My Bare Naked Heart Paperback – August 22, 2016

This book is about life as a freshman in 1957 at a preppy (the author's word) men's college in Vermont. Since I was a freshman at a men's college in New England in 1957, I couldn't resist picking it up to see how it did. I'd have to describe it as "not too bad."The book is something of a mixed bag. The first half is actually just a series of sexual encounters (mostly m/m, some m/f) strung together by the flimsiest of plots. There's an astonishing amount of space devoted to describing the genitalia of the participants: we get page after page devoted to their size, shape, and distinctive features, sometimes to the point of absurdity, as when certain ones are repeatedly described as swaying like metronomes. Halfway through, the tone changes to a romantic one, with characters getting a bit more developed. And the plot builds to a dramatic and almost believable drama of homophobia that's been foreshadowed.In some ways, it's accurate in portrayal of college life at that time. For example, bathing suits were not worn in swimming pools (something people nowadays find hard to believe). They told us it was to prevent lint from clogging the pool filters, but we always suspected it was because the faculty enjoyed ogling the naked students.The characters are an amazingly randy bunch, with as many as five couplings per day. And also extremely cleanly, since a good deal of the story takes place in shower rooms, which seem to be a major venue for socializing. Here's where things start to go wrong. The hijinks described here (deliberate exhibitionism, boasting about exploits, etc.) would have been inconceivable in showers then and probably at any time. Nudity was just taken for granted and showers were strictly for business. I can't remember ever hearing a conversation in a shower room. I have a feeling that there's a female author behind the pseudonym (as in many gay romances). It's hard to believe that the writer was ever in a male shower. (And it's also hard to believe that a male author could describe someone as wearing a pewter necktie, though that's another story.)The book is worth three stars as an entertaining romp (it is quite well written and an easy, fast read), but don't expect serious gay literature here. Now if I could just get those metronomes out of my head...

My Bare Naked Heart  I have such mixed feelings about this book. The editorial errors have been noted so I won't belabor that here. This book tries to straddle the line between M/M erotica and literary fiction. As literary fiction there is some wonderful writing. The feel of 1950's Vermont felt true and real. There was an authenticity to it that really came through. The writing about the social and sexual mores of the 1950's also felt right. The relationships among the group of friends was well-developed and real. The novel's conclusion brought the story of these young men to a satisfying close.Then there are the sex scenes. And there are a lot of them. And a lot of talk about the size of everyone's penis. There were numerous trips to the showers where they would just stare at each other's appendages [which were almost uniformly quite large]. I just found it unrealistic to believe that a group of young men in 1950's Vermont would so openly share the intimate details of their bodies and their sex lives. Especially when most of them were heterosexual. (BTW, the language used in the novel is more graphic).I'm giving this novel 4 stars because I ultimately did enjoy reading it. I enjoy M/M erotica as much as the next person. And also good literary gay fiction. In this instance the melding of the two didn't really work for me.

I understand the negative comments lamenting the pornographic content of this book. It felt a bit much to me also. On the other hand, this is supposed to be the experience of an eighteen year old newly exposed to sexuality and so the graphic detail may have a certain appropriateness. I note that most of the reviewers who were disappointed did not complete the book.I think that the book contains considerable character development; perhaps not so much over the course of one year of school, but certainly over the characters' lifetimes. John, the adult narrator, is certainly a different person than John the college freshman. The story of Anthony caring for Shorty later in life brings tears to me and shows development of both characters.I agree with the reviewers who see the book as more about the relationships among the seven/eight than the "coming out" story. The central conflict revolves more around loyality/betrayal than the homosexuality.My biggest complaint is that the sequel is not yet out.

Wow… when I started reading this story I had no idea it would evolve into such a fun five star read. It didn't start off how I expected but as the pages turned the story developed brilliantly.It is explicit in large parts but it is done very honestly and translates later to the beating heart within the story. It is this merging of the physical and emotional that makes the story well and truly live up to its beautiful title: My bare naked heart.The MC John is a likeable, sensible young guy entering his first year of college. Through his eyes we are told about his experiences of sex, love and friendship. The cast consists of a group of friends who refer to themselves as The Magnificent Seven. I loved the dynamic between each of the characters and some of the power play that went on between them. The author very cleverly reminds us the traits of each character so it does not take long to learn who is who within the group.The story is set in 1957 and although it highlights some of the bitter barriers for same-sex love in that time it never plays victim to the decade. Every era has its good and bad points, and I think the author captures this well.I am not a fan of dropping spoilers so I will not go in to too much detail but I can say that I found myself smiling and nodding more than once at some of the behaviour and had damp eyes (sad and sweet) from the brutal honesty in how vulnerable we can be through early love and friendship.This really is the perfect blend of erotic and literary.

Whilst I am not a prude I did feel that there was too much sex, mentions of sex, descriptions of sex, thoughts of sex and discussions about sex that actually detracted from what is an interesting and well-constructed story that has something to say about changing attitudes and the ridiculous lengths people 'in authority' go to (yes, not 'went to' because this kind of prejudice in one form or another still exists around the world!) to stop people being who they want to be. I wanted more about life beyond the bedroom and I wanted to learn more about the characters other than their obsessions and antics in the showers. All of this saidf I enjoyed reading it and it certainly engaged me and, if I read it correctly, there is a hint of a sequel....which I will certainly look out for.

I really enjoyed this novel! However, for me it was a painful read as it brought back memories of growing up gay in the fifties and sixties, particularly my own life at university in the early sixties. I had to stop reading at on every point, and only returned to the book a few weeks later. However, I'm so glad I did complete it as the ending, although not entirely happy, is quite uplifting.Basically, the plot revolves around a young man at an east coast US university in the fifties. Initially unaware of his gay side, he gradually comes to realise his feelings for an older student in the dorm he lives in.His conflicting feelings are revealed, and at times there are feelings which may jar with younger readers who are accustomed to more enlightened views on the subject of coming to terms with gayness, either one's own or a friend's. But for me it was entirely convincing - the guilty secret looks in the showers, the perving on friends, and the extreme fear of being discovered.I recommend this book highly.

Every reader will bring their own experience to the interpretation of this story. We will all bring to it our own histories. To me it is a romance.Certainly, it has an eighteen year old's obsession with sex, but it is about self discovery rather than erotica. To label it as erotica is to miss the point.

One can only become attached to the characters and what they live. THere's sex indeed but they are so young that it's definitely what they think of 24/7! They are still a few glitches left after proof reading which can be a bit annoying but I definitely would love what happens next to Dusty and John. A sequel would be great!

Some people may refer to this book as "pornographic" or "dirty" & I agree it leaves nothing to the imagination when it comes to describing the sexual activity that is rampant in this book. However, it is also a story of first love & what it means to be a true friend.I'll admit I giggled & blushed my way through the first few chapters but after getting used to the extremely descriptive writing I settled into the story of best friends & a young man coming of age & coming to terms with his bisexuality in the intolerant 1950's.It's a fun & sexy read with an ending that brought tears to my eyes. It gets a bit repetitive at times (descriptions of bodies) & again it is VERY graphic. This is by no means as lovely & lyrical as Andre Aciman's "Call Me By Your Name" & Avery doesn't seem to be striving for that. This is just a very blunt story about young men full of love & lust.