The Art of Bad Decisions
Paul Russell writes beautifully, no question about that. But his writing omits one essential element: the reader must affiliate with one (or more) of the characters and be sufficiently interested to follow their lives. In the case of War Against the Animals, upperclass PWA Cameron is set against two brother rednecks in a homophobic upstate NY town. Cameron is clueless about how to deal with the rednecks, and the rednecks are amateurs in taking advantage of Cameron. Bad Decisions all around. This would be delicious fare for a Creative Writing class to read, but fine though the writing is, the seriously flawed premises and plotting of the book undermine its wording skill. Recommended for those who value the precious and improbable in gay lit.
