NIGHT KITES

by David Barber

After reading Night Kites, M.E.
Kerr's latest ‘young adult" novel, I
couldn't help but feel that something
just wasn’t right. At first I couldn't
put my finger on it, but then it came
to me. I had just been patronized.

I suppose we in the gay community
should be grateful for any coverage by
the commercial press of a subject so
close to all of our hearts. Yet I cannot
recommend the novel for I feel it is
seriously flawed.

The first few chapters seem
inoffensive enough. The story unfolds

Book review

through the eyes of l7-year-old Erick
Rudd. We are quickly introduced to the
principal players -- his girlfriend, Dill;
best friend, Jack; and Jack's girl, Nicki
Marr. Erick has fallen in love for the
first time. Complications arise when he
and Nicki become sexually involved,
which challenges his secure, orderly
world.

As a subplot we are introduced to
Erick's older brother, Peter. Kerr does a
good job of foreshadowing Peter's
illness, which eventually becomes known
to the family (and reader) as AIDS. I
found the passages dealing with Peter

ES‘

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to be written in a sensitive and
realistic manner (by far the most
interesting sections of the book) but
felt that Kerr missed the opportunity
throughout the rest of the novel to

enlighten the presumably straight
teenaged audience -- for which this
work is no doubt intended -- about

other, positive aspects of gay life.

It is this consistently negative
portrayal of gay life throughout the
remainder of the piece which I find to
be disconcerting. Charlie, the principal
gay character in the book, is
stereotypically drawn as a sissy. When
he gets beaten up we are told that he
"finally got what he was asking for.‘
Later on we are elevated to “fairy,”
"fag," and "maggot" status, finally being
compared with "alcoholics, anorexics
and Jesus freaks." It seems like none of
these statements is really ever
challenged in the dialogue that follows,
just serving to reinforce the old
prejudices. This is unfortunate, for the
novel could have succeeded if it had
dared to proceed further.

September
Calendar

Sept. 18 .

Vermonters for Lesbian and Gay Rights
(VLGR) bimonthly meeting, 7230 pm.
Peace and Justice Center, I86 College

Street, Burlington.
Sept. l9-20

Shabbat gathering for Jewish women
only on Huntington Open Women's Land

(HOWL). Campout, rituals, music,
dancing, workshops. For directions
and/or info call Lynda Siegel at
658-0199.
Sept. 20

Integrity, 8 pm service, 8:45 program,
St. Paul's Cathedral, Burlington.

Sept. 30

Interfaith/Ecumenical Spirituality
Group for Lesbians and Gay Men.
Formative meeting in Hinesburg, 7:30
pm. Come share your journey. For
directions call Bill at 482-3528.
Questions call Irv at (518) 547-8910 or
388-6751.

Oct. 2

VLGR meeting, 7:30 pm, Peace and
Justice Center, 186 College Street,
Burlington.

Oct. 3

Out in the Mountains monthly meeting,
6 pm, Peace and Justice Center, 186
College Street, Burlington.

Oct. 4
Integrity, 8 pm service, 8:45 program,
St. Paul's Cathedral, Burlington.