Interesting Monsters - Softcover

"These warm-hearted, witty and psychologically smart stories are the best fiction I've read in a long time. Aldo Alvarez is a tirelessly inventive, irrepressible storyteller."--Carol Bly "Aldo Alvarez's first collection, "Interesting Monsters", is more than interesting. Alvarez has a poet's eye and a confessor's soul. Honesty resides where it is not welcomed, as each of the stories reach into the contradictions of what it is we call life. Interesting, yes, incredible, of course, awesome, absolutely."--Helena Maria Viramontes "Aldo Alvarez's zany, original, offbeat, and always inspired collection of short stories gives the lie to the idea that all gay short stories have to be clones. At the same time, it brings to earth the myth that all experimental fiction has to have its head in the clouds. "Interesting Monsters" is moving, often quite funny, and always strangely human."--Felice Picano "For all their thematic and compositional risks, the stories in "Interesting Monsters"

What does your soul sound like? Mark, a has-been pop star at 40, converts his mother's attic into a recording studio to find out. Dean, who has AIDS, moves to his native Puerto Rico with his partner to enjoy his last few months of life, only to find himself battling a scheming, homophobic real estate agent who is ultimately trapped by her own wicked plans. With a playful intelligence, Alvarez shows that the real monsters in these stories are the prejudices that keep us silent and invisible. Here, the living visit the dead, lovers and friends endure catastrophic first dates and heartbreaking good-byes, and the lucky ones, sometimes, find true love.