Assessment:
Plot/Idea: While infused with erotica, at its core, this is a story about a group of friends finding where they fit in the world. The reader follows them as they navigate heartbreak, challenging transitions, and difficult family dynamics, as well as the trauma of rape, racism, and HIV scares, all rawly and vividly depicted.
Prose: Naked Love Berlin positively sings in the moments depicting meaningful character communications and interactions. Sex scenes, while effectively rendered, can sometimes break the spell of the otherwise immensely engaging storytelling.
Originality: Gay life in Berlin from the expat perspective is not a common subject matter, and it's an interesting one. The city is almost a character in and of itself and the author excels at creating atmosphere.
Character/Execution: Readers will feel deeply for the individual characters as they discover, suffer, grow, and seek their own versions of happy endings.
Date Submitted: April 03, 2024
De Luong takes readers on a moving journey through the loves and losses of these four friends as they each evolve on their paths of self-discovery. While Naked Love Berlin lives up to its title, never skimping on vividly rendered sex—the unbuckling of belts; the mechanics of lubrication; the diversity of organ sizes—it’s the thoughtfully evoked themes of sexual trauma and death that power its gritty yet engaging story of acceptance and friendship. Writing from each man’s POV, De Luong examines how this quartet builds a support system and a community in the face of life-upending events. Each is forced to face his inner demons, in the form of a dying loved one or blurring the lines of friendship with romantic encounters.
This explicit novel is full of depth and larger-than-life characters readers won't soon forget, offering a sweeping story of found family, brotherhood, and sexual identity and discovery. As these four friends make a mess of their lives and work independently or together to pick up the pieces, DeLuong touchingly captures their resilience and camaraderie in the face of whatever life throws their way.
Takeaway: Touching and raw survey of friendship, love, and sexual exploration in Berlin.
Comparable Titles: Tomasz Jedrowski’s Swimming in the Dark, Zak Salih’s Let’s Get Back to the Party.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
