Muscling Through

This is one of those novellas that for unknown reasons I've had languishing in my queue and what a wonderful surprise!

The “don't judge a book by its cover” adage is perfect for the ... umm cover of this book but more importantly it's narrator Alan Fletcher. Al is a big Hulk like guy of perhaps below average intelligence or rather mental development but he is a sensitive and guileless soul and also a talented, if formally untrained, artist. Laurence Morton, Larry, is a Cambridge Art Professor who happens to drunkenly stumble down an alley where Al has been taking a piss and the rest is romance. sigh

I loved that the story was told from Al's POV which could have made it challenging or limited in scope but it's not and I think that's part of what the author was trying to convey. Although Al is a guy with a limited education partly due to his socio/economic class but mostly due to his mental development he navigates and understands the world quite clearly. It may take him a few extra steps to get to certain realizations but that's not something necessarily detrimental or an insurmountable obstacle. Perhaps some things went over Al's head but the reader is pretty well informed of what the world at large thinks or how they react to Larry & Al's relationship. Being in Al's head also brought lightness and humor to what could've been a ponderous & heavy story about class and economic difference.

In the end Larry proved that was in fact quite “clever” (Brit speak for smart) in recognizing the true gem that is Al and embracing him and their life together pretty quickly in spite of what friends, family or work colleagues might think. Because to a large degree Larry is the one getting something precious out of the relationship. In Al he finds someone who against all odds shares many of his aesthetic interests or is interested in sampling them, says what he means and means what he says, and is a genuinely good person; to say nothing of their utter sexual compatibility. HOT.

Special mention to Larry's sister Ali and Al's friends Phil and Daz. I'd like to hear more about Phil and Ren.