Rating: 
Summary: Gay Literature meets porn
Review: "Glove Puppet" is an outstanding "autobiography" of a 20-year old man (Vas) who was raised in the theatre.This book is everything that is good about true literature and every bit as racey as a great porn novel. We start off the book with meeting our young Vas in a train station where his mother is dying from an OD.. Enter now our tragic hero (well that is how I saw him).. He picks the boy up and wisks him into a different life. Well Vas reaches puberty and things begin to spiral down from there.. First he seduces his "father" then several of his fathers lovers.. and then there is the prostitution.. Drugs and men.. And all this goes on within a plot that is clear and well defined. This may be a short book but, it is one(like many men before me) that you should own and read.
Rating: 
Summary: Three/three/three books in one!
Review: "Glove Puppet" is obviously a first novel - a competent and often engaging foray into the bizarre relationship between a sexually precocious kid and his adopted stepfather. The first part of the novel seems a solid beginning about the coming of age of a child of the streets who by chance is adopted by a needy male dancer to replace his own lost son. Good start. Part 2 deals primarily with an out and out gay porno theme capped by the development of a "father/son" tryst that ends in imprisonment of the "paedophilic" father. It is a downhill slide from there. Part 3 is odd backtracking and reportage of the events and reactions of Australian society to the early demise of the imprisoned father - memorial service, predictions, reflections. Three books: three writing styles - conflicted at best - all in a quck read format of just over 200 pages. But Drinnan does keep our attention. And if you want to delve into the seemy side of underground sex/drugs/etc in Australia, this is good entertainment. I wonder what he'll do next.........
Rating:
Summary: Excellent reading
Review: From the moment I picked this book up I couldn't put it down. Set mainly in Sydney, Glove Puppet is the story of love between and man and boy and the tragic events that surround it. It demonstrates how the media, the law, and the public can totally misinterpret people's circumstances. Order it now for when it is published in the U.S. - in fact order two copies - one for yourself and one for a friend because this is one book you'll want to keep and read again.
Rating: 
Summary: An intriguing beginning with a predictable finish
Review: Loved the beginning of the book, but the past tense narrative as I work my way through it allowed me to easily guess the ending long before I finished. Half way through the story, it appears the author grows weary of writing it, or perplexed as to how to finish, and just sort of wraps it up.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Read from the Land downunder
Review: Nothing but good things to say about this debut novel by Drinnan, engaging plot, crisp, fluid prose and characters whose struggles with a life of excess leads them to destructive behaviors; the consequences of which proves to be fatal. In terms of ones sexual orientation, the author seems to leave the question of environment versus genetics open to the reader's interpretation. Did Vas' life unfold as it did because of his early environment consisting of a drug addicted prostitute mother, and later, a gay father figure whose life lacked social or moral boundaries? Or was his life predetermined, having inherited the genes of addiction, compounded with the over active hormones of adolescence? Glove Puppet blurs the line of love and desire in a way that demonstrates the necessity that each of us come to a place where we're able to distinguish between the two; for there's nothing more harmful to the individual spirit than misplaced love or unhealthy desire. Kudos to Drinnan for a first novel that's delivers its characters in a raw, truthful, manner that reminds us that limits are necessary to life enrichment and excess is just that . . . more than necessary.
Rating:
Summary: everyone seems to enjoy this book
Review: the beginning of this book offers enough to hook the reader right in. i found myself confused at times, wondering why it was written in the way that it was, but after finishing it, it all came together beautifully. this story is not one to pass up as it has a lot to offer the reader, not all of it pretty, but it is what it is. a good read and im glad i didnt pass it up.
Rating:
Summary: Provocative and compelling.
Review: The subject matter of this book is very challenging--the sexual precocity of a damaged child and his manipulation and seduction of a father figure--but it is absolutely riveting. The story has the quality of a Greek tragedy. Ruin and destruction are all but inevitable from the first pages, the consequences of Shamash's fundamental weakness of character and of Johnny's unwillingness to stop his single-minded pursuit of Shamash, whom he genuinely loves, but with a child's greediness and lack of appreciation for consequences. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Provocative and compelling.
Review: The subject matter of this book is very challenging--the sexual precocity of a damaged child and his manipulation and seduction of a father figure--but it is absolutely riveting. The story has the quality of a Greek tragedy. Ruin and destruction are all but inevitable from the first pages, the consequences of Shamash's fundamental weakness of character and of Johnny's unwillingness to stop his single-minded pursuit of Shamash, whom he genuinely loves, but with a child's greediness and lack of appreciation for consequences. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: This is a wonderful little book. Comedy, TRADGEDY, romance, sex, taboo ... A little bit of everything. The characters are all beautifully written and they draw you deeply into their story. A little dark, yes, but an excellent read. Drinnan is a great writer. This, as well as Pussy's Bow and Quills, are all well worth reading. I'm waiting for a new one!
Rating:
Summary: convincing fictionalized autobiography
Review: This short novel is presented as an autobiographical work and has an intriguing cast of characters. Illicit love affairs replete this book. A well written effort which made for a brief but enjoyable read. An interesting story set in current day Sydney, Australia. The "autobiographical writer", Johnny/Vas, is not a particularly sympathic person and the troubles he accidently creates for his benefactor through his own inadvertent indiscretions condemn Johnny/Vas to reverting to the social condition (drugs/prostitution) into which he had been born. A neat turning of the wheel. Genetics win out!
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