The fact that certain friends have drifted out of my life can still hit me with a pernicious gravity, even years after their emotional evacuations. It seems, from reading the chronicle of Liam Shea in Alex Jeffers’ beautiful That Door Is a Mischief, that there is a possibility, that no matter how old I get, this may always be the case.
An actual fairy, raised by two gay men, Shea’s mystical, immortal nature, ultimately, finds him outliving all those who have loved him. But before this bittersweet denouement, Jeffers takes on us an incredible journey.
As a teen, Liam has little use for human interaction, but as he forces himself to connect with a kind classmate, he soon opens up to human characteristics such as friendship and love. A chance encounter with Harry, a former antagonist, eventually opens his sensitivities up further than he could ever have imagined. As the two embrace each other, wholly, Liam, sensitive to steel and its byproducts, even risks his life for Harry and, an unexpected rescue mission, finds them altered, physically, forever.
Briskly, yet with detailed elegance, Jeffers takes us through the various phases of Liam’s life. From the awkward interactions with his confused fathers to the sexual awakenings he experiences with wise shaman types, Jeffers offers up a full view of Liam’s world. As Liam’s chosen family grows, he experiences heartbreaks and joys that everyone can relate to and the reader’s connection with material is all the more enhanced for those descriptions.
Occasionally, Jeffers, a native of Ireland, uses phraseology that may be hard for American readers to master, but his descriptions of the ever changing fabric of Liam’s native fairyland is masterful. He, also, artfully, incorporates myriad visions of alternative sexuality, with ease and grace, making one long for a world as unbiased and erotically healthy as the one that Jeffers, lovingly, creates.
Clocking in at a scant 200 pages, but full of unparalleled joy and bone wrenching sadness, That Door Is a Mischief is, ultimately, a highly enjoyable work of fantasy fiction.
That Door is a Mischief is published by Lethe Press, http://www.lethepressbooks.com.
Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!
Big Gay Horror Fan 