Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Desire: Tales of New Orleans by William Sterling Walker




Reviewer: Bob Lind, Echo Magazine
Publisher: Chelsea Station Editions, November 2012
Pages: 186


Over the years, there are many gay stories that have been based in New Orleans, and for good reason. It is a unique city, with a highly diverse population which tends to embrace differences, forgive misdeeds and does what is necessary to live to one's potential. These factors are all present in this anthology of nine short stories by the author, dealing with New Orleans, before Hurricane Katrina's devastation. 

Though none of the stories are dependent on any other, there are some common themes and situations, and some of the characters referenced may seem to coincide. While all are about men from New Orleans, some gay and some not, two of the stories actually take place in New York City, with characters that clearly miss their original roots. The stories feature a variety of blue collar and white collar individuals, including some on the fringes of society, in any city. There are equal doses of wit, longing, poignancy, hope, seduction and loss, all woven together by this talented author. I give it a full five stars out of five. 

http://williamsterlingwalker.com/ 

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