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On Picking Fruit
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Average customer review:
Dates from hell have never been so heavenly! My novel On Picking Fruit is fast and funny yet moving and full of heart. I hope you enjoy it.
Arthur Wooten
"On Picking Fruit is funny, edgy, unpredictable gay dates from hell. I felt like I was reading my dating autobiography!" - ANT - Host of VH1's "Celebrity Fit Club" and star of the new LOGO series, "U.S. of ANT"
"Wooten holds a fun-house mirror to our hapless, all-too-human fumblings for true love with hilarious results instantly recognizable to the would-be romantic in each of us."- Scott&Scott authors of the Romentic Series
"Like many of us, here's a good guy who enters the world 'butt first.' At forty-five he decides to change the angle of his view. On Picking Fruit is a fresh and funny mix of truth and whimsy." - William Luce - Broadway Playwright
Product Description
"If gallantry in our day is defined as facing adversity with screams of laughter, then this is the most gallant book I know of."-Edmund White
Although he was born gay, Curtis Jenkins has trouble, uh, picking fruit. He is still searching for that elusive man of his dreams. Unfortunately, Curtis has already formed a self-destructive pattern of choosing all the wrong men, often in all the wrong places. Date after date, hell just gets that much closer. But Curtis is an optimist, and vows never to give up.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #977150 in Books
- Published on: 2006-12-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 210 pages
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Aurthur Wooten has written for television, theatre, and film. He lives in New York City.
Customer Reviews
On searching for Mr Right
Curtis Jenkins was born gay, so says his gregarious and outrageous mother; he never had a problem about coming out, she'd already told everyone at every opportunity. But now in his mid forties and a successful writer he is still single, and HIV positive. Then one day he wakes to finds himself in hospital, not knowing how he got there, he learns that he attempted suicide, or so it is claimed. However as a condition of his release from hospital he is required to make an appointment with a psychiatrist. His best friend Quinn recommends the very elderly and slightly odd Magda; she in turn suggests what he needs to do is date at least two men a week until he finds Mr Right.
Curtis diligently sets about his task, meeting men in bars, in internet chat rooms, through dating services and any other way he can manage. Not surprisingly he encounters a varied selection of characters, from ordinary to gorgeous, some quirky, several self-obsessed; some manage a second date, some don't even last the first. Along the way he has to contend with the support, encouragement and intervention of his mother and Quinn, not to mention his mother's eccentricities. Eventually he appears at least to come to a positive decision.
Very funny from the first page when Curtis introduces himself with a few scenes from his youth, the hilarity and wit is sustained throughout, be it the high or the low points of Curtis' adventure. While it took a while to relate sympathetically to our hero Curtis, eventually I began to warm to him, and at the conclusion found it a satisfying and worthwhile read.
When is the next offering???
One of those stories where some of us will say "I know those people", as their names pop into your head from your past and even your present. For a first attempt, Arthur Wooten has captured so many familiar moments and emotions. To a certain extent, I felt somewhat cheated. The book pulls you in and before you know it, you have finished it, hungry for more. Wooten's timing and quick wit can only be enhanced with a sequel and I surely hope he will have one soon. I left this book saying "what would Curtis do" and no matter how hard you try to do the opposite, you can identify with how easy it is to get consumed by the process of "picking fruit" and having done just what Curtis did.. well done and thanks for a reality check.
MOVE OVER SEX AND THE CITY AND QUEER AS FOLK
BRAVO! FINALLY A NOVEL ABOUT THE OFTEN INVISIBLE MINORITY IN GAY LITERATURE - THE MIDDLE AGED MAN. ARTHUR WOOTEN ESCORTS US ON A PERSONAL JOURNEY THAT IS BOTH HYSTERICALLY FUNNY AND AT TIMES, HEARTBREAKINGLY HONEST. "ON PICKING FRUIT" IS A GIFT OF THIS TALENTED WRITER'S HUMANITY. YEARS AGO, WHEN LILY TOMLIN WAS ASKED WHAT SHE WANTED THE AUDIENCE TO GET OUT OF "SEARCH FOR SIGNS", SHE RESPONDED WITH A QUOTE FROM JANE WAGNER, WHO SAID, " I WANT THE AUDIENCE TO LEAVE WITH A HIGHER OPINION OF THEMSELVES." I NEVER LIKE TO COMPARE ONE PERSON'S WORK WITH ANOTHER, BUT I THINK THAT THOSE OF US WHO WANDER DOWN MR. WOOTEN'S YELLOW BRICK ROAD OF ROMANTIC MISADVENTURES, WILL CLOSE THE BOOK WITH A HIGHER OPINION OF THEMSELVES, TOO. I KNOW I DID.
