Rainbow Book Reviews
Enre has fiery red hair and an attitude to match. The world is full of injustice and he wants everything to be fair and equitable right now. Kalman is older, calm and logical, but the two men are drawn to each other. They work alone together at the far end of the gardens one day, getting to know each other as passion ignites between them. Hot, sweaty half-naked bodies, and outdoor sex are great, but can two such different people find happiness together? “Opposites attract” is a well known idiom, and it certainly describes the two men in this story. Enre, the fiery, impatient guy, and Kalman, the thoughtful, logical man are very attracted to each other. That, quite often, is not the problem. The real issue in these cases, and certainly in this story, is whether the attraction and interest can overcome the differences and enable them to stay together for longer than just a brief encounter or two. Enre has a big heart, cares about everyone and everything, and wants to fix the world’s problems NOW. He would fit in well in a southern European country like Italy or Spain, where everyone is passionate and outspoken, but in the more laid-back Anglo-Saxon culture and society of the US, he pushes people away with his enthusiasm and demands they “do something” about whatever issue je is currently worried about. Even though he is aware of the effect he has on other, he cannot seem to stop himself. Kalman’s heart is no smaller than Enre’s, and he worries about some of the same problems as Enre, but he is less outspoken. Maybe it is because he is a little older, but I suspect it is mostly just because of who he is. He is very attracted to Enre, and he figures, he has a thing or two to tell him that may help the younger man reconsider his approach. And when the passion flares between them, one hot afternoon out in the back of the botanical gardens where they work, the immediacy of the fulfillment of their desires is balances with longer-term seed Kalman plants in Enre’s thoughts: being less pushy may mean people give his ideas a chance. If you like short, sweet reads about men who couldn’t be more different, yet have the same goals in life, and if you enjoy passionate encounters in ‘the great outdoors”, then you might like this short story.