Chad Sosna

Hold on for a Great Ride!

Right off the bat, I have to apologize to the author. When I read the premise for this book, I really didn't expect much from it. I figured it for yet another self-indulgent gay potboiler long on gratuitous sex and short on substance. It gives me great pleasure to admit how totally wrong I was. Chad Sosna's novel, Doo-Lang Love, is not only a fast and fun read, but also packs plenty of emotional punch. Yes, it has sex, some of it explicit, but none of it gratuitous. Everything in Sosna's book, even the sex, works to move the story forward - and a great story it is.

The novel's protagonist, Rex, is a young gay man who moves to Chicago with no money and no plans. He tries hustling at first, but soon stumbles onto a job at a vintage record store, where his life is immediately complicated by an array of eclectic characters. There's Rodney, the reluctant bisexual, David, the music mogul and a drag queen girl group called the Girlettes, who dream of making it big one day. All Rex wants is a good man and a steady paycheck, but life, as it turns out, has much more in store for him.

All of the characters in Doo-Lang Love are portrayed with complexity and depth, and the story pulls you in and keeps you there with a sense of realism that almost makes you feel like you're standing there watching it happen. The only line in the entire book that I didn't like was the very last sentence. I'm not going to spoil things by quoting it, but it made me groan, and not in a good way. That aside, though, Sosna's debut novel is a total charmer. I was genuinely sorry when I reached the end and had to say goodbye to Rex and to the rest of these amazing characters, who all felt by then like old friends.… (mehr)