From: Kathleen Horning <horning>
Date: Tue, 27 Feb 1996 11:08:00 -600

I enjoyed reading Marc Aronson's insightful and inspiring posting about "Damned Strong Love." I appreciated what he had to say from an editor's perspective about the masturbation scene between the two brothers that might be interpreted as having incestuous overtones, because it really helped me to identify what I think of as one of the book's most remarkable qualities: its innocent tone. It's the sort of book that's impossible to get across in a summary because all attempts to summarize it would make it sound like a harsher or more lurid book than it actually is. But the author (and translator) have managed to capture a narrative voice that is completely fresh and innocent, not because the narrator is ignorant but because he has an open heart and an open mind. Stefan's love for Willi makes him so vulnerable that the reader's heart aches for him, as we sense his doom long before he does. He is like a tiny delicate flower struggling to grow midst the rubble of a warzone.
     KT Horning, CCBC
     UW-Madison
Received on Tue 27 Feb 1996 11:08:00 AM CST