Reviews for Adam

The average rating for Adam based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-08-14 00:00:00 Dario Ouellet Adam is a modern-day adolescent love story set in rural France. Adam is a sixteen year old boy from England who moves to France when his father's engineering company dispatches him to work on a bridge construction project. While there, Adam adapts rather quickly to the French language and culture and develops friendships with a handful of his school mates. He also meets an older boy, age 22, while exploring the countryside one afternoon. Adam's acquaintance, Sylvain, is ruddy and extremely manly. At once Adam is attracted to him. Months earlier, while still residing in England, Adam had first discovered his homosexual attractions when he engaged in repeated sexual exploration sessions with his best friend Michael. When he begins to realize that Sylvain is attracted to him as well, he picks up where he left off in his pursuit of sexual self discovery. They embark upon an ongoing sexual relationship and ultimately fall in love. When Michael visits Adam a few months later, a mutual friend Sean tags along. For ages Adam has harbored a secret crush on Sean, and he is conflicted over how to reconcile these feelings with his relationship with (and commitment to)Sylvain. Adam ends up having sex with both Michael and Sean during their visit. Eventually, Adam has to face the reality that his father's temporary post in France is going to expire and the family will be moving back to England. He is distraught, not sure how to break the news to Sylvain. When he finally informs his lover that he will be soon leaving, Sylvain takes drastic measures, taking matters into his own hands as he attempts to force a solution to their dilemma which is anything but practical. This story was a mixed read for me. There are numerous things about the book that I honestly loved. The writing was superb. The romance and physical intimacy were beautiful presented. I was able to relate to Adam, and I grew to genuinely care for him, as flawed as he may have been. In my view, the author presented a touching story that depicted a teenager sampling three very powerful variations of love for the first time. His relationship with Michael represented an enduring, most often platonic love, a love that will likely continue throughout his life. They are best friends and share a connection most others are incapable of understanding. Sean represents infatuation. He's the unrequited lover (at least for a season), the one Adam pines for and fantasizes about. Sylvain is the person with whom Adam ultimately falls in love. I understood these distinctions, and although it was unsettling at times to see Adam approach sex so casually, I also accepted the context. My personal viewpoint is that there are many sixteen year olds who are sexual active, even promiscuous, but it didn't sit right with me as I tried to mentally frame his sexual behavior within the context of his overall identity. Adam seemed to be an intelligent, well-mannered, and possibly even fastidious young man. Then this other side of him made me think of him as being slutty and replete of any firm morals. I ended up questioning myself, wondering if perhaps my issues with this depiction were culturally based. Perhaps my attitude toward sex is far too Puritan as opposed to European. Setting this issue aside, I also took issue with the characterization in the story. Yes, the story is primarily told from Adam's POV, but I yearned to understand Sylvain more. I struggled a bit with their romance. Was it supposed to be a classic opposites attract type relationship? That certainly was the case, Adam being intellectual and a bit cultured while Sylvain was a simple farmer. Adam was younger with a slender, boyish body, and Sylvain was a grown man. Adam was a deep thinker who had big dreams while Sylvain could not see beyond his limited scope of experiences on the farm. Sexually Sylvain dominated, yet Adam was completely in control of the relationship. Adam had intellectual superiority, and the fact that he was proud of this fact made him at times seem snobbish. There was a part of me that hated him for this. Is such a relationship possible for two people who are so opposite one another? It seemed a stretch for me. If only I'd been able to see more of who Sylvain was, maybe I'd be able to "get it". Then again, maybe there was no more of Sylvain to show. That was the point. He was a simple person, with limitations, and love transcends such things. It also irked me that the author often used such verbosity in his prose. He provided a minutia of detail that was unnecessary and often included blocks of text (dialogue) that were in French. Perhaps a bilingual reader would be able to appreciate this. To me, though, it was confusing. I grew weary of trying to decipher the French quotations by using context and wished the author had simply translated them. Although the writing itself was beautiful, I think there is something to be said for the adage, "Less is more." Overall I enjoyed the challenge of this read. I was stirred emotionally and I learned some new vocabulary in the process. I also really did grow to care about the main character. I think readers who enjoy stories that are non-formulaic and atypical may appreciate this read. And readers who appreciate the beauty of the written word over the plausibility of the plot would rate this book highly. In other words, the writing can be appreciated even if the story itself is not.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-05-10 00:00:00 Joey Coco I'm really thankful for the community of people on this website. Without them, I wouldn't have all these great books to read. That being said, this book was fantastic! I fell quickly in the French country side that was painted for me so vividly I thought I was there. Words flowed effortlessly for this author, excellent follow-thru, this author spins words with such an eased Caress he is a beautiful poet. His characters were insightful, witty and had a voracious appetite for being young and using it to their full advantage. Making the same type of mistakes we all do at that age, regardless of how cliche it may be. This book had. Breakneck passion, impatience and the lack of cynicism we seem to impregnate ourselves with at such an early age now. Truly a breath of fresh air. I recommend this work to any and all.