est em Update

At one point, I had planned on doing a lot of author-focused entries, but the problem is that I lack confidence in my knowledge. It’s not like getting the details wrong on Chameleon Army is going to incite a riot, especially if I plead ignorance beforehand, but it’s still not good.

This is a little different than what I had planned for this type of entry. I was curious to see what est em had done lately that hadn’t been translated into English, and thought others might be curious about her newer works as well, so here’s a little info. It’s not that helpful, since I’m terrified to google her name, but you might at the very least enjoy the covers.

Plus, a little info for anyone who isn’t familiar with her.

For the uninitiated, est em is a young boys’ love artist who made her debut a few years ago, and whose first three books were all published in English. All three books are full of ridiculously romantic short stories about older men. That the men are all gay is incidental, the stories focus on their relationships, and love’s place in the unusually interesting lives of the characters. est em is quite good at setting mood and atmosphere, writing absolutely perfect dialogue, and bringing out the sensitivity of a situation. I would say she’s comparable to Fumi Yoshinaga, though I’ve read much less of est em than I have Yoshinaga. They both do a good job of taking BL stories and making more of them, though.

Published in English:

Seduce Me After the Show, Red Blinds the Foolish, and Age Called Blue.  Choosing the best between them is like choosing which child is your favorite, but I’m partial to Seduce Me After the Show. Like Swan, it’s extraordinarily good at portraying stage performance.  Red Blinds the Foolish is about bullfighting though, which is worth major bonus points.  And Age Called Blue has a story which I’d swear is somehow based on Yves Klein, so all three have something good going for them.

Anyway. So what’s come out in the last year or so that we haven’t seen in English yet? Here are some vague summaries.

Kinein!
This looks like a departure from her other work, since there aren’t sultry men on the cover. And it is, since it appears to be about high school boys and their various comings of age and loves. I prefer stories about older couples, but apparently she nails the vagaries of young romance pretty accurately. It also sounds like this book focuses on one set of characters rather than several short stories, though I’m not certain of that. This was a February 09 release.

Ultras
I’m less clear about the details of this book, but apparently the main story is set in Europe and focuses on a couple who likes rival soccer teams. Again, that’s subject matter you just don’t see every day in a romance book, and apparently she still does amazing things with it. This is another short story collection, though I’m having trouble figuring out the themes of the other stories. Released November 09.

Work Number 20
Another book of short stories. This one focuses on the love between an artist and a restorationist, which means that it’s especially for me. I mean… when was the last time you read about the love life of someone who restores old paintings? I could probably read about ten volumes on the subject. Other topics include… someone who works on (or at?) carousels and flamenco dancing? If you weren’t sold at art restoration, surely even the hardest heart would melt over a carousel-themed love story. Of all three, this is probably the one I want to read the most. Also released November 09.