Review: Three Books With Nothing in Common (Except They’re All Pretty Good)

Drama Queers! by Frank Anthony Polito (Kensington Books, $15): In Band Fags!, Polito’s hilariously-titled 2008 novel, we met Jack Paterno, a hapless teen smack in the mid-1980s trying furiously to deny that he’s gay, even as his fellow “band fag” Brad Dayton, who is both more flamboyant and more popular, tells him he’s only fooling himself.

What made Band Fags! stand out from the then-flood of gay teen novels were the oh-so-authentic voice of the main character, and the laugh-out-loud humor, especially – at least for those of us who grew up in the 80s – all those great 80s references.

In Drama Queers!, Polito is back, but not with a typical sequel. In this book, he tells the story from the point-of-view of Jack’s friend Brad during a period in Band Fags! when Jack and Brad are estranged.

Is Drama Queers! as good as Band Fags!? Well, it seemed a little contrived that Brad – the same guy who was so hard on closeted Jack in Band Fags! – wouldn’t have realized from the start that being openly gay in the 80s might impact his acting career. Then when he does have that realization, he decides he can’t pursue a relationship with a hot guy (even as he’s working in a gay bar)?

But these books are about the voice of the main characters, those blast-from-the-past 80s references, and the humor. And in these respects, this one is definitely as good as its predecessor.

Author Frank Polito

In the Hunt: Unauthorized Essays on Supernatural Edited by Supernatural.TV (Benbella Books, $14.95): This one is strictly for die-hard fans of the CW show The Supernatural, about the two demon-fighting brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester.

And I don’t mean fans of Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, the scorchingly hot actors who play the two brothers. I’m talking about people who genuinely want to geek out on the show itself.

Count me among them. I’ve long thought that Supernatural was massively underrated, probably because of its genre (horror). But the writers of the 24 essays contained in this book get it: this is a rich, sophisticated show as worthy of seriously thought and respect as any Oscar-winning arthouse film or prize-winning literary novel.

Not all the essays are equally engaging. Several make purely academic points, like whether Sam and Dean, who inhabit a supernatural world, see things as “supernatural.” And the whole anthology is seriously limited by the fact that the essays were clearly written prior to the start of the show’s latest (and best) season.

But other essays are quite trenchant, exploring the meaning of the horrible image that started the show, when Sam and Dean’s mother is burned to death on the ceiling of their house; the symbolic importance of Dean’s Impala, and – yes – even the exploding genre of “Wincest” slash fiction.

Mostly, the writers of these essays get that Supernatural is something truly special – that’s it’s deliberately dark, figuratively and literally, and that the main characters are doomed to be forever frustrated and unhappy.

This book, meanwhile, should make true fans of the show happy indeed.