The Silent Hustler

The Silent Hustler is a unique and innovative piece of gay fiction. This collection of short stories challenges the way you read, what you expect from gay fiction, and what turns you on. Sean Meriwether does play with some typical gay motifs like homophobic fathers, high school closet fantasies, hustlers, and titillating sex scenes.

Despite including some of what you might expect, Meriwether proves himself to be innovative and creative. He capitalizes on the short story form to challenge what you might expect. Some stories are written in the 2nd person. He also includes some clusters of interconnected stories that offer different perspectives of the same characters.

The title story follows a college boy who replies to an ad from a man who wants to read about the boy's first time. The boy goes off with his super confident roommate in search of how to lose his virginity to earn the money from his john. "Things I Can't Tell My Father" offers a man's memories of his father. Each memory ends with the son thanking his father for what that moment did to him later in life.

"Raise Your Expectations" has a recurring character go to a rest stop to lose his virginity. The boy ends up getting "arrested" by a cop, only to find out that the officer is a runaway escaped convict.

Sean Meriwether offers an interesting perspective on gay fiction. He challenges what you might expect, offers you what you want, and gives you a book that takes advantage of the format of short stories to deliver a great piece of fiction.