Sorry for the lateness of this review (but not too late). I hope you all enjoy this review of Levko by @Mikiesboy

Levko

mikiesboy

Reviewer: Cole Matthews
Status: Complete
Word Count: 7,166

Short stories can convey as much of a impact as a novel if done well. In fact, sometimes they can even do it better. Think of Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery or Edgar Allan Poe’s A Telltale Heart, gripping tales that are quite brief. 

Within the confines of a few words, the writer must craft characters, a storyline, place, time, events, and a theme which will hopefully carry a reader into another space. Because of the brevity of the form, words  need to carry more weight and power and because of it, the writer must consider the economy of words.

Mikiesboy’s story Levko is a great example of a story which conveys so much more than its length would suggest. To begin with, we are shown, and not told, that Lev is a rent boy. 

Jon, Lev’s aptly named john, immediately asserts his dominance over the young man. He tells him to smoke a joint, and at first Lev refuses. But, the older man takes charge and we begin to experience the fear and powerlessness the main character feels. 

Lev has a man at home, and he’s not a good one.  Charlie uses him and calls him by the name ‘Garbage’ taking whatever money the young man earns. There is no inner dialogue about how worthless Lev must feel to endure such a man. The man isn’t much of a character at all, except as a kind of projection it seems Lev feels he deserves. 

During his time with his john, Lev begins to find a role for himself. He also begins to experience feelings he finds indescribable, so instead the writer portrays the scene.

Think of how this shows two powerful ideas.  First, Lev is in an uncomfortable position, but seemingly far more comfortable than with his ‘man’ Charlie. Second, while his john is his master in this role play, he offers the young man more choices, more power over his own body and mind than it appears he’s ever had before. 

This comes to a head soon enough.

After a brutal exchange with Charlie, the young man finally decides to leave the abusive man. Again, the reader can feel how lost he is, and he finally makes moves to find his favorite john. Lev calls him and they meet and now we see through the older man’s eyes what Lev had endured at Charlie’s hand. He’s medically treated and only then know how bad that beatingreally was, and yet we have no details about the assault. 

The use of imagery is also used to end the piece. From the time he climbed into the car at the beginning to falling in love with his Jon, we get this description.

They sat quietly together for a few minutes. Lev broke the peaceful silence. “Would you open the drapes please, Jon? I’m tired of the dark.”
Jon smiled, rose and strode across the room to the window; he pulled back the heavy brocade drapes and flooded the room with light.

This story is a great example of how using fewer words can be more impactful. Each word should be chosen to convey something more about the story,  the character, and the theme. Levko is a story that uses words sparingly, yet it does so effectively making every line count.

Category: Fiction  Genres: Drama  Tags:  mature adult, adult, north america, anal, fighting, abuse  Rating: Mature