White, Christian

( 1 )

Overview


Fiction. LGBT Studies. Introduction by Bruce Benderson. The borderline lifestyle of twenty-year-old Christian White is a carnival of drugs and sex, accessorized by designer clothes and frequent stealing or scamming. Underneath the decadence are haunting memories of childhood abuse, the death of a brother and a father's criminal past. Expecting to make a fresh start, Christian relocates from San Francisco to New York, just as his friends are being rounded up by the police; but life only spirals farther out of ...
See more details below
Paperback
$18.00
BN.com price
Other sellers (Paperback)
  • All (9) from $1.99   
  • New (5) from $13.64   
  • Used (4) from $1.99   
Sending request ...

More About This Book

Overview


Fiction. LGBT Studies. Introduction by Bruce Benderson. The borderline lifestyle of twenty-year-old Christian White is a carnival of drugs and sex, accessorized by designer clothes and frequent stealing or scamming. Underneath the decadence are haunting memories of childhood abuse, the death of a brother and a father's criminal past. Expecting to make a fresh start, Christian relocates from San Francisco to New York, just as his friends are being rounded up by the police; but life only spirals farther out of control in the new setting. Instead of drugs, Christian's existence is beginning to center around sex. He has let himself slip into prostitution, and he may have even played a part in the murder of a successful architect, although he can't remember the evening entirely. It has become increasingly clear to Christian that the only way to save himself is to come to terms with the past, no matter how painful—or how dangerous—the trip.
Read More Show Less

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
Stoddard's debut unconvincingly follows 20-year-old Christian White's downward spiral into a haze of drugs, petty crime, and hustling. Forced to leave home by his deeply religious mother, his childhood compromised by a father incarcerated for murder and a brother killed in a hit-and-run accident, Christian moves to San Francisco and becomes the boy toy of Cale, a well-to-do gay methamphetamine dealer, but ends up on the run in New York, possibly as a murderer. Seems Christian can't quite remember how he woke up in the bedroom of a dismembered man. Memory loss is a recurring theme, which allows the author to overuse the predictable literary device of abrupt flashes of insight by the suddenly enlightened character. There are also strange jumps and gaps in the story that are lightly sketched over or unexplained. Christian is a "great poet," yet we never once encounter any of his poems. The novel apes Hubert Selby Jr.'s Requiem for a Dream, but lacks Selby's interesting characters and accomplished prose. Clothing labels get more attention than character development, and despite his suffering, Christian comes across as self-absorbed, vapid, and materialistic. (Jan.)
Publishers Weekly
Stoddard's debut unconvincingly follows 20-year-old Christian White's downward spiral into a haze of drugs, petty crime, and hustling. Forced to leave home by his deeply religious mother, his childhood compromised by a father incarcerated for murder and a brother killed in a hit-and-run accident, Christian moves to San Francisco and becomes the boy toy of Cale, a well-to-do gay methamphetamine dealer, but ends up on the run in New York, possibly as a murderer. Seems Christian can't quite remember how he woke up in the bedroom of a dismembered man. Memory loss is a recurring theme, which allows the author to overuse the predictable literary device of abrupt flashes of insight by the suddenly enlightened character. There are also strange jumps and gaps in the story that are lightly sketched over or unexplained. Christian is a "great poet," yet we never once encounter any of his poems. The novel apes Hubert Selby Jr.'s Requiem for a Dream, but lacks Selby's interesting characters and accomplished prose. Clothing labels get more attention than character development, and despite his suffering, Christian comes across as self-absorbed, vapid, and materialistic. (Jan.)
Read More Show Less

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780982807415
  • Publisher: Triton Books
  • Publication date: 7/7/2010
  • Pages: 230
  • Product dimensions: 6.00 (w) x 8.90 (h) x 0.70 (d)

Meet the Author


Christopher Stoddard was born in Connecticut in 1981. He lives in New York City. WHITE, CHRISTIAN is his first novel; he is currently working on a second. He was the editor and a contributing writer for the online zine, ANTICHRIS_. Some of his writing has also been published on eastvillageboys.com.
Read More Show Less

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 5
( 1 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(1)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identity on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

 
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously
Sort by: Showing 1 Customer Review

  • Posted July 13, 2011

    Edgy fiction not for the faint-of-heart!

    If you enjoyed "Less Than Zero" by Bret Easton Ellis, or "The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things" by faux-author JT Leroy, then you will LOVE reading "White, Christian" as much as I did.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Sort by: Showing 1 Customer Review
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)