AmosL
08-15-2006, 04:16 PM
AIDEN SHAW TELLS ALL
LITERARY PRIDE--a gay reading circle
Shaw, Aiden, My Undoing: Love in the Thick of Sex, Drugs, Pornography and Prostitution. Carroll& Graf. 2006.
Ah--the life of a porn star. Those are the men who get paid to do on the screen what so many of us wish we could do and get paid for it. Aiden Shaw, yes, Aiden Shaw, one of the most popular gay porn stars ever tells it all in his book. My Undoing. This is a truthful book, brutally honest to the point that it is sometimes painful, but while it hurts to read, it sheds light on the inside of a world most of us will never have an opportunity to know.
Aiden Shaw has starred in over fifty adult films--showing it all. At the same time as being a male clothing model (I remember seeing him in a JC Crew catalog), he was baring himself on video and he became at icon. His book tells what is behind the icon and the price he paid to achieve this legendary status. Shaw became so popular that his name was used for Carrie's boyfriend on "Sex and the City" and his modeling pictures adorned the finest fashion magazines. In his autobiography he tells for the first time how the real man behind the name rose to such heights and then hit the depths. His personal stories dealing with sex and drugs are not for the faint hearted. His life, fueled by substance abuse in a quest to find love, is not a pretty story but it a realistic telling of that kind of existence. The aura of the porn star bedding the most beautiful men is just that-- an aura. When the shoot is over, so is the romance. Shaw tells how hard is it for one who publicly displays everything to find love and settle down to a regular life style. Herein is the core of the book--the quest for love and acceptance. Here is a "smart...honest glimpse" into a life, a saga that is not easy to put down.
Who would have thought that a porn star could write with such eloquence and insight? Shaw destroys the notion that a porn star is only that--a sex object with nothing between his ears. (The rest of the equipment he needs no testament.) The humor in the book mixes easily with the pain and Shaw emerges as a complex individual with more than an average share of intelligence--his quick wit suffuses his writing and his melancholy style gives it life. Having once been in awe of his physical attributes, I must admit that I am now in awe of his mental attributes as well.
The theme of the book appears to be, as I said before, the quest for love--not just for a significant other, but for love of oneself as well. In his quest for love, Shaw brings into the story the details of his having been raised Roman Catholic, of his HIV-positive status and his return to life from a near fatal accident that left him partially paralyzed for a period. Writing of several relationships that left him unfulfilled as well as several that were not meant to be, Shaw shows us a side of him we would never have imagined--his vulnerability. Here is a man who personified sex with his swagger and who could not find a way to use his charm for a lasting relationship.
Of course, we want a happy ending and whether there is one or not is for you to discover when you read the book. I am not telling. But what I will tell you is that this is a terrific read and should not be missed nor misjudged.
LITERARY PRIDE--a gay reading circle
Shaw, Aiden, My Undoing: Love in the Thick of Sex, Drugs, Pornography and Prostitution. Carroll& Graf. 2006.
Ah--the life of a porn star. Those are the men who get paid to do on the screen what so many of us wish we could do and get paid for it. Aiden Shaw, yes, Aiden Shaw, one of the most popular gay porn stars ever tells it all in his book. My Undoing. This is a truthful book, brutally honest to the point that it is sometimes painful, but while it hurts to read, it sheds light on the inside of a world most of us will never have an opportunity to know.
Aiden Shaw has starred in over fifty adult films--showing it all. At the same time as being a male clothing model (I remember seeing him in a JC Crew catalog), he was baring himself on video and he became at icon. His book tells what is behind the icon and the price he paid to achieve this legendary status. Shaw became so popular that his name was used for Carrie's boyfriend on "Sex and the City" and his modeling pictures adorned the finest fashion magazines. In his autobiography he tells for the first time how the real man behind the name rose to such heights and then hit the depths. His personal stories dealing with sex and drugs are not for the faint hearted. His life, fueled by substance abuse in a quest to find love, is not a pretty story but it a realistic telling of that kind of existence. The aura of the porn star bedding the most beautiful men is just that-- an aura. When the shoot is over, so is the romance. Shaw tells how hard is it for one who publicly displays everything to find love and settle down to a regular life style. Herein is the core of the book--the quest for love and acceptance. Here is a "smart...honest glimpse" into a life, a saga that is not easy to put down.
Who would have thought that a porn star could write with such eloquence and insight? Shaw destroys the notion that a porn star is only that--a sex object with nothing between his ears. (The rest of the equipment he needs no testament.) The humor in the book mixes easily with the pain and Shaw emerges as a complex individual with more than an average share of intelligence--his quick wit suffuses his writing and his melancholy style gives it life. Having once been in awe of his physical attributes, I must admit that I am now in awe of his mental attributes as well.
The theme of the book appears to be, as I said before, the quest for love--not just for a significant other, but for love of oneself as well. In his quest for love, Shaw brings into the story the details of his having been raised Roman Catholic, of his HIV-positive status and his return to life from a near fatal accident that left him partially paralyzed for a period. Writing of several relationships that left him unfulfilled as well as several that were not meant to be, Shaw shows us a side of him we would never have imagined--his vulnerability. Here is a man who personified sex with his swagger and who could not find a way to use his charm for a lasting relationship.
Of course, we want a happy ending and whether there is one or not is for you to discover when you read the book. I am not telling. But what I will tell you is that this is a terrific read and should not be missed nor misjudged.