Pent Up

by Damon Suede

[Linda]

This review was originally posted on (un)Conventional Bookviews
Pent Up was my March buddy-read with Brandee @ Bookworm Brandee, and as always, it was awesome chatting about the book with her after we both finished reading. I enjoyed the story, and especially that it was diverse in more ways than one.


Me:
I haven't completely finished Pent Up yet... I find it very slow, and I'm not sure I like all the jabs at 'white rich people'... Like there's a score to be settled
OK, I've finished...
3.5 stars
I think this was less good than Hot Head...
And mainly, I think that's because Ruben and Andy were just the two of them for most of the story - it felt like that made the characters underdeveloped somehow.
The twist at the end wasn't really a twist, either - even if I hadn't thought of it, I wasn't overly surprises, you know?
Actually, the more I think about it, the more I feel like this read almost like a YA, but with characters who were in their late thirties / early forties...

Brandee:
I'm waffling between 3-3.5 stars...
I'm going to have to read Hot Head.
It did kinda seem like the characters were underdeveloped a bit. I mean, we meet Charles and Andy's assistant (who I really liked but I can't remember her name!) but it was pretty much just the two of them.
I think I had a hard time getting into the story because I didn't understand what was going on - which is part of the story - and I found the terminology *ahem* very male.
I'm guessing that's Damon's style and I liked it once I got used to it
Once I hit a certain point in the book though, I really liked Ruben and Andy. They seemed to fulfill something that was missing in each other's lives.
What did you think of the plot? It certainly had my head spinning...I was like Ruben in believing Andy was making it all up.

Me:
I did enjoy the plot a lot, and you're right about Rube and Andy helping each other find more meaning in their lives. And I have to say they were pretty courageous to live out that attraction, as they both thought they were straight!
And I had to smile at your 'male terminology'... that is definitely true
I can't put my finger on why exactly, but I enjoyed this less than Hot Head
I think my favorite character was Cilla!! She took their relationship in stride, and she also didn't really take any shit from Tibbett

Brandee:
It certainly did take a lot of courage to act on their attraction. And I loved Ruben's inner thoughts when they first kissed...about how it just felt so right.
The plot was great in that Suede kept me just as confused as Ruben was. When all was revealed, I was all "OH!" And I also think that what was going on and how they both handled it did much for developing their characters.
LOL That male terminology...seriously. But even "bulls-eye face" was something I hadn't heard before. But it worked. And looking at other reviews, this is signature Suede?
Cilla was awesome! "Honestly, Herb," she scoffed at him. "I'm not a child." She might be my favorite character too. But I really liked Hope as well. (THAT is Andy's assistant's name)
What did you think about the 12 steps being used? I liked how he got stuck on moral inventory and meeting Andy and going through all they went through helped him, I think.
One other thing...I liked that Ruben's last name is Oso. He is kinda a big bear...he can be fierce but also soft.
Hey, did you see Pierce Brown is going to be at BEA?

Me:
Omg!!!
Fangirling
I know where to use my front of the line pass!
I thought it was kind of sad that Ruben never learned Spanish... And at the same time, I can totally relate, as only my two oldest kids speak Norwegian.

Brandee:
Oh, I thought it was sad too but I also understood his parents' desire to be "American"...

Me:
And I totally want to look up some of the things Andy said to Ruben in Spanish

Brandee:
Plus, Andy was going to get to teach him!
ME TOO!

Me:
Yup, that was awesome
And Hope was great, the way she and Ruben bonded over AA was really well done!
I wish there would have been more of a backlash for Ruben after Peach died, though...

Brandee:
I really liked that as well. Again, showed the type people they were since they were loyal and faithful to those tenants.
Yeah, I thought about that too. He didn't even tell Andy!

Me:
And of course you're right, the way the steps were used, and how Ruben was stuck on the fourth said a lot!
And I also liked that Ruben didn't try to make Andy stop drinking to help himself

Brandee:
Me too. What Ruben said was true...he had to live in the world and the world is a place where people drink and there are other temptations...I figure that's part of the process for an addict. But I also thought it was interesting that Ruben could see through to the reasons Andy drank since he's an alcoholic.

Me:
Yeah, there were many aspects to the story that come back to me now, because I'm chatting with you about it.

Brandee:
I love how it works that way!

Me:
Do we have a lot more to say about Ruben and Andy?
I can't really think of much.. apart from that I did enjoy the story, even if it wasn't among my favorites

Brandee:
I guess I don't have anything else to say except that in talking about it with you, I did decide on a 3.5 star rating.

Me:
it anchored my 3.5 rating, too

Brandee:
I really love doing buddy reads!
Hey, I'd somehow missed your comment on the 'jabs at rich white people'...I agree that it was a little irritating but then, Ruben later kinda explains that...how he'd always felt like he didn't fit in, even with his family and that he always thought money would make things better... so I lumped it into character building.



He was Colombian, so people assumed, but he only spoke about ten words of español. "Good morning," "Thank you," and "Fuck off, I don't speak Spanish" marked the outer limits of his conversational abilities thanks to poor, snobbish grandparents who'd given up everything to come north to the Land of the Free-range Idiots.

The lower half definitely blended in with the surrounding Park Avenue buildings, but the upper floors resembled a space-age dildo. The glass cap kept it from sore-thumbing the block by angling the windows to reflect the sky.

For about two weeks after dropping out of boot, he'd danced in a queer bar, and he knew how aggressive dudes could get when they got a whiff of a ripped straight guy down on his luck.