for Heights of Passion

Great bedtime read 5.0 out of 5 stars
By JH Cove
‘Heights of Passion’ is a great bed time read. ‘Stories for older men & younger lovers’ says the subtitle, and that’s what it’s all about. It’s simply a wonderful collection of very different stories with one thing in common: May/December relationships between gay men. It’s so good to see there are people like Don Schecter, publishing this kind of book for which I’m sure there is a market. I know I’m not the only one thoroughly enjoying his stories, even though I don’t belong to the younger lovers (era una vez), nor do I fit in with the older men. Being 46yo, I find myself in between, but reading Heights of Passion takes me back to my younger years, and makes me sigh with nostalgia. Don’t know where the future will take me, but stories like these certainly show me that there’s nothing to worry about. Can’t wait for the next volume!

Short stories with a plot! 5.0 out of 5 stars
By Graham Gersdorff
I gave this collection five stars because of the fourth story, Crossing Borders. Like all of the fourteen stories, it’s about love/sex/romance between an older man, generally in his fifties/sixties, and a younger man, generally is his twenties.

I would describe most of the stories as vignettes showing various gay archetypes within the older-younger context, and as such they are interesting and entertaining. In Saul and David, there is the jealous older man who treats his young lover badly because of his own insecurities. In You’ve Got Male, the older man makes contact with a supposedly good-looking younger man on the internet, but it turns out that the younger man is not quite who he claims to be.

The two main characters in Crossing Borders, in contrast, did not strike me as archetypes. Both were three-dimensional characters that defied easy categorization. The older narrator, from Texas, told a fairly straightforward story of a weekend liaison in Vancouver with a graduate student named Barry. (Barry is a hockey-playing student of English literature, and he’s Korean–so much for stereotypes!) What made the story stand out were the many small, yet genuine observations about all manner of things from the narrator’s perception of the quirks of Canadian culture, to his young lover’s inexperience in bed, to his own anxieties about crossing the U.S.-Canadian border. I interpreted the title of the story as a metaphor for the difficulties in “crossing the border” between generations. This is one of the very, very few short stories I’ve read that I enjoyed enough to read more than once.

C. Ray, April 4, 2011
5.0 out of 5 stars WOW…More Then I Expected.
Let me first start by saying…WOW!!! This book was more then I expected. I just love the author’s writing style. It pulls me into the scenes as if I’m standing there witnessing what’s happening or even better, as if I’m one of the characters. I was expecting all of the stories to be about love, & sex, & more sex, & all that good stuff, but the stories have taken me on a rollercoaster of emotions. From getting all hot & steamy under the collar, to even having my eyes filled with tears. I love it!!! I highly recommend this book.

Naqshi, Sep 8, 2012 While reading the story, El Baile, I found myself on the floor of Ta Tu (dance bar), dancing with beautiful Estéban all the time, till the end. Next day I wrote to my friend, an author himself who was on a visit to Spain, “I was in Barcelona last night”. He was surprised, and when I told him regarding the book and story, he agreed, “Yes, of course, there are a few distinguished writers in the world having this magical touch in their writing. I’ll love to read this writer on my return.”

Janney Brown, January 20, 2009
5.0 out of 5 stars Not just for gay men
Ok, I am a straight woman. So I am probably not in the imagined target audience for this collection. Now that that is out of the way, can I say these are terrific stories. If you are a gay man, no doubt you will love them, because they create many “soulful snapshots” of men in love, lust, and/or infatuation. I enjoyed them for this reason, but also because I was curious about gay sexuality (and you have to KNOW someone well to ask all the truly GOOD questions), and because I love traveling outside my own circle through literature. Each story invites you into a different experience and adventure. I highly recommend it for people who are curious about or devotees of love, May-December liaisons, and male sexuality.

Randy D. Parker “book nerd,” March 1, 2009
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read from a Wonderful Writer
Heights of Passion is truly an excellent read. I found a few of characters familiar. I could … see traits of myself and people most of us may know … in their personalities. Don has captured my attention with this book. I usually do not enjoy “gay” reads. This one was effortless to read. I have found many gay-oriented books to be a little on the obnoxious side. Heights brought none of that to the table. Just enjoyable short stories about the trials and … joys of older/younger love. Now I await the next volume.

Paul Stark (Israel), December 18, 2009
5.0 out of 5 stars Heights of Pleasure!
The short stories in Heights of Passion constantly aroused my desires and curiosities by letting me glimpse into a world of intriguing characters and situations, some of which even my imagination had never taken me. …the colorful content and honest account of human emotion makes this book truly enjoyable reading.