What Belongs to You-Garth Greenwell

A stunning debut novel and my best read of the year so far. In an age when the majority of the work being produced under the umbrella of the literary fiction genre (even the portion of it that supposedly handles themes of sexual desire) feels paradoxically devoid of any (well-written?) depiction of the sexual act itself (since it seems that critics have decided such a thing does not have a place in ''serious'' literature, as if it weren't an indispensable part of the human experience), Greenwell has crafted a novel that perfectly encapsulates the very essence of sexual desire without it ever getting on the bordeline of being vulgar (specifically unreasonably so, like numerous cheap self-proclaimed novels that seem to get released in tons these past few years), while simulatanosuly distancing itself from the sterile, hypocritical (and at the end of the day hollow) coyness that characterizes (and ultimately condemns to miserable failure) similar efforts by contemporaries of his.

Sofia Bulgaria, a city that in the narrotor's/protagonist's eyes seems inhospitable, cold and depressive (just like his homeland, Kentucky, despite them seemingly being the furtherst away they geographically could) will be the setting of a fiery encounter, that will both bring memories of a troubled childhood back to the surface and define his future (at least a good deal of it) both positively and negatively.

A wonderful, skillfully written piece of fiction regarding the queer experience, desire and its (for many of us) correlative shame. Highly recommended.