MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Free (Kindle DRM-free) Safe as Houses [LGBT Deaf Immigrant Family Literary Novel]

ATDrake · 04-08-2015, 03:19 PM

Safe as Houses by Lambda Literary Award-winner and Gaylactic Spectrum-nominee Alex Jeffers (ISFDB, Wikipedia) is his 1995 debut literary fiction novel, told partially in the form of reminisces about the experiences of the protagonist's family, centred around the lives of the terminally-ill hearing-enabled gay son of two deaf Hungarian immigrant parents raised in old-world conditions, and the also-complicated relationships of his long-term lover, with whom he is struggling to raise two children, and said lover's lesbian mother's own extended family, free courtesy of LGBT specialty publisher Lethe Press (Wikipedia), who are e-printing it from its 1995 hardcover out from Faber & Faber (Wikipedia), who have since become part of the Macmillan group.

This has moderately favourable reviews quoted in the Editorial section, which is pretty decent considering that it was an ambitious-sounding first novel.

Currently free (and DRM-free) for anywhere up to the next five days @ Amazon (available to Canadians & in the UK), as it seems that this is one of the books they are doing via KDP Select's exclusive-or-else program, unlike the rest of their catalogue which is mostly still available (and couponable) via other outlets.

And this has been the (late!) selected 3rd (non-repeat) free ebook thread of the day.

Because it's always nice to have a bit more diversity in both settings and characters of the stuff we get, and while the tearjerker storyline seems pretty standard, it should be interesting to read about the intersection of deafness and immigrant culture, for which we rarely get anything focusing on themes of disability or fish-out-of-water country-switching cultural shock experiences, so this one is welcome.

Also, it's from an SFnal-related author I "know" from having picked up a few freebies and paid discount items from prior Smashwords Read an Ebook Week as well as Weightless Books sales, so

Enjoy!

Description
When Allen Pasztory discovered he was likely to die before his time, he realized that what he could pass down to the people he loved was stories. Stories of and for his families – the family he was born to and the family he stumbled upon and fiercely embraced.

The hearing child of parents raised in the inhumane surroundings of a state school for the deaf, all along Allen knew he and his family were different. His sister tried her best to become ordinary, as if it were possible, but Allen knew better. He would be ready to offer sanctuary when an ordinary family cast out his nephew Kit.

Allen fell for freelance artist Jeremy’s talent and looks, but it was Jeremy’s unanticipated bravery that supported them through the years while they nurtured their new family. Despite hostility from without and threat from within, they created a secure and loving home for Jeremy’s precocious son Toby and, later, Allen’s nephew.

But safety can’t be guaranteed. Ill, Allen must tell himself stories to survive, stories that may explain his life to the boys he’s raised, for “your life is never only your own story, and what you don’t know for sure you must invent, using all the clues you can gather.”

04-08-2015, 03:19 PM	#1
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	Free (Kindle DRM-free) Safe as Houses [LGBT Deaf Immigrant Family Literary Novel] Safe as Houses by Lambda Literary Award-winner and Gaylactic Spectrum-nominee Alex Jeffers (ISFDB, Wikipedia) is his 1995 debut literary fiction novel, told partially in the form of reminisces about the experiences of the protagonist's family, centred around the lives of the terminally-ill hearing-enabled gay son of two deaf Hungarian immigrant parents raised in old-world conditions, and the also-complicated relationships of his long-term lover, with whom he is struggling to raise two children, and said lover's lesbian mother's own extended family, free courtesy of LGBT specialty publisher Lethe Press (Wikipedia), who are e-printing it from its 1995 hardcover out from Faber & Faber (Wikipedia), who have since become part of the Macmillan group. This has moderately favourable reviews quoted in the Editorial section, which is pretty decent considering that it was an ambitious-sounding first novel. Currently free (and DRM-free) for anywhere up to the next five days @ Amazon (available to Canadians & in the UK), as it seems that this is one of the books they are doing via KDP Select's exclusive-or-else program, unlike the rest of their catalogue which is mostly still available (and couponable) via other outlets. And this has been the (late!) selected 3rd (non-repeat) free ebook thread of the day. Because it's always nice to have a bit more diversity in both settings and characters of the stuff we get, and while the tearjerker storyline seems pretty standard, it should be interesting to read about the intersection of deafness and immigrant culture, for which we rarely get anything focusing on themes of disability or fish-out-of-water country-switching cultural shock experiences, so this one is welcome. Also, it's from an SFnal-related author I "know" from having picked up a few freebies and paid discount items from prior Smashwords Read an Ebook Week as well as Weightless Books sales, so Enjoy! Description When Allen Pasztory discovered he was likely to die before his time, he realized that what he could pass down to the people he loved was stories. Stories of and for his families – the family he was born to and the family he stumbled upon and fiercely embraced. The hearing child of parents raised in the inhumane surroundings of a state school for the deaf, all along Allen knew he and his family were different. His sister tried her best to become ordinary, as if it were possible, but Allen knew better. He would be ready to offer sanctuary when an ordinary family cast out his nephew Kit. Allen fell for freelance artist Jeremy’s talent and looks, but it was Jeremy’s unanticipated bravery that supported them through the years while they nurtured their new family. Despite hostility from without and threat from within, they created a secure and loving home for Jeremy’s precocious son Toby and, later, Allen’s nephew. But safety can’t be guaranteed. Ill, Allen must tell himself stories to survive, stories that may explain his life to the boys he’s raised, for “your life is never only your own story, and what you don’t know for sure you must invent, using all the clues you can gather.”