Latter Days: A Novel by C. Jay Cox, T. Fabris Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Latter Days: A Novel
Book Review: Incredible love story
Summary: 5 Stars
Later Days by T Fabris, Based on the screenplay by C. J. Cox
This is the love story between Christian William Markelli, a West Hollywood pretty boy who takes a special pride in bending straight boys, and a Mormon man, Aaron Davis.
When a colony of four Mormons moves to Christian`s apartment complex, Christian notices that one of the Mormon boys is most likely a closeted gay. So Christian, his roommate, Julie Taylor, and his coworkers Andrew and Traci Levine; make a bet that Christian will/or will not get one of the Mormon boys in the sack. To prove his accomplishment Christian needs to produce their long Mormon underwear.
As their relationship progresses, Christian discovers that indeed Aaron is a closeted homosexual. But when Christian cuts himself gardening, Aaron has to take him inside the house because Christian faints at the site of blood. Their body proximity is intolerable for Aaron is outed by Christian. Unfortunately Aaron stops himself because Christian says that sex "does not have to mean anything." So Aaron insults Christian by asking him if he "believes in anything?" Christian can't answer the question and for the first time in his life Christian is confronted with the shallowness of his life and Aaron escapes unharmed, but wounded. He struggles with his feelings and finds comfort in the fact that "nothing happened."
To prove that he is not shallow, Christian starts volunteering feeding AIDS/HIV patients and meets Kevin who starts shaping a moral core in Christian. However, Aaron has a bicycle accident and Christian takes him inside and they finally kiss. Unfortunately this is witnessed by the other Mormons and Aaron is shipped home.
Christian feels terrible to the point that his patient, Kevin tells him that Christian looks worst than him. So Christian goes through the phone and find Aaron's home number. Christian talks to Gladys, Aaron's mother but she tells Christian that Aaron will never speak to him again. Aaron's father excommunicates his son and Gladys makes things worse by telling Aaron that Christian slept with him for a bet. This breaks Aaron and he tries to kill himself landing him in a clinic.
Meanwhile Julie has succeeded and is now a recorded singer. She gets into Christian's diary and copies Christian sorrowful verses as her new song.
Aaron had comforted Lila Montagne, who owned the establishment where Christian and all his friends worked as waiters, and Lila offers Aaron her card with a free meal. So when Aaron leaves the clinic and can't find Christian in L. A., he goes to Lila's where the final encounter occurs and the lover boys finally embrace and live happily ever after.
The movie was amazing--Later Days is a story about connection, romance, self discovery--revealing the desperate and sometimes heroic--things people do for love. The book is an easy great read.
Book Review: Latter Days by C. Jay Cox & T. Fabris
Summary: 5 Stars
Latter Days is basically the screenplay of the movie by the same title, directed by C. Jay Cox, who also wrote it. T. Fabris adapted the screenplay into a novels: usually the process is not simple, and not always the result is good. I loved the movie and so I tried to read the novel without playing too much the scenes in my mind as I saw them in the movie. I tried to understand if the book was good despite the movie, if the story could appeal someone that maybe hasn't seen the movie and pick up the book. I think it's good, the story is basically good and it's a nice romance. It's not an overtly erotic book, it's almost a sweet romance.
Christian is a very handsome gay guy... he is young, probably barely 20 years old, and he is doing nothing much than enjoy his life. I have the feeling that Christian has not money trouble, he has not a supporting family from a loving point of view, but I believe that he knows where to find an help if he needs it. He supports himself working as a waiter in an upperclass restaurant, owned by a former movie star, and his life style is up to his work. in the end, Christian is living in a perennial night party, changing partner every night and enjoying every minute of it.
Then in the apartment near him moves a Mormon congregation, 4 young guys. One of them is Aaron, All American good boy type of guy but with a secret... he enjoys life! He has a deep faith but he doesn't believe that loving God means judging other people, he actually likes his proselytism mission since he allows him to meet new people, but he would like to also listen to other people not only to tell them "their" story. Aaron also loves the old black and white movies and the cute boys... yes, Aaron is gay, even if he has never had the chance to "test" his preferences. And when he is thrown in the middle of a gay friendly neighborhood, he has many of them, the nearer of which represented by Christian.
Scorned when he brought the first friendly neighborly gift, Christian bets with his friends that he will seduce one of the young mormon boys, and obviously Aaron is the most likely candidate, since not only he is probably willing, but also since he is the only who talks with Christian. And here he proves how different he is from all the other guys Christian met, Aaron actually talks with him, he sees something other in Christian than a pretty boy [...] (one of Christian's friend tells him, you don't need to be deep, you are pretty! to give you an example of how was Christian's life before Aaron). The bet is soon forgotten and Christian starts to wonder if his life has a meaning, when, on the other side, Aaron start to question his faith, or better, the interpretation of faith that was taught to him.
Actually of the two men, Christian is the one that has more chance to come out from the page of the book. I have the strong feeling to have listened to Christian's mind, to his reason, and instead Aaron was a little more undertone. Maybe it's right like that, it's in their character, Christian is the butterfly and instead Aaron is the thinker; it's Christian's character that has to develop, Aaron is almost already at the end of his discovery path. And I found quite interesting that Christian did a sprint to reach Aaron in that journey and in the end, it was him that reach the finishing line as first, while Aaron practically withdraw from the "competition".
When I said that this is almost a sweet romance, I was referring to the fact that the sex is not the main purpose of the story. Christian lets aside his bet to really try to conquer Aaron, and they are basically the main characters of the story, but there are also a good parade of supporting characters and also a fairy godmother in the guise of Lila, the restaurant owner.
Book Review: Never saw the film
Summary: 3 Stars
I haven't seen the film but I do get the idea it would be better than the book. The POV shifts are distracting and the side-characters' slight developement added nothing to the plot. I wanted to read about Christian and Aaron, not Traci, Ryder and Keith. The overall story was nice and sweet but the ending seemed rushed and didn't ring very real to me. It looks from the reviews that the movie would be the better choice in this case.Book Review: Nice and entertaining with useful insights to Gay Mormons
Summary: 4 Stars
Several friends recommended the movie, but I could not find a copy. But I did find the book, and read it. It is a rather slender gay love story, endearing on its own terms, and pleasantly written. It definitely shows its roots as a movie script.
I at first thought the love story implausible, especially the fate of Aaron in dealing with his feelings about his church, until I did some research on the internet, and discovered the Mormon Affirmation web site and Mormon PFLAG. Aaron is lucky to have escaped a worse fate, and to have lived the happy ending in the book.
I have family who are Mormon, and as such am interested in the LDS Church and its teachings, not for myself, but to understand better. This book indeed filled in another piece of the puzzle. I would have hoped, however, that the Mormon background to the story might have been written about with more depth and research.
Book Review: OK, but ...
Summary: 2 Stars
It's not bad, but it certainly doesn't merit the enthusiasm shown by some reviewers. It's basically a conventional romance plot, with characters whose motivations are completely unbelievable (it's never explained why either of these guys has the slightest interest in the other except that "they just fell in love" and are drippingly hottalicious). If this were a heterosexual romance it would be completely unremarkable and hardly anyone would pay attention to it. I fail to understand how changing one character's sex makes anything special out of what would otherwise be a tired potboiler. People should demand something more interesting, and more inventive, from fiction.