Borrowing Time

Rating:
Summary: Chronicles of an Emerging Gay Consciousness
Review: As the father of a gay son, I read Borrowing Time with great excitement because I was--and am--interested in gaining insight into how gay boys and young men come to terms with their sexual orientation and how they eventually develop a gay identity and consciousness. This book covers the gamut from coming-out issues to family relationships to emotional entanglements to loving partnerships to changes that come with maturity and age. By getting to know the book's protagonist I learned a lot about what my son has experienced.

Rating:
Summary: A Gay Woman's Views
Review: Borrowing Time is a worthwhile read. One learns and is entertained at the same time - never an easy feat. One of the best things a fiction writer can do is to be authentic. Carlos Mock clearly knows the world he describes in Borrowing Time, and he employs colorful engaging prose to describe that world. In Borrowing Time, Dr. Mock describes a society most Americans rarely see: gay life imbued with Latin and Catholic culture. This subset of a subculture isn't easily observed, and Dr. Mock gives the reader a glimpse of an exciting, vibrant and tension fraught society that isn't reflected in the pop culture of Will & Grace or Queer Eye. Moreover, Dr. Mock employs a "flashback" writing technique that, to my mind, touches on Catholic and Caribbean traditions. This novel is approachable for straight and gay audiences alike. While there is a fair amount of sexual content, it is relevant to the characters' experiences and the overall thread of the story. It is not gratuitous. Buy, read, enjoy, learn and pass Borrowing Time to a friend. The experience is worth it.

Rating:
Summary: Books to Watch out For
Review: Borrowing Time: A Latino Sexual Odyssey, by Carlos T. Mock (Floricanto Press, $35) Mock's novel isn't truly self-published: Floricanto Press (www.floricantopress.com) does several books a year, and of several sorts - but doesn't do much more than print them, I imagine; the clunky design and odd paragraph layout work against what is otherwise a rather vivid read - and though an editor from the University of California is credited for work on the book, there are some odd stylistic and grammatical choices. That said, there's not a lot of gay storytelling from the Puerto Rican community, and that's partially the appeal of this heartfelt work, with its roots in Catholic doctrine, macho attitudes, and cultural differences. That's also the filter through which Monk addresses coming out, yearning for love, settling into a relationship, and - most viscerally - living with AIDS. It's probably no accident that Monk's title, Borrowing Time, echoes that of Paul Monette's monumental AIDS memoir, Borrowed Time: both focus on the excitement of living and the struggle to die with dignity.
An author interview: www.pridesource.com/article.shtml?article=7538

Richard Labonte From: Books to Watch Out For
(...)

Rating:
Summary: American Library Association's GLBTRT Newsletter Review
Review: Borrowing Time: A Latino Sexual Odyssey. By Carlos T.
Mock. Floricanto Press, Mountain View, CA, 2003. 288
pp.$35.00 hardback (ISBN 0-915745-54-2)

Carlos Mock has written a book that tells a sweeping
story of life. It stands out from other stories in
current gay literature because the tale is told from
the standpoint of a Latino man, growing up in a strong
Catholic family in Puerto Rico, a view not seen often
in GLBT literature up until now. Floricanto Press, a
publisher of digital products and Latino, Chicano,
Mexican American, and Hispanic books, sought to reach
out to a market they felt was not covered well. It is
well past time for such a book, and Mock has a well
told story, that examines life from this perspective.

It some ways "Borrowing Time" fits the Magical Realism
of García-Marquez. Mock has bent and turned the story
of his own life into a fictional piece worthy of the
allusion to Paul Monette in the title. The main
character is struggling to understand his life in the
face of his diagnosis with HIV. He is also struggling,
in the stories he tells, with coming to terms with
being gay, his family's rejection, a Catholic
upbringing on the island, and a friendship that goes
sour. It really is a story for all people to read and
one that will be important for young Latinos coming to
terms with their identity.

Reviewed by Steve Stratton, Cal State-Channel Islands.
Copyrighted material. Reprinted from the American Library Association's GLBTRT Fall 2004 Newsletter by permission.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent honest portrayal......compelling.
Review: Carlos Mock has written a wonderful compelling book of a Catholic, a Hispanic, born and raised in Puerto Rico who very slowly realizes he's gay. He loves his family and tries to stay as true to his heritage and religion as he can but soon the conflicts are too much and he must escape. But they are never far away even when he moves to the mainland in this wonderful all-to-human story. Carlos Mock went on to medical school - both in real life and in this fictionalized autobiography - so the prose is smart and deep. I loved it and highly recommend it to others.

Rating:
Summary: Borrow Time
Review: I could not put this book down. Honestly this is the one of the best books I have ever read. I really LOVE how it began with the history of Puerto Rico. I know many Puerto Ricans who don't know this history or true politics of the isla. Born and raised here Chicago I didn't even learn about our history until I was in my late 20's. I Thank the author for his honesty, for sharing his fears and for sharing his life. I saw some (ok a lot) of myself in his words. Growing up in a Chicago, in a Puerto Rican family and culture, things are just as they were for you growing up in Puerto Rico. This wasn't just a book about the GLBT community this is about what many of us go through in life. Our many fears and struggles of life. I LOVED the book and HIGHLY recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Put this on the summer's hot list of books to read.
Review: I recommend the book for this summer's beach and poolside reading. The story moves fast and entertains the reader. I couldn't wait until the next chapter to see what happened next. I was laughing and crying, since I could relate to some of the emotions that the author displayed in his character.

Carlos Mock's descriptive pose was visual and explicit that I became entranced in the events as if I was there.

Not only does the story display the latin and gay culture, but refers to the one thing that we all desire--to be loved.

Rating:
Summary: A Gay Woman's Views
Review: I truly enjoyed this book. I really felt the main character. Having met Carlos, I know what a very kind sensitive individual he is. I was able to listen to him read some excerpts, and thus I feel I was able to get first hand the emotion this book was trying to protray. I am very glad I bought the book and read it. This, to me, was a very well written book. Dr. Mock did a great job of getting feelings across, the characters struggles, and illness.

I would recommend this to other gay women. One can really better understand the male side of being gay from adolesent to adult.

Thanks Carlos for a wonderful book!!!!

Rating:
Summary: It felt like my own private flashback
Review: I was unable to put the book down! The author captured my youth, my fears, my shame, my guilt. As a Puerto Rican, I relived growing up in the Island knowing I was different. I relived leaving the Island to find myself, and finally, coming back to the Island transformed into my new self and not fitting in.

Like the author, I have found peace with who I am. I thank him for his wonderful book.

Rating:
Summary: SUCKS
Review: This was the most boring and inane book I have ever read. Are you kidding me with this garbage?