Caroline and her Dom live out their normal lives amongst the poverty,
alcoholics, and street preachers of Swansea, Wales. But when Dom and his straight roommate fall in love - a passionate, secret, non-sexual
love - their lives are transformed into a queer chaos of cross-dressing,
gender bending and free love. Will Dom hold on to his relationship? Can
religious fundamentalists be adopted as pets? And just what are The
Lesbians up to? The battle between preachers and drag queens, skinheads
and sex workers, boyfriend and girlfriend, is set to change the city
forever.
"Love conquers all, especially such trivial things as monogamy and sexual
orientation, in this polyamorous romance... a sprightlier comedy of
modern manners." - Kirkus Reviews
"Set in Swansea, Wales, The Giddy Death of the Gays & the Strange Demise of Straights is an engaging and thought-provoking read. It’s a story about breaking
free of restrictions — relationship conventions, geographical place,
traditional gender identity." - Out in Print
"Redfern Jon Barrett’s second novel is a fantastic ride through the lives of these Swansea residents.... The Giddy Death of the Gays and the Strange Demise of Straights is recommended to any library that collects popular fiction." - GLBT Roundtable of the American Library Assoc.
"In The Giddy Death of Gays and the Strange Demise of Straights, Redfern Jon Barrett’s rambunctious second novel, an oddball and
one-of-a-kind romantic comedy, Swansea’s not much of a habitat to
celebrate. At best, the choral voices of Caroline, Rutti, Dom, and
Richard, the novel’s twentysomething first-person narrators, damn it
with faint praise as relatively affordable and quiet; and as better than nothing. Usually, though, they dwell on faults.... Bennett’s
accomplished at handling the quartet of distinct first-person narrators. Caroline, inhabiting 'the life of a geography postgrad' has just enough money to both eat and pay rent. She works at a “shitty place that calls itself a bar.” She’s in love with Dom, an introverted maths grad
student. Richard’s shy, an avid gamer, and employed by a call center
with a daily surplus of idiotic callers." - Lambda Literary Foundation
"Each character takes centrestage and becomes the protagonist, not only in
their designated first person sections, but throughout. It takes real
skill to make this reader identify with a straight woman, a straight
man, a drag queen, a lesbian, and their fluctuating identities, all
sometimes within a single chapter. Most importantly, it made me examine
my own identities and question the strictures that I have built around
them." - MyGayToronto.com
