Pulling Taffy

Rating:
Summary: Book of the Year
Review: ... PULLING TAFFY is the best novel by a living author I have read in at least five years. More probably 10 or 15. Why? As I'm not being paid to write this I can only offer these keywords: "A 21st century glam-boy's achingly beautifully understated elegy to dead teenage friends and--" And grandmothers still living who strike the reader -- hard -- as offering not just unconditional love, but some knowledge that, if only we could fully decode it, would hold the key to a lot of questions.

Rating:
Summary: Book of the Year
Review: As a "pro" book reviewer, the stack of comp copies piled up beside my desk is-- Well at the moment I must confess it's not as daunting as it used to be, as I've learned the wisdom of immediately listing for online sale anything that comes in the mail -- for $2. Thankfully, Matt Sycamore's novel somehow managed to catch my eye before I could "push the button." Thankfully -- for my own selfish interests. PULLING TAFFY is the best novel by a living author I have read in at least five years. More probably 10 or 15. Why? As I'm not being paid to write this I can only offer these keywords: "A 21st century glam-boy's achingly beautifully understated elegy to dead teenage friends and--" And grandmothers still living who strike the reader -- hard -- as offering not just unconditional love, but some knowledge that, if only we could fully decode it, would hold the key to a lot of questions.

Rating:
Summary: More like pulling the needles from my eyeballs
Review: I bought this book with high hopes that it would live up to all the hype. After forcing myself to read the entire thing, I have to ask ... did the rest you you read the same book? This was the most mind-numbing piece of crud I have ever read. There was no redeeming value in it, and most of it wasn't even coherent. It seems he was going for a stream of consciousness theme, and missed badly. The only thing he wrote plainly about was the sex scenes, and those were just ok. I say stick with his erotic short stories, as that seems to be where his strength lies.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing, sexy and smart
Review: I read about this book in the Hot issue of OUT Magazine where Sycamore was the Hottest New Novelist, and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. This is the most exciting book I've read in a while-- I really couldn't put it down! Sycamore's voice is raw, smart, and flamboyant. This tale of searching for meaning and sustenance in a world that wants to squash all difference and beauty is emotional in such a direct, unflinching, honest way. He really knows how to pare language down to it's essentials, while revealing so many unexpected twists, like grandmothers talking to their grandson about hustling, the startling beauty and danger in anonymous sex, and a sudden love for a girl in a diner singing "Lean on Me" or an old lady at the post office. The Provincetown section is absolutely hilarious-- Sycamore really knows how to present the gore of gay culture. What Edmund White says is right, "I have seen the future and it is Pulling Taffy."

Rating:
Summary: Amazing, sexy and smart
Review: I read this book after reading an article about how the author was a new innovative voice in literature. Literature? This book is more strick erotica than anything. While Bernstein has moments of illumination and his candid honesty is appreciated, he also teachers us nothing new, his writing style more ADD than anything. Why do so many books like this get published--it's just one of those hustlers plays around, does drugs, acts irresponsible and never gets it together. Another thing that should deter people is the price of this book. Almost eighteen dollars (retail) for a paperback? Not worth it, AT ALL.

Rating:
Summary: Why the hype?
Review: I read this book after reading an article about how the author was a new innovative voice in literature. Literature? This book is more strick erotica than anything. While Bernstein has moments of illumination and his candid honesty is appreciated, he also teachers us nothing new, his writing style more ADD than anything. Why do so many books like this get published--it's just one of those hustlers plays around, does drugs, acts irresponsible and never gets it together. Another thing that should deter people is the price of this book. Almost eighteen dollars (retail) for a paperback? Not worth it, AT ALL.

Rating:
Summary: WOW! Great Book.
Review: Pulling Taffy is a bold and extremely engaging novel. Matt Bernstein-Sycamore is a fresh and entertaining new writer who has more flavors than Baskin Robbins, not to mention more nail polish then Revlon!

Rating:
Summary: I loved Pulling Taffy
Review: Pulling Taffy is a wonderfully innovative and well-written novel. Sycamore engages the reader by writing with intense passion and humor. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading.

Rating:
Summary: I loved Pulling Taffy
Review: Pulling Taffy is a wonderfully innovative and well-written novel. Sycamore engages the reader by writing with intense passion and humor. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading.

Rating:
Summary: Heard it before
Review: Sorry guys and gals, nothing new or intriguing about this book. Who hasn't heard the story of a hustler in the big city of drugs? Then again, maybe I'm just jaded...