ON BOOKSHELVES

ANGLO FILES

A Field Guide to the British
Sarah Lyall
(W. W. Norton, $24.95, hardcover)
***

The author, an American journalist married to an Englishman, takes us on a merry cantor across a cultural countryside composed of a self-denying, ironic, and sometimes bizarre population, with good manners and bad teeth, munching away on inedible delicacies like Marmite, all under this tight little island’s wet, grey skies. Who knew that Monty Python actually were social realists? She notes the upper class males’ fond memories of prep school days of beatings and buggery, although they do mildly protest their reputation for acting gay. As one hilarious personal ad puts it: “I wrote this ad to prove I’m not gay. Man 29. Not gay. Absolutely not.” Lyall tempers her selective take on her adopted country by playing the clumsy, clueless American, and she admits to radical changes that involve the relaxation of that famous stiff upper lip—thanks in part to better times and such public blubbering as evidenced at Princess Diana’s mourning. Let’s hope the English don’t change too much from their portrayal here, more fun to read about than any proper guide book. —HARRY EUGENE BALDWIN

THE SCREWED UP LIFE OF CHARLIE THE SECOND

Drew Ferguson
(Kensington Publishing, $15, paperback)
**1/2

Charles James Stewart II, a 17-year-old, openly gay high school senior and soccer goalie with the most loquaciously sarcastic mouth since Holden Caulfield and a raging libido, writes his humor-fueled anxieties down for us in his private journal—when he’s not pulling his Portnoy at every opportunity. Despite being out to family and classmates, he is in constant conflict with the classic homophobic jocks, his antagonistic father (referred to as ‘First’) and his boyfriend, Rob, a good-looking sexually experienced student. Much plot follows—virginities lost (Charlie’s), a possible assisted suicide (Rob’s mother), soccer games, fights, a breakup, and some growing up. The author luckily includes believable gay sex in it, not what you’d find in any publisher’s Young Adult edition—although it’s what teens, gay or not, need to read. If you love Charlie‘s penchant for endless hyperbolic metaphors, you’ll love the book, but after a while he (or the author) comes across to me like a young comic jamming two hours’ material into 10 minutes on stage. Still, a good, funny first novel. —H.E.B.

LIMITED RUN

Iris Berry, Pleasant Gehman, and S.A. Griffin

In honor of her recent publication in the anthology Sirens: Five Femme Fatal Poets, her esteemed colleagues will join Berry for an unforgettable evening of poetry and discussion. Skylight Books. Sun., Sept. 7. 5 p.m. www.skylightbooks.com.

Shirley Halperin

If you chuckle every time the clock strikes 4:20, you need to attend Halperin's signing of her new book Pot Culture. Book Soup. Mon., Sept. 8. 7 p.m. www.booksoup.com.

Alexandra Gray

Her latest work, The Yoga Teacher, examines spiritual rebirth in the modern age. Book Soup. Tue., Sept. 9. 7 p.m. www.booksoup.com.

Homo Must

Jeff Krell

The comic artiste comes to the right place to chat about his latest work, Jayson Goes to Hollywood. A Different Light. Fri., Aug. 29. 7:30 p.m. www.adlbooks.com.