Perception: A German Love Story [Kindle Edition]

If a place like Disney made sexually explicit gay romance stories, "Perception" would be one of them. I have to agree with the less flattering review that this story suffers from too much perfection and romantic love that gets a little cloying in its sweetness. Which doesn't for a moment mean that I didn't get sort of weepy any number of times during the course of this short novel, set in a small city north of Cologne, Germany.

Although homophobia is hardly extinct in Europe, it is completely true that sexuality among teenagers and young adults is taken far more for granted than in the puritanical USA. I've been startled by this again and again in foreign films. "Perception" felt like an after-school special to me, which made the first explicitly sexual interaction between two characters unnerving--although completely to the point in terms of narrative.

Marcel Ritter is the iconic Euro gay nerd--smart, cute (but he doesn't know it) and forgiving. Tim Eschner is the iconic Nazi-youth type bully--beautiful, jocky, brutal, and supposedly stupid. The fact that Marcel sees something in Tim's eyes before he gets beaten up--something unexpected in a supposed hoodlum--is the small detail that shifts the narrative away from bully/victim and into one of mentor/student. Is it unbelievable? I confess, it seems a little too good to be true--as much of the story does. But the story of Androcles removing the thorn from the lion's paw is a myth, too, and myths have their place in the world of fiction.

This book is not intellectually punishing, and its sometimes stilted English is sort of endearing; I couldn't help but care about these two too-perfect young men and their families and friends. They are the kind of characters that one sees in fairy tales, and there's nothing really wrong in that.

This fairly long M/M romance reminds me irresitibly of a gay mystery I have read some time ago, "The Math Teacher is Dead" by Robert Manners, available here on Am. as well for a reason I am going to explain soon.

Set in a small German town it depicts a simple but charming love story that develops between the nerd/victim and the jock/bully of the school: forced to get to know each other by chance, they learn first to trust and then to love each other, overcoming the everyday -but oh-so-very-real- problems that stand in the way of their happiness.
It is as simple as that but it is done with a sweet touch, a nice sense of rhythm and a taste for storytelling that are far from common among self-published authors.

Characterization is potentially its main flaw and the link with the M/M mystery novel I quoted above: Marcel is impossibly perfect here just like Danny was there. He is young but he is not only clever and smart, he is also sweet, caring, and most of all mature far beyond his years. His way of reasoning -appealing though it is- is seldom to be found in people twice his age and I had to do a lot of suspension of disbelief to accept it.
After a couple of chapters it is not hard to do but it is relevant and has to be pointed out. The same can be said for the other half of the couple, Tim, whose readiness to better himself, to mend his ways are a bit over the top.
Just like the character of the mystery was the embodiment of gay physical and mental perfection, it is as if this couple were designed to be more ideal than lifelike.
That said, it is also true that Marcel and Tim grow up as characters during the story, fighting for and achieving a well deserved happily ever after.
Side characters are nicely rounded with the possible exception of the villain, Nicholas, whose reasons are never entirely clear.

The author is not a native speaker but his English skills are surprisingly good. There are a few grammar mistakes that must have escaped proofreading but his writing is neat and fluid (and there are no typos at all). Only here and there he uses vocabulary that is not wrong in itself but struck me as different from what a native writer would have used.

Sex scenes are explicit but plot related. I feel like recommending this heart-warming M/M romance to every reader.

Very nice twist on jock and nerd relationship. Very pleasantly surprised. Highly recommend this story. It's about forgiving and learning about love from a young persons perspective. Very well done.