3.28 "Darnau o fywydau dynion hoyw yn y 1980au a'r 90au" stars !!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Parthian books. This was released Feb 2022 and I am providing an honest review.

Look at the book cover of a beautifully waxed chest and tight lilac speedos lying in a pool with tons of cocktails and more cocktails and lots of abs and well yes cock. In the background we have Madonna singing Cherish and all the party boys dancing and prancing. This is only the very top layer though. Underneath it all are men fighting with injustice, Aids, familial cutoffs and searches for deeper meaning and connections. These are Welsh men with lovely names and eking out an existence in other parts of the UK or Europe or even California. They deeply love their beautiful country and language but are hurt by the deeply conservative views of the of the villagers in the 1980s and 1990s. Here are their stories.....

This appears to be a retrospective of Mr. Jones short fiction and seven of the twenty one stories impacted or impressed me greatly and I will speak of these in a bit.

The rest range from an ok 2.5 to very good 3.5 and only one was a two star. The issue I had with many of these stories is that they appeared a bit forced, preachy and quasi educational. Good stories that needed a bit more artistry and subtlety...

The seven gems though were well worth this volume and I will mention the story, the rating and a thought or feeling or two. They are mostly 4 star with one 4.5 star and one superior 5 star. Here we go....

The Wedding Invitation (4 stars) a very painful family story of a traditional Welsh family wedding alongside homophobia, anti-semitism and antagonism towards the dominant English.

But Names will never hurt me (4 stars) a terribly sad tale on how bullying and homophobia led to a youth's compulsive and risky promiscuity alongside self-loathing and chronic shame alongside the beautiful Welsh coast

Just Beyond the Buddleia Bush (4 stars) The start of a new love affair between 2 men on a Welsh beach....both tender and vulnerable

The Fishboys of Vernazza.(4 stars)..a fun and whimsical tale of 2 Welsh men contemplating their relationship with the help of some Italian merboys...beautiful and descriptive prose of Italian village coastal life

Bronze of the Bunch The Wonder at Seal Cave (4 stars)...a sad and beautiful tale of a Calvinist Welsh youth grappling with God, society and sexuality...touches of mysticism and nature abound

Silver of the Bunch The Birds Don't Sing (4.5 stars) An incredibly poignant story of how illusory gay liberation is and the hate that is foisted upon queer men, Jews and the disabled...

Gold of the Bunch Sharks on the Bedroom Floor (5 stars) A beautiful and astute domestic piece of an interracial gay male couple looking after their young niece and nephew over the weekend in Coastal Wales

Diolch byth gymaint Mr. Jones!

There are many parameters that make each and everyone of us who we are. I much prefer adjectives than can be in the multitude than labels which usually are in the singular. In my opinion labels limit whilst adjectives describe. So here the adjectives are Welsh and Queer and that opens up to a series of stories very well told by John Sam Jones. His stories are about different people in diverse situations showing how wide a net such adjectives can cast.

A great collection with it's roots in Wales and all that is Welsh and queer. The two might not always like to be together but together they are. They exist as an entity.

An ARC kindly provided by author/publisher via Netgalley.

I really enjoyed these short stories. I thought they were very well written and thought-provoking. I will definitely be looking out for other works by this author.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

It was a good book. I enjoyed it.

It took me to read the second short story before I realized this book wasn't for me. I have been wanting to read a lot of literary works but it really seems like that genre is not for me. Though I give this book 3 stars, it doesn't truly reflect the book, just my feelings because I neither like nor hate it. Still, I'd recommend this to anyone who likes queer literary short stories.

When I decided to read Kiss and Tell I was expecting something else , a bit more romantic or better say less realistic.

Anyways, that is on me and doesn't reflect the quality of the writing that I should point is very good.

I just reviewed Kiss and Tell by John Sam Jones. #KissandTell #NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley and Parthian Books for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed the premise of this text being an anthology of queer stories/history all sharing the common idea of kissing and telling and was why I initially requested the book. However, between the cover and book blurb I feel that it was mismarketed as more cheery and bright than it was and instead being quite doom and gloom.

I think the history in this book is important to be told and certainly does not need to be happy go lucky, but with how small each short story was I felt that most stories did not get into the full meat of their issues and only bobbing below and above the surface of it.

This text could have benefitted from less stories, but more expansion on each one in my opinion. However, with all that being said I think there is at least one story for most audiences in this book and appreciate the effort put in to tell stories of more diverse backgrounds as well.

REVIEW ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Kiss and Tell by John Sam Jones is a collection of short stories filled with relatable characters dealing with issues such as threats of violence, identity suppression, adoption, surrogacy, HIV, physical intimacy and love. Though gay in theme, the messages found within are universal. This collection is an intriguing, thought provoking, and sometimes maudlin depictions of Welsh gay life. Many of the short stories have romantic elements, but be prepared for tales of homophobia and abuse presented with stark realism. I refrain from giving a five star rating due to the fact that I experienced repeated frustration with the brevity of some of the stories and felt that they failed to even scratch the surface of their issues. All in all, it is an enjoyable and worthwhile read. ⠀

Not really what I expected, might revisit this at a later point in time, and it seems like it has great potential.

Bringing together stories written twenty years ago and some more recent, "Kiss and Tell" could easily fall into the cliché of storybooks: some stories very good, some bad.
At least at first, that didn't happen.

Set on a trip to Europe, the first story "The birds don't sing", which is part of the book-within-a-book "Welsh Boys Too", ends with a punch in the stomach. Reading it without knowing anything, not even what the first images described mean is surprising.
What follows are equally or nearly as incredible stories: a gay couple taking care of their nephews, a summer crush, an old love that returns on its deathbed, a character who draws attention to the magenta of her clothes, and word that no longer hurts a young gay man.

In the second part, "Fishboys of Vernazza", there are also very good stories. More travels, an encounter in the dunes that turns into a burning passion, a prejudiced family and a loving one, an act of kindness for an old friend.

And the three latest stories, the most modern, join those that failed to have the impact or grandeur that their sisters did.
Whether by the repetition of themes (experience of homosexual men, sexuality, identity, relationships with other people) or by the repetition of plots (student-teacher relationship, the disapproval of gay marriage, a story that leads nowhere), some stories were not excellent, but not bad either. Even in these, there is an occasional point of reflection, a teaching that can be discussed.

Rethinking the stories, the author's writing skill is undeniable, using different narrators, styles and forms to achieve what is needed in a shortstory: hook the reader and leave him ecstatic, leave him wanting more, thirsty for the next big thing in the next story.
Failing or succeeding, John Sam Jones knows what he wants with every story, and tackles every bit of a gay man's life, from the dilemmas of youth and the love/sexual adventures of adulthood, to marriage and the last moments of life, going through repression, sadness, HIV and the funeral of Margareth Thatcher (rest in peace and rest well you c***)

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance review copy.

These short stories show interesting slices of queer life in Wales. They touch on such matters as language, HIV, and homophobia, including an unintended consequence of homophobic legislation in the UK. They also include nuanced portrayals of people, whether characters or historical figures, whom a lesser author would likely have portrayed as mustache-twirling villains.

However, they are all over the place in terms of enjoyment. They are variously thought-provoking, poignant, and maudlin.

For me, this collection of short stories falls short. I simply didn't like many of them. In the overall, the collection does not shine.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Kiss and Tell is a book of short stories with gay themes but the messages and situations in the stories are universal and very relatable. They are well written and diverse the characters are easily imagined and can be pictured in the reader’s mind.
The stories deal with love and rejection, with life and death, with hopes and fears, in other words, the things people go through every day and get through it or are scarred by it or grow stronger because of it. There are many defining moments in this book for the protagonists. But here there is the added layer of some people's judgments of and rejection of gay people. Something which I don’t understand and which I find an anathema, but that’s me and the prejudices and attitudes are very real to gay people and must be dealt with sometimes with tears, or anger, or hurt, or disappointment. And different people in the stories deal with them in different ways. Sometimes one has to leave one’s family and their attitudes and hate behind and that must be very hard.
I found the stories to be engaging and gripping and eye-opening I found the book to be enlightening and captivating.
There is also a lot of love and understanding and caring in the stories and ultimately it proves that people are people. A good read that moves quickly.

These were short love stories of gay men in Wales. The stories were a bit of a disappointment to me because I thought it would be a lot of romantic stories. It wasn’t. I have a hard time enjoying reading about homophobia and the abuse the young men had to go through. It makes me sad to read. I was hoping for romance and the joy of falling in love. If you are interested in the stark realities of gay men in Wales than this would be great for you.

I received this ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Kiss and Tell is a delightfully evocative collection of short stories from John Sam Jones. Often poignant and at times both fantastical and grounded in realism, these stories present a multi-faceted portrait of Welsh gay life.

These stories are intriguing, sometimes infuriating, and thought-provoking. Not every character is lovable, or even likeable, but there is an ever-present pathos and I found myself being able to connect to the truth of each character.

I particularly enjoyed the magic realism of the story Fishboys of Vernazza, and preferred the more romantic or sensual stories to the ones depicting the harsh realities of homophobia.

I am generally not a fan of short-fiction as it frustrates me to not be able to continue on a journey with these characters, but I would recommend this collection to anyone who enjoys short stories or is looking to understand more about queer life in Wales.