June Books: Bob Mould Rocks Out About His Life in Hüsker Dü

Bob Mould is an American musician, famous for being one of the founding members of Hüsker Dü. As the American Punk movement was taking shape in the late 70’s, Mould was there in the thick of it. A self-taught musician and producer, Mould has had a long and colorful career. He also happens to be gay.

In his new autobiography, See a Little Light: The Trail Of Rage And Melody, he gives us a peek at his astonishing life. This is a book that puts the proof in the old adage, “truth is stranger than fiction.” Because if this were a novel and I was reading about a character with Bob Mould’s history, I would find much of it hard to believe.

Mould writes about his early life, telling us about the dysfunctional home he grew up in. Strangely, for all that his father was emotionally, physically and psychologically abusive to his family, he seemed to dote on Bob, his youngest son. Instead of seeking to crush his son’s dream of becoming a musician, his father actually encouraged him.

Mould's story races along at a speed reminiscent of the songs of Hüsker Dü — not  entirely a good thing. Rather than a real heartfelt introspective about Mould's life, this autobiography reads more like a very long summation of 30 years in the music industry.

Nonetheless, it's a wonderful look into the world of punk rock and its origins. It’s even more extraordinary exploring this era through the eyes of a gay man. Probably the most surprising revelation is that while homosexuality wasn’t exactly celebrated in the punk world, it was accepted as long as you didn’t make a big issue of it.

Growing up a metal-head myself, I was under the impression gays weren’t welcome anywhere but at Elton John concerts. So I found the story of Mould picking up some punker with a mohawk at a concert and spending the night with him to be more than a little surprising.

See a Little Light covers the whole story of Hüsker Dü, from its humble origins scratching out a meager existence in dive bars and clubs that should have been condemned to its triumphant rise to the top of the punk scene to its sad conclusion when the group broke up. Mould places no blame for what happened to the band and makes no attempt to paint himself as either the hero or the victim here. Instead, he just lays out the facts and leaves it up to the reader to decide.

Readers also learn about what Mould's romantic life was like. Coming into adulthood as a gay man in the early 80’s meant that Mould's life was full of turmoil as he came to terms with being be gay in the era of AIDS and Ronald Reagan. Mould doesn't shy away from talking about his ignorance at the time about AIDS or gay culture, nor does he try to defend it. As for his actual love life, we don't get a lot of personal details. He tells us how he heard about AIDS and was scared to do random hook ups. According to him, he stopped having casual sex when he first heard about this "gay plague" and instead got into a committed relationship. Only once more information was available and that relationship ended some years later did he have that little fling with the mohawk-boy.

I found it amusing when Mould made references to how things worked back then, before the Internet and cell phones. There was a curmudgeonly feel to it that was rather endearing — like your elders saying, “back in my day…”

If you're a fan of Hüsker Dü, a fan of music in general or a lover of music history, you will find this to be an informative read. Yes, it’s a bit dry, lacking any real humor or poignancy, but it is chock full of facts and names and dates. And it still manages to be a wonderful story about Mould's search for an identity at a time when the music industry was changing, as well as his triumph over his family problems, and drug and alcohol abuse issues.

Just remember, when you start to read it, put your seat belt on, because he hits the gas from the first page and never lets off.

Brian Farrey is a new author who comes to us out of Wisconsin. His bio reveals to us in a wonderfully self-effacing way that he got his start in writing where a lot of writers begin — with fanfiction. I really like it when authors confess to that little guilty pleasure. It’s almost enough to make me overlook the fact that he named his cat Meowzebub.

Almost.

With Or Without You is Farrey's debut, and I have to say, in all honesty, I didn’t expect to like this young adult novel. I’m more into happy stories, and this is a tale of the painful process of self-acceptance. Making it even less accessible, the plot revolves around one of the main characters being lured into a club called “The Chasers,” which is a group of gay men who see HIV as a “gift.” This demented perspective on that horrible disease is, unfortunately, something that exists in our world. So while the story isn't an unrealistic to tell, it didn't give me hope for a fun and happy read.

The story kicks off with a severe gay bashing — severe enough that I think it can safely be called attempted murder — of the main character Evan and his best friend Davis. Both young men are set to graduate from high school the following day, and seemingly only a passing car saves them from a brutal and horrible death at the hands of their school’s wrestling team. Readers are then introduced to Evan’s indifferent parents who apparently don’t pay enough attention to him to even notice how severely he was beaten.

All of these plot elements created, for me, a tremendous obstacle to enjoying the story. And yet somehow, I did.

Evan has a wry, quirky sense of humor that makes him quite likable. While his parents are largely useless in terms of emotional support, he does have an older sister to whom he is very close.

But what really makes the story work is the positive, loving and nurturing relationship Evan has with his boyfriend Erik. The author effortlessly conveys the sincere emotional bond shared by these two young men.

Another interesting element to the story is the fact that while Evan is out, he refuses to tell anyone about Erik. It refreshing to see the story's tension come from a source other than the character’s fear of being found out as gay. In this case, he simply wants to keep his worlds separate.

Nonetheless, this segregation of the parts of his life is hard on his relationship with Erik. That tension only grows more pronounced as Evan's friend Davis becomes wholly consumed with becoming a Chaser. Davis’ need to belong somewhere leads him to believe all of the lies told to him by Sable, the leader of that club of idiots who think AIDS is a gift.  Once he realizes what the club is about, Evan wants nothing to do with them. Evan also desperately tries to save his friend from what he knows will be a horrifying mistake, but his focus on that problem causes him to fail to see how rocky things have gotten with Erik.

With Or Without You is exceptionally well written. Farrey doesn’t wallow in the angst of his subject matter, but rather lets the frightening and sad themes speak for themselves. The characters feel real and it is the honesty with which they are portrayed that I think makes this story so good. Nothing is simple here, which is how real life actually is. If you are looking for a good, serious read, then this is the book for you.

The last book I have to talk about is the latest Killian Kendall mystery by Josh Aterovis, entitled The Truth Of Yesterday. Aterovis, a former contributor to AfterElton.com, is a native of eastern Maryland, which is also where his main character lives.

This is the fourth book in the series, and if you haven’t read any of the previous installments, then be aware that you might find the beginning a little confusing. I know this, because having never read the others myself, I struggled to follow the story at the beginning. Sequels are always tricky for writers, because you don’t want to bog the returning reader down with too much summary of the previous books, but you want to make it possible for new readers to follow what's going on.

Aterovis sweeps through the introductory details like a hurricane through a Kansas trailer park and it’s a little dizzying. The sequence in which he provides these details is also peculiar. He first lets you know that Killian is in college. Then he introduces you to Killian’s employer and mentor — a private detective. After that, you get introduced to Killian’s boyfriend, and you are also informed that all is not well in that relationship.

As you are processing those details, the writer lets you know that Killian can also see ghosts, which to me seems like the most important thing of all.

Were it not for the wonderfully witty prose and the endearing qualities of Killian, I might have found all of that to be too much to get through. However, a wry sense of humor and some truly wonderful turns of phrase can bribe me into putting up with a lot.

That proved to be handy, as having an 18 year-old protagonist who is also an aspiring private detective who also has the power to see ghosts verges on overload.

Probably the most interesting aspect of this book is the philosophy that the author uses to mold his story. In his own words:

“We like to think of life as a story, complete with a nice neat beginning, middle, and end. Real life is seldom that orderly.”

So, the author’s somewhat chaotic method of storytelling combined with what seems like too much story for one book is more of a thematic choice. I’m not completely sold on this, but I do have to admire it.

The Truth Of Yesterday has our protagonist dealing with the pains of making his relationship with his boyfriend Micah work. They wind up going to Washington D.C. together and soon Killian discovers Micah’s previous lover was murdered. Killian has to look into that along with another case he has been asked to take.

This is a very busy book. I applaud any author who tries something new, but in this case I'm not entirely sure it works. Trying to put too many plots in one story inevitably results in none of those plots getting the attention they deserve.

That being said, I think Killian is a wonderfully engaging character and that alone makes this book worth reading. If you are a fan of the Killian Kendall mysteries, then I probably don’t even need to tell you to pick this one up. If you aren’t, well, I think you should probably read the other three first and then get this one.

I know I’m already putting those other three on my wish list.