Customer Reviews
Genuinely unputdownable - By: Stephen Tall, 04 Jul 2010 
It was the endorsement from the fantastic Jake Arnott which sold this book to me: "funny, dirty, deeply romantic". And, boy, does Man's World lives up to its billing.
Two gay Londons separated by half a century are intertwined: Robert's modern, narcissistic clubbing lifestyle, & Michael's grim, shadowy, closeted 1950s' National Service. Some of the mirroring of their stories is over-contrived - Robert's blog & Michael's diaries, Robert's uploaded Xtube exploits, Michael's naught nudie snaps - but the overall effect is terrific.
The characters are quickly, tightly, believably drawn: & it's because we care about them that this book (for once) lives up that dust-jacket cliche, `unputdownable'.
It is a man's world - By: Edward Wilson, 16 Mar 2010 
This excellent novel deserves a wide readership. Man's World is about the struggle to be free - & not just freein terms of sexuality. It is a book that celebrates the right of all us, gay & straight, to be hedonistic, narcissistic & to live the life we want to live. `I want to go out dancing, take drugs, listen to deafening music, show off my muscles & forget about everything...' Why not? All the charactersin this book understand the risks they take. But there is no guilt & no recrimination. And when things go wrong - & someone ends upin prison or homeless - there is never any moaning or self-pity. The title is aptin the old fashioned sense of the term - as I suspect Rupert Smith intended. It is `a man's world' because you have to be tough, brave & non-complaining to livein it.
Pure, poignant truth, then and now - By: Ventura Angelo, 24 Feb 2010 Once upon a time,in Englan you could go to jail for being gay,even if you, like Alan Turing, helped save the world. you had to practiceyour "vice"in secret,in hidden places at night, Then homosexuality was decriminalized, then came the sexual revolution, a change of mores, and, AIDS & Margaret Thatcher's homophobia notwithstanding, now gaysin london are free to live their lifein the open, like the young protagonist of this novel, who we see movein his new apartment "helped" by a rather exploitive & egotistic friend. Parallel to the blog of the modern gay runs the secret diary of Mychaelin the London of fifty years ago, till then & Now shall meet & appraise each other, both searching for love & happiness, but the old cowingin the underground, the new so often taking lightly for granted a freedom the old could only dream & had to fight hard to conquer.
This novel, deliciously witten, with very sympathetic & interesting characters, is one of the best gay novels i've rad. Highly recommended!
Step into the pages of "Man's World" and prepare to be seduced... - By: Cora Pearl, 19 Feb 2010 This book is a rare treasure - an elegantly woven tapestry of gay life, moving deftly between modern-day gay London & the queer underworld of the 1950s. There are so many alluring things about "Man's World"...to name just a few...the wayin which Rupert Smith captures the covert, sexy, shadowy world of the 1950s with such vivid intensity....the slow-burn sexual tension & longingin the unfolding relationship between Michael & the gorgeous prize-winning boxer Mervyn....the depiction of friendships between gay men being tentatively forged across generations. This bridging of generations has particular significance, as the younger gay menin the story begin to understand & appreciate the value of the older gay men: how these fabulous, fascinating & brave queens of the past paved the way for the younger gay men,in so many ways. Simultaneously laugh-out-loud funny, deeply thoughtful & breathtakingly sexy, this book will inspire, intrigue & seduce you. It's the first Rupert Smith book I've read & it was an absolute pleasure...can't wait to discover his other works...
Between two (gay) worlds - By: S. Beretta, 16 Feb 2010 Blurbs often say that a book is "unputdownable" or "a pageturner". If that is often a way to trick potential readers into buying worthless rubbish, it's not the case of Rupert Smith's "Man's World". What you have here is a real feast for the reader. When you start reading it, you must reach the end as soon as possible... & then you'd wish to have more & more. "Man's World" tells the fascinating story of a group of gay menin two very different times: England & Londonin the Fifties & nowadays. Those who take all our modern freedoms for granted hardly know how difficult it was then to live as a gay man & how many hurdles you had to overcomein order to simply survive. Robert (and his friend Jonathan) belong to those who don't know & don't care, as long as they can revelin their world made of drugs, sex, shopping & clubbing... But soon Robert meets 70-year-old Michael, his new neighbour, & discover his past. And little by little Robert understands how lucky he is & how grateful he should be to men like Michael & Stephen for fighting for him too. Writtenin the form of Michael's diary & Robert's weblog, "Man's world" is funny & sad, wise & moving, sexy & thoughtful. Not only is it extremely readable -in the best tradition of English speaking literature -, but it also conveys what once was called "a message", without ever being highbrow or boringly intellectual. Rupert Smith's best literary achievement so far.
