Review: Another Stunning Book By Julie Bozza
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 30, 2013
I've come to expect stunning, literate writing from Ms. Bozza, and The Apothecary's Garden does not disappoint. It left me in tears, once again - of joy, not sadness.But I do have a bit of a quibble. This is a story of two men who fall in love. The problem is that there is a huge age difference, 40 years, between the two. Well, it's not a problem for the young man, Tom, but a serious one for Hilary, the older lover.Hilary was raised at a time when it was still illegal to be gay, and spent his life being circumspect - content, but not happy. The young graduate student, Tom, changes all that and shows Hilary that more could be had, if one had the courage to go for it.The obstacle is Hilary's conviction that he has to end the affair to afford the young man he loves the opportunity to find someone more his own age, to live his youth before he loses it, and not to tie himself down to the old fart. Of course, that's how Hilary sees himself, while Tom sees him as a wise, gracious partner and a sexy, passionate lover.The quibble is that it seems that this entire genre (M/M Romance) needs to have self-defeating gay men in order to exist. There was no approbation, no disapproval of any sort, no accusations of impropriety - I mean, even Tom's parents really liked Hilary.So, the gay man has to sabotage his own life and their relationship, to be the noble altruist who sacrifices their love on the altar of expectations. And that is a problem in that it's hardly a credible gay issue. Since the time of Plato and Socrates, older, experienced, men have had relationships with youth that were both passionate and mentoring. Even today (haven't any of these authors ever heard of "sugar daddies"?) there's a whole subculture of contemporary gay life in which young men idolize and love older men, and use their guidance and support to find their own way in the world.So, although the book deserves five stars for its brilliant writing, characters and emotional content, I'm not equally impressed with the book's premise.