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Review

"By the author's own admission, the topic of black men living straight but scoring gay has been much discussed in print in recent years - even, not so long ago, in the New York Times Magazine. It's certainly a fascinating subset of the gay world, meriting anecdotal exploration, autobiographical confession, and cultural, spiritual, and medical analysis. This earnest effort at "breaking the silence about a hidden sexual lifestyle" skims the surface of all three areas. As the first book of its kind, it succeeds in raising warning flags and making publicity waves; an appearance by the author on Oprah speaks to the importance of the topic in the African-American community. But King's flat writing sucks the energy out of the anecdotes; his self-confessions are fascinating the first time they crop up, but dulled by overenthusiastic repetition; and his analysis, while apt as far as it goes, is more suited to an informational pamphlet. Better books are sure to follow - probably Keith Boykin's 2005 title from Carrol & Graf, Beyond the Down Low, whose nonfiction study will include a look at media hype around "the DL." Boykin was asked to work with King on On the Down Low, but declined; so did Kai Wright (contributor, The Man I Might Become); and a foreword to be written by E. Lynn Harris didn't appear in the final book. In an Advocate interview, King says he's happy to sleep with men, but won't identify as gay because he doesn't believe he can have an enduring relationship with a black gay man.

 -- Richard Labonte, Books to Watch Out For