Yield

"A spiritually tormented hustler searches for salvation in Houck's moving debut. After gay New York City hustler Simon and his friend Louis get savagely beaten, Louis turns into a hermit and Simon fills with an inexpressible rage that he tries to tamp down with a chain of empty sexual encounters. Things begin to change when Aiden, a customer of Simon's, wants an actual relationship, and soon Simon's doing what he never thought possible: falling in love. Helped by Aiden and his friends, Simon examines his complex views of sex, intimacy, and violence and tries to find a way to heal. Houck's sparse prose is a nice match for a grittily portrayed New York that perpetually teeters on the edge of violence, and the city's and gay culture's larger problems are a perfect counterweight for the internal struggles of a young man trying to redefine himself. Solid, unsentimental storytelling distinguish Houck's first time out. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright PWyxz LLC)

Houck confronts controversial and timely topics such as gay bashing and equality in this powerhouse debut about the families gay men create and the support only friends can provide.