Visions and Revisions: Coming of Age in the Age of AIDS
This started with a tremendous monologue of Peck detailing his relationships that conjured up fond memories of the disaffected literature of the 1980s (I'm beginning to see why irony is ruining culture, but I have no regrets), but the feeling faded as the book went on and I realized that voice wasn't coming back.
Peck examines the AIDS epidemic as he experienced it and shares a few stories of the experiences of others. 'Visions and Revisions' is a series of essays published at different times and they don't always mesh together and, as a history or even just as a narrative, leave a lot to be desired. Peck acknowledges the difficulty of covering this time and the overwhelming shadow it casts into the present day, but it seems like he could have done a little more to prepare the book for consumption. The stories of his own life, in investigating a serial killer and hate crimes and the post-AIDS reality of bath houses and unprotected sex, make for interesting reading until the self-absorption of it dulls the senses.
The book wasn't what I was expecting, and I'm not sure who the audience is.
