Reviewed by Carissa
TITLE: Galley Proof
AUTHOR: Eric Arvin
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 200 pages
BLURB:
Fiction writer Logan Brandish is perfectly happy in his peaceful small-town routine with his best friend, his cat, and his boyfriend—until he meets the editor of his next book, the handsome Brock Kimble, and the lazy quiet of everyday living goes flying out the window. Faced with real passion for the first time, Logan becomes restless and agitated, and soon his life and his new manuscript—a work in progress he’d always thought would be completed—are in a shambles.
But as Logan is learning, you can’t always get what you want… at least not right away. To take his mind off the mess, he takes a trip, but even the beautiful Italian, um, scenery can’t keep his thoughts from his erstwhile editor for long. Logan just might have to admit there are some things you can’t run from.
REVIEW:
“It amazed me, the difference between how we see ourselves and how others see us. We are all, individually, so many different people—the one our friends see, which our families see, which strangers see, which we see—looking in the same mirror but getting refractions instead of reflections. Perfection is a matter of perception.”
It is not often that I come away from a book as unsure as I did when I finished this one. I’ve read thousands of books, and most of the time I have a good grasp on what I feel when a book is done. For better or for worse, books almost always have a certain feel, something that resonates with some part of me. Be anger, tears, or laughter, the stories I read can, most of the time, be slotted neatly into their respective places.
I’m not sure what I feel about this book.
The writing was beautiful, certainly. I had to stop myself from highlighting line after line because there really is no point in highlighting an entire book. The observations about life and writing were both cutting and entertaining. The descriptions of Italy highlighted the dark and beautiful, in subtle, but telling ways. And the book clearly was not one for formulas and obvious tropes. In a sea of romantic man-meets-man stories, this one is rather unique. It is not all about when Logan meets Brock. It is much deeper than that.
But for all that beauty…I can’t help but feel that I still don’t know what the book was about. If it wasn’t about the romance, was it about Logan’s book? Or maybe his life as an author? Could it have been a cutting remark on the publishing world, the decadence of European life, or even maybe how the love of boxes can really pay off in the end? I simply don’t know. It felt like at once, all and none of these things.
I then I am left wondering if this was the way Eric Arvin intended it to be. Because it is a perfect parallel to the book written by his protagonist, Logan Brandish. Both books seem to try to be about everything, and end up leaving the reader unsure about anything. A dozen stories plus the kitchen sink–though sadly (or maybe, thankfully) Arvin avoided stew-making zombies in his own. If it was intended, it was well done, and if it was not…maybe it is anyway. ‘Death of the author’ and all that jazz. Seeing what I want to see in a story that could mean a dozen things to a dozen people.
The romance between Logan and Brock sometimes felt a little flat to me. But then again, if it was not meant to be a romance, maybe it was not supposed to be all flowers and candies. Not that either man strikes me as the type to shower flowers and candy on their love interest, anyways. Still there were moments–when they are chasing after the umbrella in the rain and the silent acceptance of the hand in Italy–when I was sure there was something there between them. Logan and Brock both lived in their boxes–though Brock’s was certainly more colorful (and slutty) than Logan’s, in the beginning. And I think it was the having, then the losing of each other that made them realize just how confining, if comfortable, those boxes really were. I am glad they found each other in the end–even if I could really have done without the fooling around with other people in between (I’ve come to accept that I am just never going to enjoy this in stories, no matter how essential it may be to the story itself).
In the end…this book was good. Not always lighthearted fun (though the beginning definitely has some real high points) but a beautifully written, good story. It is not something I would normally pick up, I must admit. I am all about the sunshine and roses–and naked men frolicking in in them both–but even I must admit that sometimes it is good to read something just to admire the way it was put together, if nothing else.
This is the first book I’ve ever read by Eric Arvin. In fact most of my knowledge of him and his work has come filtered through my love of TJ Klune’s stories–and later, of course, by reading about their struggles and triumphs, their losses and their damn stunning love. I do not know much about Eric Arvin, besides what both he and TJ have graciously shared with us. But I now know he can write some damn beautiful sentences…and that, for me, is everything.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: Dreamspinner press Amazon Are