review: bury your gays
ARC REVIEW: I received this ebook for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Title: Bury Your Gays
Series: N/A
Author: Chuck Tingle
Genres: Horror, Literary
Publishing Date: 9 July 2024
Original Language: English
Pages: ~297
CW: Homophobia, Gore, Blood, Child abuse, Outing, Vomit, Acephobia/Arophobia, Drug use, Cursing
My Rating: 4 / 5
Read if you’re looking for:
Cheeky, satirical horror
Critique of queer representation in Hollywood & corporations condescending to queer consumers
The real horror is capitalism
Creepy creatures of mysterious origin
Written by a queer, autistic author
This book follows Misha, a closeted Hollywood tv and film writer who has been in the industry many years, when he is suddenly told to kill off two of his gay main characters in one of his popular shows by the upper management. Misha refuses, stating that he will not perpetuate the “bury your gays” trope that has long been common in Hollywood. After this refusal, strange events begin happening to Misha and his friends, and to other queer writers in the studio, with monstrous and dangerous characters from Misha’s previous shows somehow showing up in real life. Misha must figure out what’s going on in order to save himself and those he loves, and to do that he must face his traumatic past and embrace who he really is.
This is Chuck Tingle’s second full-length novel, and it was a campy romp of a horror novel. Chuck Tingle also wrote Camp Damascus, which was one of my best books of last year, and he’s quickly becoming one of my favorite horror writers of all time. The horror in this book is fueled by capitalistic greed, which I think is pretty relevant at the moment. The book also pokes fun at the performative, and often empty actions, of corporations to appeal to the LGBTQIA+ community, with shallow representation and rainbow merch. It was gory and full of action, and there was never a dull moment. I also really appreciated the diverse representation, with an asexual/aromantic major character, which is sorely lacking in a lot of LGBTQIA+ stories. I strongly recommend this for anyone who enjoys humorous or satirical horror.