- Hardcover: 416 pages
- Publisher: Flamingo (5 Feb 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0002259877
- ISBN-13: 978-0002259873
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 13.7 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,126,605 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
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
Review
Praise for 253:
‘Has more emotional depth than a festival of tear-jerkers’
INDEPENDENT
‘A stylistically dazzling box of fireworks’
GLASGOW HERALD
‘Astonishingly vibrant… lyrical and totally engaging’
LA TIMES
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I almost didn't buy this because of a previous review but I like Geoff Ryman so decided to go with it and am glad I did.The full title of this book is "Lust..Four letters. Infinite Possiblitiles"There is a lot going on in this book. Although the main character is fortyish..he is still trying to find who he is and where he belongs...I sincelerly felt for him.The writing in this book is lovely. Missed opportunities, lost chances, having the nerve to let your emotions lead you and following them. These are some of the things touched upon in this book. There are som exquisitely touching scenes, some touching sentences. There is real heart at the center of this book. It is NOT a book simply about a gay man having sex with anyone his imagination can contrive.It is about all of us trying to find some sort of love based in reality and not built on the fantasies of our youth or the movies.Really, please give this book a try.I don't think you will regret it. I didn't.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
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.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A well constructed, thought provoking fantasy
Living in London, Michael Blasco, good looking at 38, has been in a relationship for around twelve years, but things have not been going too well of late, and while they still... Read more
Published on 14 Feb 2010 by Benjamin
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... Read more
Published on 19 Oct 2001 by gimmegimme@yellowcandy.com
OK, OK, WE KNOW MICHAEL'S GAY!
Hmmm... Not as good as 253, but then 253 was one of the best concepts ever. I persevered with 'Lust'', and was rewarded with some pretty good writing in the middle section... Read more
Published on 26 April 2001
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