Looking for Brothers

John Stanley is a policy advisor at the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and
Universities.

Looking for Brothers is a collection of the author’s previously
published articles on gay life. Most of the articles first appeared in
the now-defunct gay lifestyle magazine, FAB National.

The articles, which range geographically from an account of a Maritimes
wedding to a description of a visit to British Columbia, were published
over an 11-year period ending in 1998. Most have not been revised,
although some have been retitled. The piece on Denny Hurly reflects the
situation in 1996; there is, unfortunately, no footnote or postscript to
indicate developments in the murder case since that time. In writing
about the French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet (of the red socks), Rowe
seems painfully out of his depth. However, his articles on Mark Leduc
and John Preston do yield some valuable insights into these fascinating
figures.

The strength of this collection lies in the essays devoted not to
particular events but rather to mediations on relationships with
friends, lovers, and neighbors. These essays hint at the shifts in
Canada’s gay community over the 1990s.