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On Picking Fruit
Author: Arthur WootenISBN: 1555839525
Curtis Jenkins was born gay. At least, that's what his mother has told him -- and anyone else who will listen -- all his life. As a middle-aged adult living in New York City, he's quite a successful writer. There's only one problem. He has trouble picking fruit, or in other words, men. He tends to choose the wrong men in the wrong places, leading to a string of unfortunate relationships.
After a bizarre attempt at suicide, his best friend Quinn recommends he see a shrink, and he knows just the one. So Curtis starts seeing the fabulously eccentric Dr. Magda Tunick. Her advice? Find a man. She gives him an assignment to meet and date at least one man between each of their sessions.
What follows is a goofy, how-not-to guide to bad dates in NYC. With "help" from his mother and Quinn, Curtis goes on one disastrous date after another. Will he ever find Mr. Right?
On Picking Fruit is Arthur Wooten's first attempt at humorous fiction. There are moments that made me laugh out loud, but I wish they had been more frequent. Sometimes, I felt he was trying just a littel too hard. There's a lot of potential here, but too many of the situations Curtis finds himself in feel over-the-top or contrived.
Wooten finds his happy place about three-quarters of the way through the book when Curtis (and the story) finally finds an authentic voice... and a soul. I thought the ending made up for much of the earlier shortcomings.
The version of On Picking Fruit I read was self-published through iUniverse, and while there were a few typos (and you'll even find those in releases from major publishers), for the most part it avoids the pitfalls of many self-published books. It flows well, and Wooten has a very reader-friendly writing style. His characters are pleasantly outlandish. I especially enjoyed Dr. Tunick and her blind little demon dog, Emily-Mae. One of my favorite things about Fruit was the fact that Curtis is living with HIV, but the book doesn't present this as a handicap, per se, but simply a fact of his life. I found it to be a very realistic portrayal.
Note: Since this review, Wooten has republished the book through Alyson, so some of the issues I had when I read it originally may have been corrected with editing. I really did enjoy the book over all.