Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2214634 in Books
• Published on: 2004-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Caught in a mid-life crisis, Michael, the slightly weary hero of Geoff Ryman's Lust, finds himself with a somewhat double-edged gift. He can summon anyone he likes--which mostly means mature men--in a convenient disposable copy and make love to them, irrespective of the original's sexuality. None of this does anything for his concentration on a research experiment, his chronic impotence or the collapse of his relationship with his long-term boyfriend, but he does get to have encounters with Tarzan, Alexander the Great, Billie Holliday, Picasso and a cartoon diva. He also learns a lot about himself--we gradually realise that there are major wounds in Michael's past with which he has failed to come to terms; in the end, his gift teaches him something about liking himself. This could have been a piece of playful erotic fluff, or a moralising piece of self-help sentimentality; Geoff Ryman gives us fluff and some serious morality, but also gives us heart and intelligence. We find ourselves caring that Michael gets through this without permanent damage, admiring the dogged brilliance he brings to finding out just what the limits of his gift are. --Roz Kaveney

Customer Reviews

Highly original and an absorbing read
This is one of the most original stories I read in a long time -- more so because it was written in a conversational, non-preachy stream-of-consciousness which somehow involves the reader.

The book raises questions about Messianic possibilities and the excruciatingly painful stings of humiliations due to missed opportunities and lost chances. The book realistically investigates Michael Blasco's "gift" and how even the possession of such a gift can still make one lonely, wanting and unfulfilled. The author seems to know the nuances and ramifications of love in its glory and loss at its most heart-rending.

The book has a lot of heart and a wry sense of humor and it ended with wise authority. I thought the conjuring of Billie Holiday and Pablo Picasso were original (I had fun reading Billie's envy to Ella Fitzgerald and how Teddy Wilson hated her and quickened the tempo of "What A Little Moonlight Can Do") and inspired.

Although the vivid descriptions of same sex copulations are an acquired taste, one can't help but laugh at Ryman's descriptions and comparisons to animals. His perspicacity in observing humans and how their faces tell many telling things are what gave this book its deserved excellence and timelessness.

Big Questions, Big Concepts, Tiny Payoff
While the idea behind 'Lust' is an interesting one-- a man suddenly finds himself capable of conjuring up a living, sentient copy of anyone he finds attractive-- Ryman's exploration of it can be a little tedious.

The first hundred pages or so are pretty great; but I think that's more to do with the newness of Michael's ability than anything else. Once he starts to get used to having his special ability, the book takes on a lugubrious pace, which it maintains until the arrival of Pablo Picasso. Once he's gone, so's the plot. The book should have ended before Part III.

More troubling is the fragmented treatment of Michael's incestuous fascination with his father. Why on Earth it takes him so long to just create a Dad-copy and get the whole thing over with is beyond me. Once it does happen, the results are unsatisfyingly muddled and frankly silly.

This is a case of a novel that wants to do far too much and ends up doing nothing.

Lovingly written
Michael (the central character) is the usual wonder of the gay novel - a gay man in crisis. For all his faults, though, I loved him. Ryman writes in a very cosy, chatty and enveloping style. His characters are well thought out and the usual gay cant is thankfully missing. I wanted Michael to return to Phil in the end and it was my only disappointment. I found the book, as they say, unputdownable.