If you’re cheating on your long-term partner, there’s nothing you want more than to be drawn into a situation where a crazed ex-boyfriend is after your sister and threatening to expose your affairs to your husband. Luckily, you don’t have to be that person to find out what happens in that situation.
Surprising Myself follows Joel and Corey, a gay couple who once met at summer camp and are now in a relationship. However, recently Joel has become more unfaithful towards his husband, spending nights out with men from the operas. When Joel’s sister leaves her husband and takes their daughter, it falls to Joel and Corey to help hide them from her deranged ex-boyfriend. Calling in favours from people they’d rather not engage with, the operation turns dark when he arrives in New York, and all of their lives are turned upside down!
I’m not sure what the title of the book is meant to mean, as it has no relation to any aspect of the story, besides the fact that it surprised me reading it! I enjoyed this book more than I had expected to. I did have some issues with the story’s pacing and structure at particular points, but overall it was a fairly enjoyable read. Having a flashback-style chapter at the start to introduce us to a few of the characters we’d meet later on was a great creative decision and one that definitely helped to avoid confusion and add a new dimension to the story later on.
The dynamics between some of the characters was questionable at times, but not in a bad way, more in that I feel some extra context would have helped to add new features to the plot. Another (set of) flashbacks, or even a prequel story wouldn’t have gone amiss, and would help to separate characters that sometimes feel like a name and a story, rather than an actual person in the plot. The use of these two intersecting storylines worked really well and added to the suspense when they finally collide, and you can only wince at what you know is coming, which is a huge positive for such a book.
It’s not the best story that’s ever been written, but it’s by no means a bad one. You’ll definitely enjoy this book if you pick it up, even with a few interesting choices made at points. It’s a strange concept, but one that works better than it could have with a different author.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Surprising Myself (ISBN: 0-85449-130-9) was published in 1987. A copy is available to borrow from the LGBTQ+ Lending Library in the LGBTQ+ Lounge
