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In Martin and John, Dale Peck weaves together two sets of stories to create a haunting, heartrending portrait of an artist in our time. The first is told episodically by John, a hustler in New York, who falls in love with Martin, a man dying of AIDS. Interwoven with these stories is a second set, in which characters named Martin and John appear, but living different lives. The resulting novel is a work of stunning originality that is "inspired and brilliant" (The Nation). Dale Peck is the author of five books and lives in New York City. In Martin and John, Dale Peck weaves together two sets of stories to create a haunting, heartrending portrait of an artist in our time. The first is told episodically by John, a hustler in New York, who falls in love with Martin, a man dying of AIDS. Interwoven with these stories is a second set, in which characters named Martin and John appear, but living different lives. The resulting novel is a work of stunning originality that is "inspired and brilliant" (The Nation). "Dale Peck has managed to pack the density and the depth of a human life. He is a brave and very talented writer."—The New York Times Book Review
"[Dale Peck's] wisdom about human feelings, his talent for translating those feelings into prose and his sophisticated mastery of literary form all speak to a maturity that belies his twenty-five years. In short, a stunning debut."—The New York Times
"Martin and John is one of the more inspired and brilliant novels that deal not only with AIDS but with the grief and bereavement that are inescapably a part of every life."—The Nation "John, our 19-year-old narrator, escapes from an abusive family to New York and meets Martin. They fall in love. Martin develops AIDS, they move to Kansas, and Martin dies. Throughout the narrative are stories written by John after Martin's death about a couple that is always named Martin and John, though they are different characters . . . Peck writes so splendidly that it is a pleasure just to keep on reading. By themselves, some of these stories are among the most powerful representations of gay life written . . . tales of sexual and emotional abuse, antigay violence, and AIDS . . . an exciting first novel by a 24-year-old author. Recommended for public libraries, particularly with strong gay and lesbian collections."—Brian Kenney, Brooklyn Public Library, Library Journal "With this poetic, tightly compressed novel, Peck makes a head-turning debut on the literary scene. It is composed of a feverish sequence of vignettes, which the reader gradually learns are the reminiscences of John, a gay man, as he tries to come to terms with the death of his lover, Martin, from AIDS. Some episodes straightforwardly recount John's life: abused by his hostile father, he escapes to New York and survives by becoming a hustler; he falls in love with Martin, and moves with him to Kansas, where Martin dies. Alternating with this account are 'stories' written by John, in each of which different, spiritual versions of the narrator (named John) and of a chameleonic character named Martin work their way through states of need, surrender and bereavement. Subtle but highly charged, the fragments carry the reader continually deeper into human mystery, and what we at first hear as a fugue on the destructive powers of sexual desire evolves rapidly into a lay psalm that proclaims both the necessity of love and its inevitable loss. Peck's operatic intensity and lyric grief come tumbling out in these pages; this is very much a young man's novel, but its flaws are also emblems of its power. Though the symbolism is often obvious, and the writing so pitched that it would seem excessive in less talented hands, the narrative plunges forward on a wildly romantic course."—Publishers Weekly ...
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From one of America's most acclaimed writers, a startling and visionary novel about a race of demons who inhabit humans and wreak havoc on the lives of two small-town boys.In a small town in upstate New York, best friends Q. and Jasper live typical high school lives filled with parties and girls. When Q. starts acting recklessly, defacing lockers and misusing Bunsen burners, Jasper thinks his buddy is just letting off steam. But when his actions put both of their lives in danger, it's clear that Q. is possessed by something far more sinister than mere teenage high spirits. Meanwhile, halfway around the world in Khartoum, Ileana Magdalen is tracking an elusive man who has left a trail of blood and bodies behind him, bringing strife, war, and genocide wherever he goes. It is Ileana's mission to stop him, for she is a member of an elite group of hunters initiated into a mystery that plagues humanity and drives men and women to commit unspeakable crimes. When Ileana, Q., and Jasper are brought together, the loyalties of friendship are tested in unimaginable ways, and the living, the dead, and those who are beyond death become entangled in a violent battle as old as mankind itself. In Body Surfing, celebrated author Dale Peck presents a beautifully written page-turner of a literary thriller. It is a mesmerizing tale in which a complete parallel universe is filled with shockingly dark corners where the secrets of human nature wait to be discovered....
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How many secrets can you hide in plain sight? Sprout Bradford has a secret. It’s not what you think—he’ll tell you he’s gay. He’ll tell you about his dad’s drinking and his mother’s death. The green fingerprints everywhere tell you when he last dyed his hair. But neither the reader nor Sprout are prepared for what happens when Sprout suddenly finds he’s had a more profound effect on the lives around him than he ever thought possible. Sprout is both hilarious and gripping; a story of one boy at odds with the expected. ...
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The incredible adventures through time continue for Susan, Charles and Murray in this sequel to Drift House. Susan and Charles return to Uncle Farley’s house for what they are sure will be the most exciting summer of their lives, and can’t wait to learn more of Drift House’s secrets. But things start off much sooner than they might think when a mighty tidal wave washes Drift House out to sea—with Susan and Farley on board, but Charles and the parrot, President Wilson, left behind in a tree. Separated by time and space, and beset by encounters with Vikings, Native Americans, the Trojan Horse and many other fascinating characters, this action-packed sequel is both more accessible than the first, and with cliffhangers at ever turn, even more thrilling. ...
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In the tradition of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and A Wrinkle in Time comes the first book in an exciting fantasy series about three siblings’ adventures on the high sea—the Sea of Time, that is.
After 9/11, Susan and her younger brothers, Charles and Murray, are sent to live with their uncle Farley in Canada. Uncle Farley’s house looks like a ship perched at the edge of the sea, but it’s not until a great flood comes that the house’s name—Drift House—starts to make sense. Floating aimlessly on the Sea of Time, the ship-like house begins to yield its many secrets—including a mural that seems to predict the future, a dumbwaiter that enables Murray to travel into the future and back again, and a parrot historian who’s also a gifted translator. But when a clan of diabolical mermaids trick the children and their uncle into helping them carry out a plan that will stop time forever, it will take all of Susan’s ingenuity—along with some help from a great whale, a band of pirates, and a magic carpet—to set things straight.
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