Cyclizen

by Jim Provenzano

Overview

Cyclizen explores the class divisions of metropolitan life, the angst and pleasures of casual sex, and offers a darkly comic take on gay culture and relationships in 1990s New York City. Kent Hyles, a former member of ACT UP, turned bike messenger, finds a strange opportunity when a closeted corporate underling offers a deal. Balancing encounters with his ex-boyfriends and current sort-of boyfriend, and dying friends, Kent contemplates the end of his greatest love affair, with New York itself.

As with his previous novels, Provenzano weaves a deeper story, that of the demise of the tribe of centaurs. With clever symbolism, names and plot devices, he retells a mythic tale in a contemporary urban setting.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940013505865
Publisher:	Myrmidude Press
Publication date:	11/20/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	165 KB

About the Author

Biography
Jim Provenzano is the author of the novels 'PINS,' 'Monkey Suits' and 'Cyclizen,' the stage adaptation of 'PINS,' as well as numerous published short stories and freelance articles.

The curator of 'Sporting Life,' the world's first gay athletics exhibit, he also wrote the syndicated Sports Complex column for ten years. An editor with the 'Bay Area Reporter,' he lives in San Francisco. www.myrmidude.org

Editorial Reviews

Cyclizen is the tale of a bicycle courier recounting his life in New York City during the heyday of ACT UP and other protest groups. Provenzano accomplishes the seemingly miraculous task of spinning a yarn that is simultaneously meandering and as on-point as an arrow loosed from an over-taut bow.

Readers can never be sure where this book is heading, but it's one hell of a trip from point A to point B, filled with rich vocabulary and occasional forays into clever wordplay.

NY Blade - Anthony Glassman

Many passages stand out and could stand alone as short stories in their own right: awkward attempts at being friends with an ex-boyfriend, a sad interlude with a friend/f*ck buddy, fictional HIV-poz porn star Jake Stallion, plus numerous one-night-stands with guys Kent hopes will be 'the one.'

Cyclizen is unforgettable. Kent's look back on his younger days almost feels like a ghost story. The years covered in the book are a period that will indeed haunt us forever.

Bay Area Reporter - David Nahmod

Juggling AIDS activism, corporate and individual greed, all through the travails of a bike messenger in search of love and belonging, Cyclizen is noteworthy for its fine characterization and poignant lyricism. Provenzano explores love and friendship with insight and nuance, marking his work as unique, vital and significant.

Advance Praise - Trebor Healey