Gay & Lesbian

‘Good Thing, Bad Thing’ is Nick Alexander’s third novel, and again revolves around  Mark, the first-person narrator of ‘50 Ways To Say Goodbye’ and ‘Sottopassagio’. With many failed relationships and one dead boyfriend under his belt, Mark is no longer going solo but is paired up with new boyfriend Tom and off to rural Italy for a spot of camping. Of course, this being Mark, things are never as straightforward as they seem. Already there are signs of discord in the relationship, and when a handsome policeman suggests they park their camper van on land belonging to a local farmer called Dante, the tension soon mounts. First Dante appears at the window while Mark and Tom are enjoying a rare moment of intimacy. Then he invites them in for dinner, at which point it becomes clear that three is most definitely a crowd.
 
Despite Dante’s wild eyes, calloused hands and habit of walking around covered in pigs’ blood, Tom takes a bit of a shine to him, which leaves Mark sulking in the van while Tom and his new farmer friend perform odd jobs around the farm. How odd only becomes clear later, when Mark finds Tom naked, gagged and chained to a radiator and our two heroes make their escape through the Alps to France and the sanctuary provided by Mark’s old friend Jenny.
    
Alexander is a keen observer of gay relationships, and for all the heightened drama of the chapters with Dante, it’s the fall-out from these events which proves the most gripping, as Tom suffers post-traumatic stress disorder and Mark is forced to question the depth of his love for him. Bad things happen in this book, but out of them something good emerges. Ultimately, it’s a tale about forgiveness, and a  rewarding one at that.