Review: The Front Runner by Patricia Nell Warren

First published in 1974, The Front Runner raced to international acclaim - the first novel about gay love to become popular with mainstream.
In 1975, coach Harlan Brown is hiding from his past at an obscure New York college, after he was fired from Penn State University on suspicion of being gay. A tough, lonely ex-Marine of 39, Harlan has never allowed himself to love another man.

Then Billy Sive, a brilliant young runner, shows up on his doorstep. He and his two comrades, Vince Matti and Jacques LaFont, were just thrown off a major team for admitting they are gay. Harlan knows that, with proper training, Billy could go to the '76 Olympics in Montreal. He agrees to coach the three boys under strict conditions that thwart Billy's growing attraction for his mature but compelling mentor. The lean, graceful frontrunner with gold-rim glasses sees directly into Harlan's heart. Billy's gentle and open acceptance of his sexuality makes Harlan afraid to confront either the pain of his past, or the challenges which lay in wait if their intimacy is exposed.

But when Coach Brown finds himself falling in love with his most gifted athlete, he must combat his true feelings for Billy or risk the outrage of the entire sports world - and their only chance at Olympic gold.

So today I am bringing you a review of a vintage book. Written in the 1970's, I think this book should be read by everyone. This review has previously been published on Goodreads.

Warning this review contains spoilers, not of the story but of the type of ending

 I read this book on the recommendation of my brother, he says it is his favourite book and I can see why. The first thing I would say is don't read this if you want an easy read - though beautifully written, nothing about this book is easy. It is however heartbreaking.

This book reads so like an actual auto-biography, I had to check that it was indeed fiction. Written from the first person perspective of Harlan Brown, it tells us of his uneasy acknowledgement and eventual acceptance of his sexuality in the late 50's to 70's.
Brought up as a man of strict religion and 'high moral code' this ex-marine has a hard time accepting that he is gay. The one passion in his life he is able to indulge is running, it is while he coaches track at college that he meets the love of his life Billy Sive.

This story is about the fight for human rights. Simply because he is gay Billy, a supremely talented athlete, and Harlan have to fight every step of the way to be able to compete at athletic meets and eventually the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. It is also about an athlete's personal fight to be able to give the best performance they can. And lastly, but most certainly not least, it is about love and fighting your own demons.

One of the things that struck me most when I read this is how,40 YEARS after this is set, some of the same issues are still occurring. In fact with the Russian winter Olympics around the corner and the current political stand of that country maybe it is time everybody read this book. Have no lessons been learnt in 4 decades? It is easy for me, in my safe, straight, white world to sit at home and write about this. I can cry as much as I like, I'm not the one made to suf

fer by small minded ignorance.

The fight that Harlan and Billy faced was made all the more poignant and difficult because they didn't want to fight. They wanted to love and run, it really wasn't asking for the world. I don't think they really even cared what people thought of them if only they were left alone. Aren't these rights we should all be allowed, whoever we are?

This book does not have a happy ending but I am not sorry I read it. Please everyone read this book.

Only Love by Garrett Leigh Teaser

The diagnosis of a chronic stomach condition leaves thirty-two-year-old Sergeant Jed Cooper with little choice but to call time on his Army career. Then on the dusty streets of Kirkuk, an ambush gone tragically wrong decimates his team, and he returns to the US with a shattered leg and the memory of his best friend dying in his arms.

Life in his sleepy hometown proves intolerable until he finds solace in a lakeside cabin with vivacious young carpenter, Max O’Dair. In the shadow of the epilepsy that periodically plagues Max, he and Jed form an unspoken bond. After a late night episode, Jed realizes how much Max means to him, and life has taught him not to waste time.

But the lines between contentment and complacency are blurred. Things left hidden resurface to tear through their world, and before they can repair the damage, death comes to call again. Faces, past and present, rally around them to weather the storm, but before long, they are left with only love.


We are lucky, lucky unicorns to be part of Garrett Leigh's blog tour for Only Love. I stayed up RIDICULOUSLY late/early to read this. There was no putting it down for me and I'll be posting my review as soon as I marinate in all the feelings a little more. In the meantime though, Garrett has been kind enough to share an excerpt, the beginning of Chapter 8 from Only Love.

Enjoy, I know you will!

Chapter Eight

The next couple weeks passed Jed by in a blur of painful physical therapy. Carla Valesco kept her promise to push him hard, and her sessions were tough—tougher than he’d ever imagined. He spent four days a week pushing his body to its absolute limits and the rest of his time putting it back together. His muscles burned and his bones ached, but he didn’t mind. For the first time in months, his pain was productive. And yet, despite significant progress, in his darker moments it was hard not to feel depressed by his body’s restrictions. He felt brittle and weak, like the man who had run cross-country with the weight of full combat kit was gone forever.

The onset of a bitter winter hadn’t helped. At first, the thin dusting of snow was beautiful. It brought with it a brief, awestruck calm, like man and beast were asleep, but the wet Oregon days weren’t cold enough to keep the world peacefully white for long. By day, the slush was halfhearted and wet, but at night it froze to perilous ice, and the real fear of falling unnerved Jed far more than he cared to admit. His saving grace was Max. Jed left the cabin each morning to find the yard cleared and the truck scraped. He was a little bemused by the unobtrusive care Max had decided to take of him, and he was grateful. Grateful and… something. It had been a long time since he’d been cared for by anyone, let alone another man. One of his buddies taking an extra patrol didn’t count. That was work. Max? Max was… fuck, Jed had no idea.

All he knew was he felt drawn to Max in a way he hadn’t felt since he met Paul. Back then, he’d been captivated by Paul’s easy ways and wicked humor, but despite his addictive, devilish grin and the unresolved complications between them, it wasn’t the same as the way Max’s gleaming eyes made his head spin. Some days it unsettled him to the point where he avoided Max, and yet others, he found he couldn’t get enough. He hadn’t decided which sort of day it was when he drifted out of the hospital one cold afternoon a week or so before Christmas to find Max perched on the back of his truck…


All I can say is, YES, the whole book is this good.

Review: Violence Begets by P.T. Denys

After a tragic accident devastates his family, 16-year-old Rick St. James starts his junior year of high school alone in a suburb of Salt Lake City, Utah. When he meets Kevin Vincent, he’s too distracted by the promise of new friends to see that Kevin has secrets of his own.

Having created an environment where he's feared and admired by his classmates, Kevin finds pleasure in using his good looks and violence to control and manipulate those around him. Secretly, he cruises the gay club scene, turning tricks to earn money so he can party and get high.

As Rick’s dad becomes increasingly violent and abusive at home, the two form a surprising and volatile trust. In this battle of wills, their precarious friendship will either keep their lives from blowing up around them or possibly light the fuse that will cause the explosion.

My initial reaction to this book -

I could not stop reading this book, it was brilliant and beautiful. It was also brutal and unbelievably sad and I won't forget it for a long time.

I may write a more extensive review once my head and heart have healed a little.

Well a week has passed but I'm still struggling to put into words how much I loved this book. Be warned, it is sad - it is more than sad, it's tragic - from the beginning to the end. Yet in the middle something beautiful blossoms. Have you ever seen a patch of weed with a pretty flower in the middle, well that is this book to me.

I'm not going to rehash the blurb or the story, there's no point. I will say at the start I HATED Kevin...just goes to show, don't judge a book by it's cover, or don't make assumptions til you know the full story. Yeah, it was one of those books that made you stop and think about your interactions and responses to people. Nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors. Instead of being preachy though, this story made me love the characters and because of that I felt every, single moment of their pain. Each and every one and it still hurts.

Not an easy read - but a must read. A real must read.