Late last night, barely able to keep my eyes open because of exhaustion, I stayed awake in order to finish a story that capitvated me. Edinburgh by Alexander Chee.

Admittedly, I first looked this book up because I discovered the author’s blog after he visited mine. But I read the reviews and decided that it would be worth a try. I also made up my mind that I wouldn’t say anything further about it if I wasn’t enamored… Very rarely do I have the opportunity to actually tell the creator what I think of his or her work, and I don’t like to offer unsolicited criticism if I have nothing good to say. I can be brutally honest when giving my opinion of a book, movie, or music.

Obviously though, I’m mentioning it here, meaning it was wonderful.

Chee’s writing style is lyrical and poetic, and drew me in completely by the end of the first page. He takes a number of difficult topics (pedophilia & molestation, homosexuality, and bits of ethnic culture clash) and somehow weaves a beautiful story around it. It is a love story, though the beauty of that doesn’t come into focus until nearly the end. It is a coming of age story, but it manages to escape most of the clichés that usually trap tales of pubescent angst. It is a story about a gay man, but I would not dare place this in the same category as books that are usually promoted as “gay fiction”. Edinburgh is a tale of humanity and overcoming, even as many of the characters suffer through horrific tragedies.

In short, it is a magnificent work of art.