On Probation

Tom Mendecino's "Probation" is a good book. But... I respect it more than I like it.  It tells a story of Andy Nocero, whose seemingly perfect life is torn apart by one mistake - he was caught having anonymous gay sex at a highway truck stop. See, the thing is, though, he is married to a woman, and this incident was the catalyst to their getting a divorce. He was sentenced to a year of probation and counseling and he narrates his journey from that year on, and we are also treated to flashbacks of how things were before. The writing style is great; it's well balanced between tragedy and black humor. however, maybe it's just my state of mind right now, but I found the whole book depressing and most of the time it took me on a tailspin of downward emotions. Bad things after bad things happen to the main character, and after a certain point, I wanted to say enough is enough. It's all me, too, because probably I just need a lot more gaiety in what I am reading nowadays - it's been a tough beginning of the year, and perhaps I should be reading more escapist fare. I know this book won a lot of awards, but all the accolades in the world is meaningless if I don't connect to it. It really is ultimately my loss. 


BC-18