Title: Illustrated Men
Artist: Michael Breyette
Authors: Various
Publisher: MLR Press
Buy Link: Buy Link Illustrated Men
Genre: Anthology, Erotic Art
Length: 16 paintings, 17 Short Short Stories (165 pdf pages)
Rating: 5+ stars out of 5
A Guest Review by Cole
Review Summary: Even though the stories are wonderful, the pastel paintings by Michael Breyette are the shining stars in this anthology. They are worth the DIK rating alone.
BLURB
A thousand words, a single picture…
Since artists are often called upon to turn prose into a visual for such things as book covers, I wondered, would writers be able to pick up the creative torch and run in the opposite direction? I had little doubts they could and it got me excited wondering what they would come up with for my own pastel paintings.
So with that it mind I though it would be fun to launch a contest and invite friends, fans of my art, amateur scribes, professionals writers, really anyone who wanted, to pick a painting from my body of work and build a short story around it.
As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. I wanted to find out if that was true.
Art-inspired short stories contributors for this collection include: L. John Williams, Todd Schoonover, Veronica, Aleksandr Voinov & Marquesate, Linda Schnelle, John Stewart, George Seaton, Gabriel Morgan, Alan Bennett Ilagan, Todd Peissig, Harold Dixon, Justin Shephred, Clare London, and artist Michael Breyette.
REVIEW
If you’ve never seen the artwork of Michael Breyette, you’re in for a treat. He makes pastels that evoke all different kinds of scenarios of the male form — from scenes of domesticity to acts of passion. On its own, apart from accompanying prose like the stories in this volume, the art often seems to move and shift. Instead of scenes showing stasis, the men move of their own volition, giving us clues to their story. They are a snapshot into his characters’ lives, but with a wealth of detail that lends itself perfectly to the creation of a story. That is the idea in Illustrated Men — a volume of sixteen of Michael Breyette’s pastels, each with a story that was inspired by its specific work of art and written by many of the authors you know and love and many authors you may not yet have heard of. In this experiment, Breyette asked for authors to submit a short short story inspired by one of his works. The result is as you see here, stories as varied as the artwork they are inspired by.
There are seventeen stories to sixteen paintings in this volume (one of the paintings was chosen twice). I had quite a few favorites of mine that I’ve found myself revisiting in my daydreams over the past few days. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (based on the painting of the same name), written by Aleksandr Voinov and marquesate, tells the story of a disillusioned, gay officer in a camp in the Middle East. Tired of being on guard 24/7 and wanting to go home even though he’s been re-enlisted because of Stop Loss, he floats through his duties exercising control over his desires, his movements, and even his thoughts. Then, one day, Scott meets a British sergeant named Rich. After a conversation laced with innuendo, they are both satisfied that the other has clued in to their desire and they spend an hour locked in storage where Scott can finally let go of his control — and give it to Rich. I loved how this story showed me how constrictive base camp in a war zone is. The mood from the first paragraph is dim and Scott is broody. This makes the sex some of the hottest in this volume, because it is a release of tension and depression, which ultimately, brightens the story.
“Vows” by Justin Sheperd (based on the painting named Let No Man Put Asunder) is the story of two monastic students: one on a track into the priesthood and another on a track working for the Church as an engineer. The story covers almost ten years as these two become best friends, then drift apart after their vows start taking place. Then, finally, when our narrator realizes that the love he has for God can no longer compete with the love he has for his best friend, he leaves the monastery to make his way in the world. The rest of the story follows the choices his love will make and how they are affected by the Church. It is a beautiful story about the power of love being a force for God and not restricted to man’s law.
“End of the Line” is another favorite of mine written by Clare London and based on the painting that is the cover for this book. Based on the painting named Trainspotting, the whole story is a tale of two men jostled up against each other on a crowded train during a long journey. Their attraction to each other grows exponentially when they are pressed up against each other and the lights go out while going through a long tunnel. This allows them the illusion of privacy but still the thrill of discovery as they have a hurried encounter in the midst of the other travelers. I have to mention how utterly hot this story was. I’ve never found myself really interested in public encounters, but the risk here is worth the payoff. Will he ever see this man again? Or, when the doors open at the next stop, will the crowd usher him away before they had even had a conversation?
Lastly, but definitely not least, “Texas Twilight” by Gabriel Morgan (based on the painting named Carson) follows a writer and researcher named Reuben traveling the west in the 1875. He meets a naked man (Carson) washing in a stream and they make fast friends, traveling for several days in the same direction. Then, just as they are about to become really close, Carson tells Reuben about the woman who he is being forced to marry and that he is headed home to her right now. The rest of the story follows Reuben as he tries to understand his feelings and find his way back to Carson.
There are several other stories in this anthology that were excellent and deserve praise. “Idol” by L. John Williams (based on A Night on the Town) and “Morning Glory” written by Michael Breyette himself (based on the painting of the same name) were excellent stories about a man who falls in love with a character on TV and a chance encounter in Provincetown, respectively. “Dirty Laundry” (based on the painting of the same name) by Veronica is a wonderful story about two roommates who are in love with each other but who both think they are the only one. It all comes to a head when one wants to move out and the laundromat brings them together. Be warned that two stories — “The Pickup” (based on Leaving Las Vegas) by Harold Dixon and “A Real Man” (based on Bottom) by John Stewart — contain a scene with dubious consent.
This is an amazing anthology and I believe that it is worth the DIK rating for the art alone. The stories certainly are good and some of them are incredible, yet the art takes the cake here. It is quite a study in how our imaginations work in comparison to those around us. It is usually such a subjective thing, the way we see the world, or the picture our brains conjure when reading words on a page — however this collection gives us common ground. By using a visual aid to create a story, we readers get to see what story that image conjures in another mind, and how different or similar it may be to our own.
Enthusiastically Recommended
Illustrated Men is sold in ebook format and paperback. If you have the money, a paperback copy is certainly worth it, and you can buy signed paperback copies from Michael Breyette’s website here.
Cole
I just finished your review and it’s almost as incredible as the book itself. Reading the review prompted me to buy the paperback from Michael Breyette which I just ordered (even though I have a review copy.) 😉 As I mentioned to you, I am a huge fan of this artist and I have a couple of his calendars as well as a signed copy of his book Summer Moved On published by Bruno Gmunder.
Thank you for this review which I hope will entice readers to buy the book so that they can enjoy not only the wonderful stories, but also Michael Breyette’s art.
Thanks Wave! Its fantastic isn’t it? I remembered what you said about reviewing it, so I emails Clare L, to let her know that my review was going up today and that her’s was one of my favorite stories. I want to know which story is your favorite… I didn’t give them enough credit here, but two of my other favorites were Morning Glory and Idol.
I also sent Clare a link because I knew how much she had invested in this story, and of course I sent a link to Michael Breyette.
I’ll let you know about my favourite stories as soon as I’ve finished them all. 🙂
Great job on the review.
You’re an enabler, Cole. Just bought my paperback copy – now I’ll have to wait until next month until it makes its way across the pond.
Thank you anyway, this artwork is fabulous!
I know you’ll enjoy it Feliz! Its a great book. Let me know what your favorite stories and favorite artwork is, okay?
Thanks, the pair of you, I appreciated both the review and the heads up :). I love Michael’s work and I really enjoyed being part of this project. If readers are interested, I posted a series of excerpts and pictures from the book on my blog recently (hope you don’t mind me posting the summary link, Wave).
http://clarelondon.livejournal.com/245983.html
Cole, this was a great review because you captured the enthusiastic and emotional response so many of us have to Michael’s art. The book is beautifully laid out and I personally love the mixture of art and fiction. It’s a unique and fun way to enjoy the best of both worlds! And no, *lol*, I’m not on any commission at all on this project, I just love it.
One of my favourite pics is actually “Drenched”, which you’ve included in your review post, though it was “Trainspotting” that inspired my story. And I’m really pleased you liked it :). Otherwise, I’d be hard-pressed to identify a favourite story, I have about six *haha*.
Hope other readers do, as well!
Hi Clare
Of course I don’t mind your link. I was on your Lj and commented as well.
This is a wonderful anthology and I’m very happy that Cole reviewed it because he did a much better job on it than I would have. 🙂 I can sure pick the best – all of the guest reviewers on the site are exceptional and each has his or her own niche and specialty.
Aww, Wave, thank you for saying that. I can tell you that I definitely enjoyed reviewing this one! 😉
Thank you Clare! Also, thanks for posting the link to the excerpts and pictures. I had meant to post a link to something similar and I forgot, so thanks!
Well, I was trying to explain how I feel when I look at his art. It is as if everything has paused in the middle of movement and you can see their muscles thrumming and the potential energy building up in their bodies. They sort of breathe, you know? I think this is a perfect way to also bring the gay art world and the m/m romance/erotica communities together. I think this could bring a lot of m/m readers into the world of erotic art.
I have three favorite pastels from this collection: A Night on the Town, Dirty Laundry, and Sunday Paper, which is my favorite in this book. Of all of his paintings? Natural Wonder, which I know that Wave loves and is on the site (under the two twinks in bed 🙂 ), Soak (as well as any other cowboys he does), The Waterfront, Pensive Sky, Necessary Roughness, Vers la Vie Nocturne, A Place in the Sun, Buck, My Morning Sun, his new one as of Dec. 26 Snow White, and Sunnyside, because I wish that was waiting for me in my kitchen every morning 🙂 …and of the naughty ones: The Banquet.
However, after all that (!!), my all time favorite of his is The Underwear Drawer, which I used as my Christmas Card 🙂
Whew, thats all! Thank you Clare for such a wonderful story, and I think the hottest story as well. It was steaming!
Thanks for the nice mention of Texas Twilight. I was very pleased to be chosen for the anthology and thrilled that it’s being so well received. I’ve read thru my copy several times now and found new bits to enjoy with each reading.
Gabriel,
Thank you so much for your story. Not only has it stuck with me because I fell in love with Carson and Reuben, but I was really impressed with your ability to leave me with such an impression and with so much content in the short amount of time that you had. I am looking forward to going back and enjoying some stories again and definitely enjoying the paintings again 🙂
Thank you Gabriel!
Cole, great review. The concept of this book is really cool. Maybe other erotic artists should do this as well. Michael Breyette is not my most favorite erotic artist, Kent gets that honor, but he is very stimulating all the same. And Cole sent an e-christmas card with a Breyette scene that was very good too.
There are quite a few artists that come to mind, namely Tom of Finland, that have illustrated erotic fiction for many years. As I mentioned already, Kent, and also Matt, RAS, and Richard A. White. These draw men that are real life as opposed to someone like Angel Reyes that draws men in abstract.
I could go on and on about fiction and how it is illustrated. But I won’t.
Thanks again Cole.
Hi John!
I am really new to erotic art and I’m loving these artists you mentioned. Thank you! I think it would be awesome for more artists to organize a book like this, or even for writers to use these as inspiration. They are certainly inspiring 😉
What a wonderful review, Cole. I’ve had this book on my TBB list since seeing it at MLR..now I’m ordering it this week. I was lucky and found Michael Breyette’s work this year while helping my daughter with her college paper on gay artists. There is just something about the way he makes each picture breathe that captivates me. I look foward to reading the stories his art inspired.
What an awesome project for your daughter to do! When I was in college I did a lot of gay studies, but it was mostly gay literature and contemporary fiction. Thank you for saying that “…he makes each picture breathe” — that is what I was trying to say in my review, that each painting has a life of its own.
Thanks Cole for the wonderful review, if I ever need a publicist, I know who to call!
Seriously though, you actually made me want to go out and buy it. The praise has to go to all the authors. They did such a wonderful and creative job spinning stories from my paintings and taking me on journeys I would not have imagined. I always have some kind of back story vaguely floating in my head as I work on a painting, so it was thrilling for me to see worlds and characters come into focus. It’s been a wonderful experience.
Thank you Michael, that is high praise indeed. For a book that I wholeheartedly recommend to people, I’m happy to say that I might have enticed someone to buy this. It is worth it, and you as well as the authors here deserve it.
Also, I just wanted to say how much I loved your new painting Snow White, even though my favorite is still The Underwear Drawer. 🙂
Thanks again!
Hey Cole Your beautiful review has enticed me too! I really enjoy Michael’s work and what an inspired idea to pair stories with them. I will have to get a paper copy of this one though – and that’s pretty rare for me anymore.
I’m glad TJ. I am going to do the same thing. I have the pdf copy for review, but I would really like to have it in print.
I’m glad that you like it 🙂