The Beheading Game

by Brenda Webster

Set in New York, this story follows a gay couple's personal struggles with serious illness and coming out issues, all set against a contemporary version of the medieval English story, "Sir Gawain and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0916727246
• ISBN13: 9780916727246
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Wings Press (TX)
• Length: 247 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Webster gets it right

This book impressed me enormously. First, the authority expressed on every page: a language supple and strong, and, what is harder, always on the mark tone-wise. Second, the mastery of multiple experiences - some of which must have come from study, others from empathy - but all filtered through a sensibility that makes everything seem to belong to the author to narrate, naturally. Beginning with the gay guys' minds and views and language - she gets it just right. Then the hospital and the theater and even the fishery - all articulated in a fully knowledgeable but never the least bit pedantic way, and all made to move the story forward. The story is a beautiful and moving one - the craft and clumsiness of love fully, even painfully depicted.

an example of intertextual weaving at its best in contemporary fiction

Webster's latest novel is both compelling and convincing on every level. The gay love story transcends gender and is portrayed with unusual sensitivity and dramatic appeal. The development of the relationship between Ren and Jack takes many unexpected twists and turns which make the plot that much more appealing. The novel is also one of the best examples of intertextual weaving or integration of one tale within another in contemporary fiction. The inner tale informs the outer tale and visa versa within a structure which is both innovative and artfully conceived by Webster. While Webster's former books have illucidated convincingly the inner workings of painting as an art form, here in The Beheading Game, she does equally as well with bring the various elements of theatre production alive for the reader. The way the gay love tale develops is both exciting and heart-breaking and is in my view superior to the rendition of gay love portrayed in Breakback Mountain. The Beheading Game makes literary history both on the level of stucture and content. As an example of how to take a pre-existing tale and work it into the main tale the novel goes unparalleled within contemporary literature. I cannot recommend this book highly enough for readers interested in fine literature and compelling stories. The book has already acheived international recognition and portends to be a best seller.

"Game" satisfies

I loved this book, and couldn't put it down. The gay characters are believable and engaging, and the struggle between the lovers is still, unfortunately, timely. The degree to which one person is out compared to the other is an evolving element in gay relationships, and the issue presented in "The Beheading Game" is as heart-wrenching as that of the lovers in "Brokeback Mountain." I'm not a big fan of medieval poetry from whence Gawain and the Green Knight comes from, but the metaphors applied to a contemporary story are apt and effective. Scenes set in the hospital and the theatre are some of the most memorable in recent literary history.

A very smart page turner

Webster has written a highly intelligent, psychologically compelling book. She has managed to weave a tale that juxtaposes a contemporary father/son/lover triangle with the medieval story of Gawain and the Green Knight. Her chief protagonist is a theatre director and we are drawn into the intricacies of putting on a play: set design, rehearsals, relationships among actors. As in one of her earlier books--Paradise Farm--she fully described the process of creating a painting, here she describes the process of creatng a theatrical production. Interesting characters, a terrific story, some unexpected plot twists, rich detail--not only about the theatre but also about Rome and the life-threatening illness of one of the protagonists, this is a terrific read!!

"Game" Goes to the Highest Level

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. Brenda Webster 's modern take on the fable of Gawain and the Green Knight creates a contemporary world just as intense, dangerous, and exhilarating as any medieval swashbuckler. The characters are well-drawn and their relationships believable. Like Ren and Jack, many gay couples even today struggle with how "out" one is compared to the other. "The Beheading Game" explores this personal issue with sensitivity and insight, and it plays out just as heart-wrenchingly as it did in "Brokeback Mountain." But Webster also dramatically weaves in bigger issues that both men have to battle individually, and more importantly, together. The theatre and hospital scenes are some of the most compelling literature I have ever read.