Annie On My Mind

Simply the finest romance I have ever encountered. Just finished rereading it and it was yet imbued with as much unspeakable magic as ever prior. No, I'm not much of a literati. But I can without question count this as my favorite book, behind the last few Harry Potter novels.

I probably cried the first time I read it, I think I vaguely remember that. And yet this time... it seemed so much darker than before, somehow. Even though I knew what to expect. I think ignorance was easier to swallow then. Today I've lost touch... with how anyone could be so blind... how an otherwise decent person could be so cruel, so truly evil as to hate love. Sounds freaking naive, doesn't it? Stupid even, for me to say something so childish? Well... I suppose this is "Zenlike Immaturity," after all. ;)

To describe the beauty of "Annie..." would be difficult with words, for its strength exists on the spiritual, or at least the romantic, level. It aptly captures the indescribable wonder of youth, and the purity of love. On the technical front, it's an impressive and inarguably important piece of Young Adult literature. It is unflinching and unafraid, yet never falters from its message that samesex love is not invariably a walkway into sorrow. It remains true to life without resorting to ugliness. Alcohol and cigarettes and sex, these subjects are presented without the slightest negative connotation. Surprising and admirable for a book that's often taught in schools, it treads not by the letter of the law but by its spirit, supporting love and morality without preaching vain adherence to the outdated taboos that riddle scholastic materials.

You might wonder, being a relatively heterosexual male as I am, why most of the couples I favor are gay, be they women or men. It's really pretty simple when you think about it, though. Sentimentality is everything to me. In fiction, lesbian couples and male gay couples are most often portrayed as being more sentimental, more romantic, more ethereal in their love. Occasionally I come across heterosexual romances that are not stifled by stock masculine stoicism. But not often.

I emailed Nancy Garden once. If you are a fan of her or the book, you really ought to drop her a line. The response she gave me was beautiful, saying that I would meet an Annie to my Liza someday. I can't say I'm sure it's true, but life has already gifted me so much more than I ever dreamed possible, especially in my youth, that I can't honestly say I'd mind if I never do. If the best life can give me is good friends and happy times, that is so much more than enough. So much more... than I ever thought I'd receive.