Book review: Since I Laid My Burden Down by Brontez Purnell
First time read, read on Queer Liberation Library because I thought the cover looked cool. It took me a week and a half to read. It was published in 2017 and the genre is contemporary.
The only main character is really DeShawn.
"Are there werewolves, Daddy?" DeShawn asked. "There sure the fuck are, son. They're gonna get us any moment," said his dad.
- Hard to gauge my feelings on this book because there are parts that are like eufhghghhaugh but there are parts that are really silly or relatable, too. It is interesting.
- He starts going to therapy at the end of the book and seems to be doing better so that's good. I don't think I have any particular gripes with the ending.
- I didn't really connect that "since I laid my burden down" is a religious thing (even after it's said in the book as part of a church song) until I told my mom what I was reading and her first question was "is that a christian book?" lmao. It isn't so religious that it's awkward to read, though, and DeShawn's struggles with religion are pretty relatable (the queer need to temporarily become a satanist needs to be studied).
- In the aftermath of grooming a minor, DeShawn is just. happy that it doesn't "become a scandal" and doesn't stop to consider Andre's feelings at all. Immediately after that he just starts thinking about how he's glad to have so many sexual experiences but wants to find love, and all the men who've let him down. And it's like. we can process that without raping teens right?? It isn't properly addressed at all and I feel like the book could've done without it.
- There's a scene near the beginning where he gives a drunk older trans woman a bj, despite DeShawn supposedly being gay. Her character isn't really portrayed respectfully, it seems like she's only there in the first place for the audience to laugh at her.
- The way the rest of the trauma and just general shitty things (mostly done to DeShawn) are discussed feel a lot more genuine and realistic, which I appreciate.
Of these tests, it fails the Bechdel test and isn't applicable for the Advanced Bechdel, Ali Nahdee, or sick dog tests.
4/10. Here's the Storygraph for it.
