William Jack Sibley   Any Kind of Luck

First published in New York by Kensington Publishing Corp, 2001 August.

Any Kind of Luck is the first novel by William Jack Sibley, but it is unlikely to be his last. Sibley is a professional writer, with most of his published output being TV screenplays and magazine features. The book considers a relatively short period in the life of Clu Latimore. Born and raised in smalltown Texas, Clu, his sister Laine and brother Jaston have led very different lives. Clu's unsettled childhood gained clear focus when he realised he was homosexual. Coming out was not really an option in the redneck Bible-belt of the 1980s, and Clu departed for New York. There he developed a sound - if not wildly successful - career in and around the theatre and TV, and found a soulmate in Chris.

The couple's lives are disrupted when Clu gets a call to say that his mother has been diagnosed with cancer, and has only a few months to live. Clu heads for the family home, accompanied by Chris, burdened by the twin concerns of his mother's condition and the reaction of the community to an openly gay couple. To his surprise, he meets very little hostility; indeed, many seem pleased that he has a happy and fulfilled relationship which it was clear he would never have found if he had stayed home. Even so, there are many problems and frictions to be dealt with, not least the implications and complications arising from his mother's engagement to an evangelical preacher and a local worthy's plan to stage a major theatrical production for the town.

Clu's encounters with old school friends and others culminate in a barbecue, followed by a session in a hot-tub. As in some other respects, it turns out that liberated and sophisticated Clu is actually more uptight than these supposedly conservative and bigotted good old boys. The extracts illustrate Clu's worries about social nudity, and the (common?) relief and enjoyment of finally shedding textile inhibitions. I've also included the explanation of his unusual name, which is not used as an excuse for running jokes about "clu-less" and the like, thank goodness.

Although Any Kind of Luck is well-written, and has some worthwhile things to say about a range of relationships and attitudes, ultimately I found it only a moderately good read. Perhaps there are just too many "characters", and too many of them are just too extreme in their idiosyncrasies and physical peculiarities for a novel which is not attempting to be a farce. Perhaps the various sub-plots are too detailed and too numerous to allow the main themes and primary characters to play out their destinies with full conviction. No doubt some potential readers will be put off by the gay content, but Sibley is certainly not attempting a form of gay propaganda - the central couple have their troubles and difficulties, and are portrayed merely as different. The sexual content is limted and not particularly explicit. While naturism is not mentioned as such, the hot-tub chapter is about as naturist as one can get.

So far, there is no UK publisher for Any Kind of Luck, but it is available both on-line and through bookshops if you don't mind waiting for delivery from the USA.

Ratings:

Nudity	Naturist nudity	A good read?

Last updated 2004 November 11.
 
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