Poppy Z. Brite: Liquor

I just realized I posted a review for this in the library, but didn't start a thread. Anyone else read this one? Thoughts? Here're mine:

I recently had the opportunity to read Poppy Z Brite's Liquor. Liquor is the first* in a series of books about G-Man and Rickey, two New Orleans natives working in the food industry. The men are in their late twenties, have been best friends since childhood and are lovers. Liquor follows their quest to open their own restaurant in New Orleans where every dish will be made with liquor. Other characters include Lenny Duveteaux, the eccentric celebrity chef who is silently financing the operation, and Mike Mouton, Rickey's paranoid cokehead ex-boss turned murderous stalker.

Brite has a page turner here. The writing isn't exceptional, but it's not bad either. The characters are well developed and the plot is a constant mix of light suspense and entertaining humor. The descriptions of life in New Orleans are fantastic where other books about New Orleans often fall short. Brite easily depicts the life of the average working man, working in a difficult industry, and living at or below the poverty line. She also does well with portraying the main characters' gay relationship as an underlying romantic element without allowing it to overshadow the main story.

All in all, I found this book to be an easy, fun read. The novel isn't tremendously long and I had trouble putting it down at times. My only complaint is that it may have been a bit too short. I look forward to reading The Value of X, the novella that preceded it and Prime, the already released follow up. I'll also be looking forward to Soul Kitchen, which will be released in mid-2006.

*Not including the novella, The Value of X.

Have you read any of Brite's horror works? Or Soul Kitchen for that matter?

I haven't read any of her horror. I had a couple of them and started them, but couldn't get into either. I really don't like horror, so it wasn't all that surprising. I have read Prime, which is the initial follow-up to Liquor. I don't think it was as good as Liquor, but I still really enjoyed it. I have yet to read Soul Kitchen. I had good intentions, but just forgot about it. I'll have to make an effort to pick it up at some point.

I loved Prime. I think the new locations really helped, plus I feel the story was well-developed. Soul Kitchen is good too but a little derivative of past books since it has Rickey consulting for another restaurant (why can't his partner do that as well?). While the plot's weak, Brite's handling of social issues is to be commended. She makes her points clearly but at the same time she doesn't beat the reader over the head with her message.