a pretty good tale about a man's sexual awakening. though its probably tame by today's standards,quince's views on women and sex could still shock some people.he goes from relationship to relationship as a way of finding his identity. very erotic, literate and entertaining.

Confessions of a Spent Youth is bold. Unafraid of the warped, pre-p.c. agendas of the 1950's-60's, it is an honest tale of a young man peering through the mask of hormones, war, death, sex, and the constant inhaling of random drugs and liquors. Riding with Quincy is an adventure.

Probably the most memorable aspect of the book is the boyish way it is written. He's curious in his egotism, shocking in his innocence. He doesn't try to grab your collar and make you feel some fake emotion that's more outrage than empathy.

He's real.

Yes - this book is... good.

This is one of those books I try and make everyone I know read. Few do, because it's longish, and it's not genre fiction. It's much easier to talk people into reading a 200-page murder mystery that a contemporary story about the rehearsal of an opera.

The rehearsal of an opera?!?

Well, yes. What we get here is, the lives of all the people in the plot - how they came to be at this university, working on or in the cast or staff of a modern opera. The life's travels of the people are the Canterbury part, of course. We also get the opera itself, in bits and pieces. Since some of the stories of the individuals are told in unusual formats - cartoon balloons, for instance - I only wish we could get a bit of the sheet music for the opera also.

The characters are all complex and deep, every one an individual. Each one's story is fascinating; the threads they weave together, culminating in the successful performance, are an irresistable fabric.