I'm working on my review of Soul Kitchen and D*U*C*K by Poppy Z Brite and I have to say, these are the strongest entries into the Ricky and G-man series. It almost seems like in the earlier books Poppy was finding her voice - or rather the voices of her characters. I don't mean at all that they weren't great books or wondeful reads, but with Kitchen in particular there is such a comfort level for the reader - it all seems like such effortless writing (which I know is a lie, but still....) that you just sit back and enjoy the hell out of where these stories take you. I also love how the relationship between Ricky and G-man continues to evolve - it's not static or false or fake. The guys have been together a long long time and they are having some problems (like all couples do) and it's so nice to hear them sound like you would expect - to see them struggle with the same issues of trust and frustration that everyone else has.
We are all driven a little crazy by the ones we love.
I'm going to write a big fat love letter to these two books for the Voices of NOLA, just because I can. (Negative reviewers can kiss my ass.) I had a great time reading these two books, and I look forward to preaching the religion of Poppy to as many new fans as I can.
