Don't Push Me - Michael Hartwig

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Résumé :
Inspired by true events, Don't Push Me is an intergenerational saga of gay romance and the shame that cripples it. On a ski vacation in the Alps, Elliott discovers that the owners of the inn where he is staying are the descendants of a physician, Hans, who took care of his grandfather, Clive, a prisoner during World War One. During the war, the Swiss housed German and Allied prisoners in resort towns as a way to shore up the fragile tourist industry, and M?rren was one of those towns. Elliott falls under the spell of Max, who, like his great grandfather, is haunted by an intractable sense of sexual shame. The book shifts back and forth between World War One, when Hans falls for his handsome English prisoner/patient, the 1960s, when Clive brings his grandson Elliott to nearby Grindelwald to ski, and 2007, when Elliott travels to M?rren to find out why his grandfather never wanted to return to the place of his internment. Characters grapple with an existential question - whether their sexual desires are a madness corrupting the soul or a gift of the gods, nudging them toward authenticity.The story explores the parallel worlds we inhabit and the people that invite us to cross borders. Echoing ancient poets and philosophers, the book celebrates the enchantment of the Jungfrau region of Switzerland, a place where spirits hide in the upper reaches of glacier-studded peaks and inspire mortals to grow wings and soar....

Biographie:
Michael Hartwig is a Boston and Provincetown based author specializing in LGBTQ stories set in historic settings around the world. The narratives are remarkable for fast-paced plots, passionate love stories, exploration of sexual identity, and evocative settings. Hartwig's books draw on his having lived in Europe, his professional work in international travel, and his college-level teaching in sexual ethics and religion. Plots push boundaries around gender and family and introduce new paradigms of spirituality and magic. His novels are sensual - celebrating sexual desire, food, art, and geography....

Sommaire:
Inspired by true events, Don't Push Me is an intergenerational saga of gay romance and the shame that cripples it. On a ski vacation in the Alps, Elliott discovers that the owners of the inn where he is staying are the descendants of a physician, Hans, who took care of his grandfather, Clive, a prisoner during World War One. During the war, the Swiss housed German and Allied prisoners in resort towns as a way to shore up the fragile tourist industry, and M?rren was one of those towns. Elliott falls under the spell of Max, who, like his great grandfather, is haunted by an intractable sense of sexual shame. The book shifts back and forth between World War One, when Hans falls for his handsome English prisoner/patient, the 1960s, when Clive brings his grandson Elliott to nearby Grindelwald to ski, and 2007, when Elliott travels to M?rren to find out why his grandfather never wanted to return to the place of his internment. Characters grapple with an existential question - whether their sexual desires are a madness corrupting the soul or a gift of the gods, nudging them toward authenticity.The story explores the parallel worlds we inhabit and the people that invite us to cross borders. Echoing ancient poets and philosophers, the book celebrates the enchantment of the Jungfrau region of Switzerland, a place where spirits hide in the upper reaches of glacier-studded peaks and inspire mortals to grow wings and soar....