I loved this book. My favorite aspect was probably the hero Michael's "blandness", or very reserved, technical way of looking at the world. It could come off as poor writing, a character who has no feeling, but not if you understand how intentional it is. He's like that because he has to be, and part of the appeal of this story is watching that dead technicality of his slowly fall away the longer he spends time with James. Thoreau said, "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation." And poor Michael Maguire surely does. His family life is a wreck, and his work life isn't much better. But on one night, he finds the courage to look for "something different," and that's where this story starts out.It could be said that Michael is emotionally dishonest -- since he was so unhappy he should have divorced his wife and moved on long ago, but he's fundamentally a decent human being, and doesn't want to inflict pain. Michael is an empathetic character...haven't we all wanted to break out of our daily lives and do something completely wild?James, a rentboy, is living an equally desperate life -- but in a very different way. While Michael has a solid job and a conventional middle-class life, poor James has been trying to eke out an existence on the fringes. No education, no job, just a pretty face...There are some disturbing revelations about their pasts, and how they came to be as they are now. But the love story about these two finding themselves and each other is incredibly sweet.
What do You think about Something Different (2011)?
Sweet and realistic love story. A nice quick read.
—daisy
something different led to something right :)
—chapis
