This debut novel finds its essence in a postmodern distortion of time, space and characterization. The title characters, Martin and John, appear as different people in different situations in each chapter of the book, forcing the reader to re-evaluate his/her notions of personal identity. In one chapter, Martin and John may be a happy, newly-established couple living fabulously in New York City; in another, they remain together tenuously while struggling with life in a small desert town. There is an underlying continuity, however, and the end result is a compelling statement about human character and the myriad facets of our personalities. Peck's brutal honesty and perfectly-crafted descriptions can make the reader wince with empathy and well with emotion. This is a triumphant book, to be read and shared as widely as possible.

The first time I came across this book was its chinese version, which I bought for its attractive book cover. It was difficult for me to follow the stories at first, because it isn't a conventional type of fiction, but a group of stories all with the characters named John and Martin.

But I was gripped as I read on. The stories are naturalistic and dark. I don't know how much they reflect the truth (I'm a girl, so what do I know?) but they feel real and it's really moving, esp. the part about lover dying of AIDS. I love this book, and I lent it to a friend (who is also a girl) and she liked it too.

Of course it is not sitcom, but it is not boring. Most of the book is about the not so happy parts of life, but the people are not feeling miserable about themselves.

Martin and John is an extraordinary novel. Thank god we have people like Dale Peck around. He is an honest and brilliant writer. Thank you Dale for saying what needs to be said.

I was gripped by the emotional significance of the book from the very beginning. His brutality and honesty are what set him apart from many post-hip nineties fru-fru authors, and it is what makes him especially appealing for those of us willing to accept life's inherent brutality. The end, alone, left me extremely unsatisfied... it wasn't well-paced, and left nothing resolved in my mind's eye. Perhaps that's what was intended.

After months of putting off reading "the law of enclusures" I sat down and read it in one Saturday. With an amazing writing style, and an invitation to look into Dale Peck's childhood, it was hard to even take a break to eat. The authors amazing discriptions of Henry's and Beatrices heavenly and hellish relationship make for deep thinking on the readers view of love. More then once I needed to stop and just reflect not just on the book, but on my life as well. This book is definatly worthy of reading again.

Dale Peck's "The Law of Enclosures" tells the story of the relationship between Henry and Beatrice from the moment they meet until they are both in their later years. The structure of the story, alternating between the present and the past, provides a startling contrast in the emotions they share over time. One chapter relates their youthful love and energy and the next shows what happens after a lifetime of stress and living together. The middle section where Peck speaks to and about his own family, especially his father, lets the reader understand the relationship between his fictional characters even better. All in all, an extremely effective and emotional tale. I highly recommend it!

Dale Peck's Now It's Time to Say Goodbye is a wonderfully written trip through a Kansas prairie town that is sparked off by the arrival of two New Yorkers, Colin Nieman and Justin Time. The story is told from many, many different vantage points as each snippet of a section focuses on a different personality in the town, actually two towns, one black and one white, with many secrets. It is all of these supporting characters that will carry the reader throught the myriad strands of the plot. It is wonderful that the author has been ablet to use his accomplished skill in the short story and transferred it to this epic novel. Like his short stories, much will be left unexplained and that will frustrate many readers but this is not a book about solutions (although there are some) but about crossing boundaries (and there is much of that). It is a wonderful book about America, all of America, the real America.

I only write reviews of books I truly love. I don't have time to review books I don't enjoy. I want people to read the books I love. Therefore I am adding my five stars worth to the other reviews. I can understand how this book might elicit a wide range of reviews. Understand this: this book is not for the squemish, or people who feel uncomfortable with gay lead characters. This book is a wonderful thriller. The author has managed to create a gothic thriller set in the lonely environs at the center of our country. If this book does not make you afraid of the dark, or make you wince, or at the very least, make you feel uncomfortable, then please check your pulse.

Dale Peck's new book is probably his best. The heartbreaking fragility of his first two books -- due not only to the author's age and the autobiographical nature of his writing, but the strange and shocking mix of the very real and the very imagined -- is gone. This mythic tale of a racially split Kansas hamlet is full of stories of the darkest and sometimes most outlandish variety, delivered to the reader by many of the town's longing citizens. Peck loves his town and details it with exquisite care; now baroque, now biblical, sometimes as bare as the flat stretches of dust-land so prevalent in the book's literal landscape, the prose engages and keeps moving, as the plot's complex design works for optimum story-pleasure. A book about self-mythologizing as a defense against trauma -- racial, sexual, romantic, familial -- "Now It's Time To Say Goodbye" bids farewell to Peck's sublime, solpisistic fictions, promising a wide and varied career ahead. This is an American potboiler for everyone. Forget cliche by-the-numbers realism like Richard Price's "Freedomland." If you really want to know what's going on in America, forget Price, forget Oprah, and read this book. Get ready to be shocked, in the only way that matters: there's a truly vital new American book out there. Yeah!