Preview: ‘Forty Lies’ By David Shenton – 40 Years Of LGBTQ+ Living

by Richard Bruton

Here’s one that looks absolutely great, David Shenton‘s Forty Lies, A Work Of Ipsedixitism looks rather great. 40-ish stories making up something akin to a life story of Shenton through a prism of LGBTQ+ history and activism. One to really explore…

Have to admit, I’ve come to this one a bit late and have been meaning to do this preview for way too long.

It came out back in October and I still haven’t gotten around to picking it out of the reading pile for more than a cursory look through. But even that cursory look through tells me this is a great looking and rather fine reading book that’s part autobiography, past history lesson.

Here’s what the PR has to say…

“Neighbours and relatives called me names. I have been a ‘Queer Cartoonist’ for over 40 years and throughout this time I have been as serious, as angry, as funny, camp, and ridiculous as I can possibly be, sometimes all at the same time, beause it’s how I see my job, and my duty as a gay man. I’ve always made LGBTQI+ cartoons and been lucky enough to have had them regularly published. I have played a central part in them, sometimes as a character or narrator, exploring gay politics from the inside perspective, which means I can criticise governments, health education offices, the church, the police, anything that is bigoted, and still laugh at myself. Attacking the haters, fighting, and trying to protect my community through my cartoons, one tiny square at a time.

This anagram of a book, is a vaguely chronological patchwork of forty(ish) personal stories, that don’t bear too much factual scrutiny, yet are as real and honest as need be, following the trials of Coming Out, the Age of Consent, family rejection, dodgy boyfriends, shaky career prospects, police swoops, the enemy without, queer bashers, the stern presence of HIV/AIDS, the loathsome Section 28,the friends, the outrage and outrageous, the fun, the sex, the scene, Love, Equal Marriage and bereavement… This is my History, it is the history of every 70 year old gay man in Britain today. FORTY LIES = LIFE STORY.

Basically, a Comic Book, with knitting patterns.”

Yep, sounds bloody brilliant and, as you’ll see from the preview pages below, looks incredible.