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Book: “Bury Your Gays” by Chuck Tingle
Publishing Info: Tor Nightfire, July 2024
Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley.
Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound
Book Description: From Chuck Tingle, author of the USA Today bestselling Camp Damascus, comes a new heart-pounding story about what it takes to succeed in a world that wants you dead.
Misha is a jaded scriptwriter who has been working in Hollywood for years, and has just been nominated for his first Oscar. But when he’s pressured by his producers to kill off a gay character in the upcoming season finale―”for the algorithm”―Misha discovers that it’s not that simple.
As he is haunted by his past, and past mistakes, Misha must risk everything to find a way to do what’s right―before it’s too late.
Review: Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this novel!
Never in my wildest dreams could I have ever imagined that Chuck Tingle, the guy who wrote parody monster porn stories with titles like “My Billionaire Triceratops Craves Gay Ass” and “Bigfoot Sommelier Butt Tasting”, would be a highly anticipated horror author whose titles would make my ‘must read’ list. But joke’s on me and I am more than willing to admit my short sighted and snooty attitude was dead wrong, because Tingle really impressed me with last year’s “Camp Damascus”, and I had high, high hopes for his second horror novel “Bury Your Gays”. I was very lucky to get my hands on an eARC of this book, and I saved it for Pride Month and my trip to ALA, hoping that it would be another hit and a feel good book with some serious horror chops. And I’m so pleased to report that it was exactly that. Chuck Tingle, you are a most impressive buckaroo and this book is a joy.
What really stood out to me in “Bury Your Gays” is the very effective and cutting commentary about the way that pop culture, corporate culture, and capitalism can pretend to uplift queer characters and voices, while actually working against the interests of queer people once it no longer is making them the capital and money they desire. Our protagonist is Misha, a successful and closeted queer screenwriter who is getting a lot of attention for an Oscar nomination for a short film, but who has also been told by the suits of his successful TV show that he has to kill off the two gay characters in the season finale, or else face professional repercussions. And when he balks and pushes back, he suddenly finds himself stalked by people (or perhaps not people) who are dressed up like the villains in the horror movies that gave him his start, and have a lot of queer subtext to them. This is an incredible hook on its own, and Tingle manages to bring lots of symbolism, real life anxieties, and lots of heart to this tale. I love seeing Misha try to navigate his life as a successful writer, but who still feels a need to hide who he is. I loved the way this book portrays Rainbow Capitalism and how it is more than happy to make money off of LGBTQIA+ people but doesn’t actually have any interest in representing or catering to them in an authentic or responsible way. I loved exploring Misha’s backstory as a closeted gay kid in a hostile community, and how the traumas that come with that have informed and influenced his writing, and how that in turn comes back to continuously haunt him both metaphorically and literally. I also love how this story ALSO pushes back against the idea that LGBTQIA+ stories can only be extremes, with one extreme being the tragic ‘bury your gays’ story, and another being ‘this needs to only be joyful because there can be NO sadness’. Tingle pushes past all these things and creates a story that imagines a better scenario for queer stories and queer creators, and critiques how Hollywood suits can’t think outside the bottom line. It’s so effective.
But on top of all that, this book is also LEGITIMATELY SCARY! Tingle has this knack for really evoking the creepiest and most distressing imagery, and there were multiple moments in “Bury Your Gays” that set me wholly on edge. The Smoker? Mrs. Why? Are you kidding me!? Tingle always knows how to really draw out some scary beats, and I was definitely on edge during a few of the scenes where Misha was being stalked by his former creations. It’s also an interesting take on the way that a creator’s work can still follow them well beyond the point of creation, which ties back into the other metaphors that this book is rife with which I talked about above. Tingle really knows how to bring out the depth as well as the really scary shit, and that’s something that truly good horror can do. “Bury Your Gays” is good horror, and Mrs. Why is perhaps on the same level as “Smile” and “It Follows” when it comes to unsettling fucked up-ness and she is going to stay with me awhile. So that’s great.
Overall, “Bury Your Gays” has cemented Chuck Tingle’s prowess as a horror author, and one who has so much to say and with such earnest conviction. I am so glad that we are seeing this new era for this incredibly compelling author.
Rating 9: Another fantastic horror novel with a lot of relevant commentary about being a queer creator in modern pop culture society by Chuck Tingle. LOVE IS REAL!!!
Reader’s Advisory:
“Bury Your Gays” is included on the Goodreads lists “Queer Horror” and “Queer Books Set in Los Angeles”.
The Library Ladies 