás Díaz, as he is admitted to a treatment centre to be “cured” for his homosexuality. The story is about Tomás, his new friends in the treatment centre and their everyday lives which are filled with doubts, fear, sadness, friendships, humour, happiness and love. Integrated in the story are intelligent, reflective dialogs about religion and homosexuality, some surprises and an interesting bunch of characters where you are bound to find (at least) one you’ll love.
The story appealed to me because it showed me a new perspective of religious traditions and homosexuality. I’ve never been to Ecuador, and I’ve never been involved with a highly religious environment as described in this book. I also think I went through all the emotions I have during this reading experience – I was angry, disappointed, proud, laughing and happy during these pages. You can tell that the author is personally engaged in the issues that are brought up, which made the book greatly captivating, at least to me.
So if you’re interested in the combination of religion and LGBT issues, or you’re just interested in reading a captivating story, you’ll probably enjoy this one!
June 4, 2016
I was sent an eARC from the author for an honest review.
This book was quite an overwhelming read and the reason why it took me so long to write this. It focuses on a time when homosexuality was regarded as a disease and the harsh and cruel ways people attempted to ‘cure it’. What makes this book even harder to read is the fact that it is not merely fictional but based on real clinics that shockingly some are still open to this very day.
Living in a country where LGBTQI rights, gender identity and intersex protection laws are of the highest standard, made it harder for me to process certain scenes in this book and I’m thankful to have been made aware of them.
The story is more character driven than anything else which I think allows the reader to connect more with them and focus on their growth throughout the story. I usually enjoy books with multiple perspectives but I didn’t find it necessary in this book seeing how there were too many characters to keep up with and it was very confusing at times. I always find that multiple povs work best when dealing with two/three characters.
The book focuses more on dialogue rather than descriptions which I found very annoying, maybe because I prefer books that provide me with a clear picture of what I’m reading. Also the dialogue felt stilted and very unrealistic. At time it felt like I was reading a textbook that was providing me with too much information in a few sentences and this is one of the reasons why I didn’t really connect fully with the characters. Having said that, this book allowed the reader full access to the character’s thoughts and feelings which was very effective in showing how this mistreatment affected them.
I have to applaud the author for the way he brought to light the disgusting ways people treated homosexuality. People should me made more aware of this because unfortunately prejudice still remain in many countries. Also this book spreads the message of love and hope quite beautifully which I think is the most important message that it can send to all the readers.
This book was quite an overwhelming read and the reason why it took me so long to write this. It focuses on a time when homosexuality was regarded as a disease and the harsh and cruel ways people attempted to ‘cure it’. What makes this book even harder to read is the fact that it is not merely fictional but based on real clinics that shockingly some are still open to this very day.
Living in a country where LGBTQI rights, gender identity and intersex protection laws are of the highest standard, made it harder for me to process certain scenes in this book and I’m thankful to have been made aware of them.
The story is more character driven than anything else which I think allows the reader to connect more with them and focus on their growth throughout the story. I usually enjoy books with multiple perspectives but I didn’t find it necessary in this book seeing how there were too many characters to keep up with and it was very confusing at times. I always find that multiple povs work best when dealing with two/three characters.
The book focuses more on dialogue rather than descriptions which I found very annoying, maybe because I prefer books that provide me with a clear picture of what I’m reading. Also the dialogue felt stilted and very unrealistic. At time it felt like I was reading a textbook that was providing me with too much information in a few sentences and this is one of the reasons why I didn’t really connect fully with the characters. Having said that, this book allowed the reader full access to the character’s thoughts and feelings which was very effective in showing how this mistreatment affected them.
I have to applaud the author for the way he brought to light the disgusting ways people treated homosexuality. People should me made more aware of this because unfortunately prejudice still remain in many countries. Also this book spreads the message of love and hope quite beautifully which I think is the most important message that it can send to all the readers.
March 4, 2016
I got an ARC of this book and I was really excited because it was my first one. I'm an avid reader, but usually too lazy to write up reviews or build up a blog or Instagram so I was lucky that the author sent me the book (thanks, Cesar!)
The story immediately caught my eye which is why I wanted to read it and contacted the author. It's an LGBT debut novel about people in conversion therapy in a time when homosexuality was illegal and was actually considered a disease. I've read very few LGBT books and even fewer by South American authors (in fact this was my first one!) and I really liked reading about a culture and society I'm not familiar with and a history I know nothing about. The author describes it as a suspense, romance, and psychological drama and it definitely fits in all those genres!
The story moves quickly which I really liked and it's helped by the multiple characters so you get different POVs. The only downside is after I would take a break from reading I would forget the backstory of the character I was on. But another page and I would remember and be back in the story.
The author is very passionate about this topic and it shows in his writing which I love! Sometimes the wording was a bit odd, but I've found that in every translated book I've read so I think it just comes with translating a book into another language.
I already recommended this book (as an ARC) to some friends so I hope more people take the opportunity to read this book. It's a beautiful, sad, important story that deserves to be read!
The story immediately caught my eye which is why I wanted to read it and contacted the author. It's an LGBT debut novel about people in conversion therapy in a time when homosexuality was illegal and was actually considered a disease. I've read very few LGBT books and even fewer by South American authors (in fact this was my first one!) and I really liked reading about a culture and society I'm not familiar with and a history I know nothing about. The author describes it as a suspense, romance, and psychological drama and it definitely fits in all those genres!
The story moves quickly which I really liked and it's helped by the multiple characters so you get different POVs. The only downside is after I would take a break from reading I would forget the backstory of the character I was on. But another page and I would remember and be back in the story.
The author is very passionate about this topic and it shows in his writing which I love! Sometimes the wording was a bit odd, but I've found that in every translated book I've read so I think it just comes with translating a book into another language.
I already recommended this book (as an ARC) to some friends so I hope more people take the opportunity to read this book. It's a beautiful, sad, important story that deserves to be read!
April 3, 2016
It was truly an amazing story. The story was very serious, emotional, but also inspirational. I was very moved by its message and meaning, he wrote it as so if you were their with Tomàs and the other characters; I really connected to each one of them. It was very well written and each character's story was tragic, but also moving on the ways they had to deal with what they were dealt. this story gives a good prospective of how both sides thought and felt. at times, I was very disgusted and outraged by what the ignorant characters would say and how they felt about homosexuality. then we were shown what it was like for the people that had to deal with these prejudice views; we were shown how it affected them and their thoughts and it was very touching. but with all the difficult issues and the miss unfortunate happenings, this story is filled with hope. I love that this story showed both. I , personally haven't read a book quite like this and it wasn't what I expected when I started to read this, but it was better than what I could of expected. I'm glad that this story exists and that I got to read it; I very much enjoyed it. plus, the Author is really exceptional himself; read his bio and acknowledgments. I was contacted through a Media source one day; i assume randomly; where he explained little about his self, what he stands for and how hard he worked for his story to become a book. I suggest everyone to read it!
May 20, 2016
This book is one of the better exercises in character study that I have read in quite awhile. You get to feel each changing emotion in the protagonist, Chris, and it is done so through the action, narration and conversations that the author puts him through. It was brilliantly crafted and not a lot of novels these days let you feel what a character is feeling, specifically apathetics. I should say an emerging apathetic. Chris once had aspirations, but those are stripped away from him.
One of the best parts of this book, for me, was when you saw the caring side of Chris starting to re-emerge with his interactions with the poor, neglected, little girl named Christina. These scenes were brilliant and drove characterization of Chris even further from the depths of hell into a solidified human being and strengthened his character to the point that he was healing. He was beginning to feel again. Without the aids of drugs, alcohol or cutting.
In Ralph's debut effort, I think he nailed the voice of the bored suburban kid who feels broken. It reminds me of those great Indie films of the 90s. One of my favorite lines from the book was, "maybe sometimes the greatest art comes from abnormality." To me, this sums the entire novel and speaks to the generation that Chris belongs.
I highly recommend this read to anyone that would listen. There's some poignant shit in there.
One of the best parts of this book, for me, was when you saw the caring side of Chris starting to re-emerge with his interactions with the poor, neglected, little girl named Christina. These scenes were brilliant and drove characterization of Chris even further from the depths of hell into a solidified human being and strengthened his character to the point that he was healing. He was beginning to feel again. Without the aids of drugs, alcohol or cutting.
In Ralph's debut effort, I think he nailed the voice of the bored suburban kid who feels broken. It reminds me of those great Indie films of the 90s. One of my favorite lines from the book was, "maybe sometimes the greatest art comes from abnormality." To me, this sums the entire novel and speaks to the generation that Chris belongs.
I highly recommend this read to anyone that would listen. There's some poignant shit in there.
April 27, 2016
So where to start? First I can't believe its taken me this long to review! I've actually had the honor of meeting and getting to know the author of this AMAZING novel. I got to read one of the earlier drafts, and to see its final (English Translated) form now is beautiful.
Throughout reading this novel, I've found that it's truly a story of love, self-discovery, and human acceptance. Or maybe more so about a group of people who dare to live and love their truth through adversity. In these characters we see the good and ugliness of humanity. I felt so many range of emotions from heartbreak, anger, and then happiness. As the reader, you feel right there with them. Through finding first love, accepting who you are, enduring through horrific abuses, and defying the status quo. These characters are something special- Tomas, Sebastian, Mateo, Fabricio, Susan, and Johana, and so many others. The author truly makes these characters come to life, and through them a much larger voice of defiance is heard. A Safe Place With You is a remarkable piece of work.
Throughout reading this novel, I've found that it's truly a story of love, self-discovery, and human acceptance. Or maybe more so about a group of people who dare to live and love their truth through adversity. In these characters we see the good and ugliness of humanity. I felt so many range of emotions from heartbreak, anger, and then happiness. As the reader, you feel right there with them. Through finding first love, accepting who you are, enduring through horrific abuses, and defying the status quo. These characters are something special- Tomas, Sebastian, Mateo, Fabricio, Susan, and Johana, and so many others. The author truly makes these characters come to life, and through them a much larger voice of defiance is heard. A Safe Place With You is a remarkable piece of work.
April 22, 2016
Life is hard, isn’t it? But it’s also survivable. Ralph Pullins has written a painful and honest story that is a must read for anyone suffering from any addiction, and, I think, especially for those who don’t understand addiction, but are living near someone who is suffering from drugs, alcohol, or whatever that destroys.
Beyond the value this book provides to those experiencing addition, it holds value in that it captures the feelings of men who believe they should be doing more, but have lost their way. This is a common issue that creates guilt and confusion, and this is yet another reason this novel holds value. It will increase the understanding of young men who are lost.
Good stories help us to understand other lives, and they help us to understand ourselves. Antiartists helps us understand both. This story captures our time. It is a must read.
Beyond the value this book provides to those experiencing addition, it holds value in that it captures the feelings of men who believe they should be doing more, but have lost their way. This is a common issue that creates guilt and confusion, and this is yet another reason this novel holds value. It will increase the understanding of young men who are lost.
Good stories help us to understand other lives, and they help us to understand ourselves. Antiartists helps us understand both. This story captures our time. It is a must read.
May 19, 2017
So this book. Wow.
First, let me just say I almost didn't finish this book. It doesn't have anything to do with the caliber of the writing, but for whatever reason the beginning was hard for me to invest in. I didn't see myself connecting with the main character. He was clearly broken and had a lot of self-value issues, and normally that's not really something I do well with (I mean, stuff like that makes me sad, and I'm the queen of sparkles--I don't like being sad), but I stuck it out.
And OH MY GOD. Guys, this is why I hardly ever DNF books.
After I made it through the rough patch up front (I'll call it a fight between my personality and the MC's), THIS BOOK.
This book is made for artists. Painters, sculptors, writers, dancers, whatever. If you are a creator, this book is undoubtedly for you. Mr. Pullins clearly understands the heart of an artists (after all, he is one himself) and the way he is able to portray it in a raw, broken character is astounding. There were lines in the book that I read that I felt were perfectly tailored for me and by the end of the story I was rooting for this character that I wanted to smack across the face in the beginning.
So thank you, Mr. Pullins, for this anti-perfect story. It was exactly what I needed right now.
It was beautiful.
First, let me just say I almost didn't finish this book. It doesn't have anything to do with the caliber of the writing, but for whatever reason the beginning was hard for me to invest in. I didn't see myself connecting with the main character. He was clearly broken and had a lot of self-value issues, and normally that's not really something I do well with (I mean, stuff like that makes me sad, and I'm the queen of sparkles--I don't like being sad), but I stuck it out.
And OH MY GOD. Guys, this is why I hardly ever DNF books.
After I made it through the rough patch up front (I'll call it a fight between my personality and the MC's), THIS BOOK.
This book is made for artists. Painters, sculptors, writers, dancers, whatever. If you are a creator, this book is undoubtedly for you. Mr. Pullins clearly understands the heart of an artists (after all, he is one himself) and the way he is able to portray it in a raw, broken character is astounding. There were lines in the book that I read that I felt were perfectly tailored for me and by the end of the story I was rooting for this character that I wanted to smack across the face in the beginning.
So thank you, Mr. Pullins, for this anti-perfect story. It was exactly what I needed right now.
It was beautiful.
April 18, 2016
A Safe Place With You was a serious eye opening experience.Through out my life my knowledge of the LGBTQ+ has progressively gotten more advanced throughout my years.I knew they were treated badly and people were put in hospitals and disowned and shunned by their loved ones but ready this book truly shows you how bad things really were.The book truly shows the way people were treated and opens your eyes to this whole new world.It truly makes you glad that the world were in today is getting better with acceptance and love. The book follows multiple characters in this clinic.You truly get to know this characters and watch them grow and learn to love themselves for everything they are.I don't want to give too much away but the end of this book left me shocked with a kind of happy/sad feeling (and I wont lie,I did cry a bit).I highly recommend this book for people in and outside the LGBTQ+ community!
August 5, 2016
The harrowing experience of being tossed into an antigay 're-education' camp to remove homosexuality is given a darkly dramatic treatment in Baqerizo's partial roman-a-clef. Spiteful, overtly Catholic and vengeful people, including his family, abuse and abandon Tomas. He finds love, but it's a dangerous hope in this Ecuador version of the fraudulent 'ex-gay therapy' that pervades U.S. communities as well.
While the message is important, it was difficult to endure the religious idiocy and violence portrayed in the story. Yes, this goes on, and must be stopped. But the prose, all written in present tense, is mostly dialogue. The edition I received is also formatted with large type and a lot of formatting problems. An important message penned with heart, hopefully it will change minds, despite its literary flaws.
While the message is important, it was difficult to endure the religious idiocy and violence portrayed in the story. Yes, this goes on, and must be stopped. But the prose, all written in present tense, is mostly dialogue. The edition I received is also formatted with large type and a lot of formatting problems. An important message penned with heart, hopefully it will change minds, despite its literary flaws.
June 14, 2016
The author sent me this book so that I could give a honest review and this is it.
I loved the book.. I loved the characters and the story. What made this book a 4 star instead of 5 is the language was abit weird at times.. And the beginning felt abit like a history lesson at school and I also think the end part was abit to long. This book is about a theme I have never read about before and I admit it was a bit difficult to get into in the beginning but once I got into it.. It sucked me in. I will be writing a longer review on my blog
I loved the book.. I loved the characters and the story. What made this book a 4 star instead of 5 is the language was abit weird at times.. And the beginning felt abit like a history lesson at school and I also think the end part was abit to long. This book is about a theme I have never read about before and I admit it was a bit difficult to get into in the beginning but once I got into it.. It sucked me in. I will be writing a longer review on my blog
May 3, 2016
Reading allows us to see other lives. It lets us learn about other cultures that are different from our own. But reading also brings humanity closer, because it shows us where we are the same. As an American, I saw where America has gone wrong and were it has done right. As a Christian, I was reminded that the most important thing is love. This books should be read so that we will better know those who are different from us, and so that we will better know ourselves, and how we are all really alike. This book should be read so that we will end persecution of people who follow love over laws.
February 28, 2018
Such a stunning story with well-buildt characters :)
It's a story that hooked me since the beginning and made my feelings go through a lot of emotions, the one that keeps remaining is desperation because I know that stories like these, keep happeing nowadays in some places.
Thank you César for the ARC two years ago, I'm totally sure that one day soon I'll buy your book :)
It's a story that hooked me since the beginning and made my feelings go through a lot of emotions, the one that keeps remaining is desperation because I know that stories like these, keep happeing nowadays in some places.
Thank you César for the ARC two years ago, I'm totally sure that one day soon I'll buy your book :)
April 7, 2017
Exceptional
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews