The Salt Point

Rating:
Summary: " The bitter after taste of salt..."
Review: Having been swept away with Paul Russell's, " The Coming Storm," I was eager to read his earlier writings. I found myself reading a book that could in many ways be the screenplay for my own life! The man is a genius in being able to transport a reader back to those painfully akward moments of early adulthood when they are battling the inner demons of friendship, loyalty, burgeoning sexuality and the sheer confusion that manifested itself in the 80's -- the era of flamboyant decadence!

Anatole, Chris and Lydia could be the every person's version of the three musketeers. Together through thick and thin, good times and bad, in moments of abandoned logic where suddenly two people come together in a frenzied moment of lust that often abandoned or injured the missing third party.

I was especially fond of the dance of confusion danced by Chris who knew in his heart of hearts who he truly desired but was afraid to listen to that small voice. He is attracted to Anatole but dances ina frenzy with Lydia and then finds himself on the outside looking in as both Anatole and Lydia discover a blond siren named Leigh.

Plot twists and turns, and well versed three dimensional character development allow for this relatively short story to build to a thundering crescendo like climax.

This is one of my favourite writing styles where you enter the hearts and minds of more than one central character. I laughed and cried with each of them, and even tasted those same salty tears as I remembered back to a time when I too felt like an insider and an outsider all at the same time!

This is definitely a book to pick up for those in a nostalgic mood, as well as those curious to know whether Russell's writing could be compared against " The Coming Storm. "

Rating:
Summary: Pales in comparison
Review: I was disappointed in this one. The characters were uninteresting and disappointing; the story was flat; but the writing.... well, this was the first book I read by Mr. Russell and it will probably be my last. While I can appreciate stream-of-consciousness writing (when it is done well), it can also be very annoying and confusing. There were times Mr. Russell went on and on about something that happens in the past, and then suddenly--without any clue or warning--he comes back to the present. Very confusing, hard to follow and hard to read. He's lucky he got one star out of me! Skip this one. Seriously!

Rating:
Summary: A Pleasant Read
Review: I was looking forward to reading The Salt point after reading Russell's The Coming Storm. Russell has the ability to make the characters seem as if you've known them your whole life. This holds true with The Salt Point. The 3 main characters are lifelike and you will know at least one person in your life who are identical to Paul or Anatole. It is very difficult for some to realize that they are gay and are in love with someone of the same sex, Russell demonstrates this masterfully in The Salt Point. if you have read the Coming Storm then this novel is a must read. If you have not then I still suggest that you read this novel because Paul Russell is a very gifted author.

Rating:
Summary: Great author - Great book
Review: In this book, Paul Russell paints the picture of three friends whose quaint relationship comes to a crashing hault with the arrival of the mysterious Leigh. Different parts of the story are seen through the eyes of different characters. Russell gives much information about the three friends. Anatole, Chris, and Lydia represent a generation that has lost hope. Leigh is a seemingly carefree attractive youth. However, the only glimpse the reader gets of Leigh's character comes from a few of Leigh's dreams. Some argue that Leigh is superficial, but I would argue that Russell intentionally underdeveloped Leigh's character because he wanted to emphasize the older frienship and the fact that Leigh is an outsider. The few pieces of background information the reader gains about Leigh suggest he too has had a rough life. Paul Russell is a great author. With the exception of Sea of Tranquility, his novels are very well-written character studies. His descriptions are beautiful. He is a masterful writer, and this book is one of his best. Do yourself a favor and read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing to this one...skip it
Review: Paul Russell can be a brilliant writer -- see A Coming Storm -- but you would hardly know that from this book. There is way too much pop-psychology "insight" into the characters, coming both from the narrator and from the characters themselves, who seem to be constantly musing about themselves and the other characters.

There is an underlying current here, that Paul Russell obviously feels will hold the reader's interest, and that is the infatuating allure of youth, personified here by the character Leigh. But, really, in this book and maybe in life, that just isn't enough to hold your interest for a long period.

This is just a slow motion melo-drama with lots of emotional molehills fashioned into tedious mountains. The interwoven relationships and obsessions and sore points are all just too much, hardly credible, and rarely interesting. Also, some of the main elements of the book, such as the flamboyant hairdresser, or the mercurial immature teenager, are just clunking cliches.

Skip this one.

Rating:
Summary: Just Plain Awful
Review: The other reviews address the story line of this tale quite well. But what I found most interesting was how the introduction of a mysterious and somewhat sexually ambiguous young man into the midst of close friends suddenly changes what friendship means. No one comes out of this tale looking like a saint, and it will be a cold and calculating reader that will be unable to find a bit of themselves in each character. This book is a character study, with each character at the center of a series of set pieces. A reader looking for a clear plot line won't find one. But the characterizations are superb, the narrative voice expressing each character with an authenticity that is too infrequently found in much of today's literature.

Rating:
Summary: sorry it ended
Review: The Salt Point is a wonderful story surrounding the lives of three friends: Lydia, Chris, and Anatole. Throughout the book, the pasts of each is revealed and you learn more about why they act the way they do. Their lives are stagnant and complicated, but satisfying, until Leigh enters the picture. Leigh is a teenager who capitivates the three freinds with his beauty and charm. He likes for everyone to think he's a mystery, in order to keep their attention. Leigh disrupts their lives completely and destroys their misguided happiness. What some people might find too soap operish about the relationships between the four characters, I thought was the greatest strength of Russell as an author because he is able to pull you into the lives of these individuals, as if they are real people, and feel sorrow or anger towards them. How you can just feel your heart ache when you witness how strong Anatole's love for Leigh is that he would suffer so much. When I reached the end of the book, I was disappointed that there wasn't more. I didn't want to leave their world. That is the sign of a great writer.

Rating:
Summary: Pales in comparison
Review: The Salt Point, an earlier work by Paul Russell, pales in comparison to his much stronger, more mature effort in The Coming Storm. Both books explore similar topics, including powerfully addictive but unwise relationships and how the choices we make affect those around us. But in The Salt Point, the narrative over-indulges in contemplating the characters rather than simply presenting them and letting the reader draw conclusions. Three of the main characters engage in the kind of endless introspection that would make them insufferable were they real people. Ironically, the character Leigh felt the most real to me, even though he is the story's central enigma.

In short, readers new to Russell should skip this one and head directly for The Coming Storm.

Rating:
Summary: Maybe some promise, but...
Review: The story had some promise, but it ultimately revolved around self-centered and self-absorbed characters, and they were so self-absorbed there was no room left to hold much of my interest. Unfortunately too typical (stereotypical?) of gay fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Smart Read
Review: This book deals with those of us who are gay and are trying to find that perfect partner. I guess it spoke strongly to me because while I am in my early 30s, I was dating someone in his early 20s. While a difference in 10 years may not be much, in this age bracket it does prove to be. The longing to be with someone, falling for the wrong person, and missing the better choice out of blind passion. Wonderful story!