#QueerLitLoft

A striking and passionate observation of history borne by the extensive memories retained by Simon, of his childhood and subsequent journey into early adulthood.

Gracefully expressive, and full of colour and vibrancy, Simon’s way with the written word traces a path through not only his personal chronicles, but that of the music scene, and lgbtq experiences of yesteryear.

I firmly believe that we not only should, but need to, document lgbtq history, whether via personal memoirs such as Simon’s or by other means.

At the Summer ’24 Queer the Shelves literary event, an author said “How do you know, what you don’t know?”. It was an interesting rhetorical question, in reference to growing up outside of a queer space, without a group of queer friends, or found family, and the question spoke to the fact that for many of us in those categories, how exactly do we learn, or find out about, queer history and culture? When you’re outside looking in, how do you know to seek out, or ask about something which you aren’t aware even exists? It’s this sentiment which makes memoirs like Simon’s all the more important in my opinion. They provide a gateway to the unknown, through which many of us previously lacking a queer education due to inaccessibility, are finally able to garner a glimpse of our community’s collective history and those all important shared, yet uniquely individual experiences.

I did prefer the latter half of Book One – Before, and the whole of Book Two – After as these focus more on Simon’s years as a teenager and young adult which adds a different dimension to the childhood which was first explored in volume one ‘That Boy of Yours Wants Looking At’. Whilst I love Simon’s ability to evoke emotional engagement via his words, I did at times struggle with some overly descriptive passages. Occasionally finding myself skipping text so as not to lose the focus nor the flow of what was being conveyed.

As with Simon’s first memoir, his father Sid, continues to play a pivotal role in Simon’s upbringing and subsequent experiences. Sid’s the epitome of everything a father should be, and it’s still a wonderful gift as a reader to follow their loving and support relationship throughout the pages of Simon’s life.

Chucking Putty at the Queen is a treasure trove; we need such stories to be told, penned, and documented within our community. If we don’t write, publish, and root for our own collective history, our shared experiences, who else will? Simon’s is an inspirational story, one that deserves to be heard, and shared over and over, until the sun sets for the very last time.

I received an ARC of this book from Butterworth Books, in exchange for an honest review.

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