KNONK notes

queer

Murder Most Fab - Julian Clarey

finished

Delightful, camp murder comedy about a young man on his way to super stardom who just keeps getting put into situations where he unfortunately has to murder other men. Woe is he.
The character is a lot more sympathetic than I would have guessed from the premise, he's more of a lovable idiot than a magnificent bastard. It's sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, but the story is saved from nihilism by the character's enduring love for a YA summer romance.
Best read of the year so far. (Yes, it's mid January, but still.)

Recommended if you like:

  1. That Gay Shit,
  2. Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,
  3. Whore with a Heart of Gold.


What a Drag! Another open mic?

House of Boussé is a trans-forward drag house and they have an open mic in Café Kino that is strange, wonderful, inscrutable, delightful. It feels a little bit culty but like, in a good way.
Drag can be a funny thing to try to define. The open mic is for any short form performance art by trans+ artists. I’ve seen comedy, music, horror, historical, and genre-defining what-is-its on What a Drag’s small stage and personally, I’m ready for more.

Last Wednesday of the month, check at: What a Drag! (IG)
Café Kino is at:

108 Stokes Croft, Bristol BS1 3RU England

Accessibility note: the performance is in the basement down some steep steps.

Recommended if you like:

  1. Drag
  2. Trans wrongs
  3. In-jokes


Detransition, Baby!

finished

One of my top reads of the year, but it’s hard to explain why. The story is about a complex family trying to form: a detransitioned trans woman gets his boss pregnant and is asking his ex (a transwoman) to join them and be the second mother to the baby.
Most of the book is actually the character’s back stories, how they got to be who they are and why this crazy premise actually makes a kind of sense, maybe. It’s very queer, it’s funny and sad and hopeful without sanding down the rough edges.
I don’t identify as trans but reading this I felt closer to understanding trans experiences than an educational text could ever managed. And I value it deeply for that.

Recommended if you like:

  1. Queer drama
  2. Trans rights


Bury your Gays - Chuck Tingle

finished

I was new to Chuck Tingle, who also has a very sexy fiction podcast where his erotic stories are read by the people of Welcome to Nightvale (get that where-ever you get your podcasts). He’s good. I liked it. Blazed through it on a roadtrip.
Bury your Gays is a very enjoyable, madcap Hollywood horror about the future of entertainment in the age of AI, being out, artistic integrity and the ghosts of the past. Well plotted, great cast, satisfying ending. No notes.

Recommended if you like:

  1. that gay shit
  2. lifestyles of the rich and famous
  3. horror