Adam: A Sensuous Coming of Age Tale

This remains my favourite of Anthony McDonald's books; I have read it several times since I first discovered it; but hearing it read by the author gives it new life and vibrancy. McDonald's relating of the extraordinary events that overtake the young protagonist kept me spellbound. Add to that McDonald's own piano interludes and you have a delightful, exciting and sometimes disturbing package.

This is the best coming-of-age gay novel that I have ever read. It is a comprehensive appreciation of love and life which spans two cultures, rural life, music, adolescents and mature wisdom. From the twenty-two year old with learning difficulties and a preoccupation with his sexuality through the natural uncertainties of teenagers to the wisdom of an acclaimed (gay) musician this presents an invaluable guide to any teenager doubting his sexual orientation. Some of the later notions - such as Adam and Michael deciding to go it alone in Paris at the end - are far fetched but you must make your own mind up on that. As for the sequel ‘Blue Sky Adam’ Do you really want to read on? I am not so sure.

This is an easy, fast-paced read. The story is about a middle-class English teenager who moves to France with his family, falls in love with a local man, and the unfolding of their eventful affair. The teenager is a charming and rounded character. His lover is presented as something of a force of nature, though not entirely believeably. That aside, the story romps along with enough saucy sex scenes between the two main characters to keep your interest up. The supporting characters are sketched in, ripe for fuller devepment in the sequel - which, to my mind, works more successfully than this novel. Still, an enjoyable romp through the French countryside.As with many of this author's books, there are classical musical references and, occasionally, vernacular French phrases throughout. They are part of establishing characters, setting and plot. While I imagine a degree of musical knowledge and some knowledge of French would speed a reader through these, don't let this put you off reading the book. I think the author knows his likely audience is up to the modest challenge.

I enjoyed the descriptive writing of this book. McDonald obviously knows his France well or has done some excellent research. He manages to capture both the scenery and way of life very well. He also does a reasonable job of portraying the turbulent emotions of an adolescent coming to terms with his sexuality pretty well too. What I did find was that the style totally changes when McDonald deals with intimacy. The style changes and one gets blunt and rather crudely described copulation that jars with the lyrical tone that McDonald strives through elsewhere. I have read other books that deal with such matters in a far better way such as Mark Behr's Embrace and William Corlett's Now and Then (Corlett manages to keep his writer's voice intact even when dealing with sex). Even better in a book like this would be to leave matters acknowledged but rather unsaid such as in the early classics of this kind Fritz Peters' Finistere (thoroughly recommended) and the cult classic Sandel by Angus Stewart: now blessedly re- released. Don't let this stop you from buying this book as in most cases it is good as is its sequel: Blue Sky Adam (which actually I preferred) However th sex scenes do rival Alan Tichmarsh for the "reach for the bucket" award.

This is indeed a sensuous coming of age novel, well written, descriptive and the author manages to tap into the feelings of a gay teenager, and his friends. It did feel at one point as if everyone around Adam was gay (but knowing how mixed up teen boys can be, I can see where that was coming from), and understanding adults, but it worked. In fact, it all worked well for me - a good blend of descriptive narrative and emotional 'action', with a slow build to a believable crisis. The only thing, if I may be so bold: the cover doesn't do the story justice.

I'm at a bit of a loss about what to say because any words I string together sound a bit lame after reading this book. It really is beautiful.It tells the story of Adam, a rather precocious 16 year old who has moved to France temporarily with his family. So what can I say about Adam? He is intelligent, he is a talented cellist, he suspects that he is gay although he's not entirely sure, and he thinks about sex a lot. Adam thinks about sex so much that he initiates sex with pretty much everyone male he meets. Now, this of course makes it sound like a very smutty little coming-of-age tale, but the way it is written is so amazingly beautiful, it's not that at all.You see, Adam happens to fall in love with a 22 year old farm boy called Sylvain (who incidentally has a mental age of 14) and Sylvain happens to fall in love with Adam. Which would be fine (actually, no it wouldn't because of a hundred problems inherent in the relationship) but the simple love affair it is, is also incredibly complicated, partly because of Adam's complete inability to keep it in his pants. And Adam's complete inability to form any coherent thoughts when the slightest hint of sex is involved (which for Adam is all the time).While this book is definitely erotic, it is not particularly explicit. Quite often in fact you are just told that 'they make love' but the fact that Adam's thoughts are so sexually charged makes the whole feel of the book erotic.The author writes so beautifully that you don't just 'read' this book, you 'feel' it. You feel the beauty of the French countryside, you feel the confusing rush of emotions that are constantly bombarding Adam, you feel the intensity of first love, and you feel the absolutely undeniable thrill and pull of temptation.Now, I have seen reviews mentioning that the the language is too descriptive, and this initially put me off reading the book. I tend to like fast-paced stories, without too much flowery language, but as soon as I started reading this I forgot all about my preferences for snappy little scenes and just enjoyed the absolute beauty of the language used. The occasional use of French adds to the atmosphere, although I could see how it might be frustrating if you had no knowledge at all of the language.This author is truly a cut above. His use of language is beautiful. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Oh, and did I mention it's beautiful? I think I may have done once or twice.