Homebody

by Alex Dunkin, Andrew Crooks (Illustrations)

Aaron is a homemaker. He knows his domain. He's in charge of everything at home and he is perfect in his role until his marriage begins to falter. The distance between Aaron and his husband David plunges Aaron into a discovery of life and his body beyond the confines of his marriage. Aaron must decide if he will continue to experiment with his newfound pleasures or resist them and resign himself to the position of traditional homemaker. Featuring 17 illustrations and cover design by Andrew Crooks.

304 pages, Paperback

Published October 7, 2016

About the author

Alex is an Adelaide-based author, researcher and reviewer. He has a PhD in language, linguistics and literature from the University of South Australia focusing on Italian literature and initiating the movement of cannibale literature into a new cultural space. He has previously worked as a journalist for LGBT publications including Blaze magazine and Gay News Network and writes in a volunteer capacity as an arts critic for Glam Adelaide. He is a published author of fiction novels, creative short stories and poetry.

Alex's first novel, Coming Out Catholic, was published with Prizm Books in 2015. He has since released the novels Homebody and Fair Day.

Reviews

[Mel Bradley · Rating 2 out of 5]

***2 stars, but just barely 2.
The book blurb sounds like it would be interesting… a homemaker who’s in danger of losing everything, including his marriage. But honestly, I’m not even sure if that applies to the same book I just finished. “Homebody” centers around Aaron and his life as a homemaker, to start. But almost right away, everything gets WEIRD.

To start, apparently this book takes place in an alternate reality – which honestly isn’t a bad thing, but Dunkin does not mention or tell the reader this ever. You sorta guess it, but it’s weird and you’re unsure what is going on – especially as everything else is taking place in real time. Then, if that wasn’t weird enough, Aaron’s husband is all but absent in this story. Literally. He has no character development, he hardly talks, he’s in three scenes (that’s a guess – it could be slightly more or less), he is a non-entity. And while he is married to Aaron, that’s about where their bond begins and ends.

I don’t want to give too much away, but know this: this story tries to cover every single marriage taboo that has to do with sex (and the sex industry?). There is rampant adultery, multiple sex partners (I’ll let you make that conclusion), and total surface level life. I did finish this book, hence the 2 stars, but it never turned into anything with substance. I wanted to like this book, but it fell flat in every single way.

Review Copy of Homebody provided by Alex Dunkin for an honest Review.

[daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

In spite of the glaring typos, tacky metaphors (namely the script-flipping of minority oppression), and occasionally cringey and inauthentic dialogue - I was *immersed* in the world and characters of Dunkin’s creation.