"The Naked Man" by Frederic

[Rutabaga]

Found here. 

A warning -- the story begins immediately after the narrator, at age 16, has just had penetrative sex with a grown man.  If this bothers you, you will have to control the cringe in order to continue.  But it will be worth it.

The narrator, Alejo, is at one point described by a teen friend as "so fucking convoluted," and this description seems apt, especially at the time it is made.  But the story, now being related as flashbacks by Alejo as an adult, ultimately leads to a kind of poignant triumph that is quite moving.  

So I recommend soldiering on and discovering the full story behind what happens at the very beginning.  As I said above, it will be worth it.

R

[Jason Rimbaud]

I read this story only because of your warning. This is the second story I had no desire to read but based on your post, I'm glad I did. You should write every introduction for every story, you do it so well.

I do not like stories without dialogue, nor do I like to read endless inner monologues. This story has very little dialogue and almost all inner monologues. But the author is so skilled at depicting the world, the characters, and events using this method I will overlook that. He has a way of bringing the characters to life and during the scene of having penetrative sex with a grown man, you live the events through Alejo's eyes like I've never read before. And despite the subject matter, there was no predator in this story. Brilliantly done.

I had to read the story twice, and I'm still confused by what you mean poignant triumph by the end. I didn't get that. It was a nice button to the story and tied it together. I'd be anxious to read others thoughts on this piece. 

I liked it. 

J

[Rutabaga]

48 minutes ago, Jason Rimbaud said:

I'm still confused by what you mean poignant triumph by the end. I didn't get that.

I can't think of any way to answer this without creating too much of a spoiler. 

Consider a tale where a young person has been rounded up and placed in a wartime death camp.  Another older prisoner, whose name the young person never learns, arranges for the young person to escape.  The young person ends up in a new country, and the circumstances of the escape have lifelong influence on him, yet he knows nothing about the older prisoner.  What should he do?

R  

[Cole Parker]

I liked it, too, Jason, and was glad AD decided to post it.  I also liked the earlier story at the art gallery Frederick wrote.  Yes, there's controversy, but there's also compassion and real life. Frederick is a great wirter.

C

 

[Talo Segura]

How much of this story is fiction and how much is autobiographical? I'll settle for a fictionalised biography. It rings true, is related very much as if you are there and is indeed a poignant triumph! The narrator has finally come to terms with himself some thirty years later. He has revisited the place where the event happened at least twice, with boyfriend and girlfriend. Now, finally he recognises how the sixteen year old boy lost his virginity with a naked man in the hillsides around Leon, one hot Spanish summer. Alejo comes back for a final time to mark the occasion with the leatherbound early edition of Rilke’s love poems, a tribute as much to himself as to the Naked Man lost to his past. Evocative, romantic, and above all a poignant testament to life.