Kenn Dahl - Soaring with a Hawke

Aaron, at nineteen the oldest son of a pioneer family, had discovered the joys of masturbation and was practicing his art naked in the woods while the rest of the family had gone into town to attend church. As he strokes his long, hard shaft, he is interrupted by a handsome young Indian brave, Soaring Hawk. Clad only in a deerskin loin cloth, Hawk, as he asked Aaron to call him, is instantly attracted to the handsome and well-endowed white youth. Over many stolen Sundays they explore each others’ bodies in the myriad of ways two horny young males are capable of devising. In the process they fall deeply in love. When they are discovered in the middle of an act of what the puritanical standards of the time would call sodomy, they are forced to flee westward.

Comment: After reading this story - my first one by the author - I can't say I'm eager to read more. I mean, of course it isn't a short-story that represents all the goodness of a writer, but there are so many authors, books, stories, worlds to read, I don't know if I'm following something when it wasn't appealing to me. The story seemd sweet and promising even if small. And though there are some shorts that, despite their size, are still quite good, this wasn't one of them. But I repeat it, it wasn't, to me.

The main character seemed interesting, and like young people in those days, curious and knowing he was commiting a sin by doing what he was doing. Then he meets another boy and a relationship starts between them. The other boy is indian, our "hero" is a white boy and I thought the author would lead them to a predictable end, where the white boy's family finds out about the relationship and throws the boy out or accepts him. Hum, I was not expecting what happened, that the boy would simply leave because his younger brother found him out. It seemd rushed and reckless, this from a boy that liked his family and took his chores seriously. I understand fear does things to us and in that aspect his actions were quite believable but in the overall picture, it wasn't so. Anyway, he leaves with his indian lover, they are accepted in the tribe and live together the rest of their lives.

This is fiction, a short story. It had to be rushed, but still I wasn't convinced. I didn't particularly like the writer's voice. It doesn't mean he is a bad writer, just that I'm not dazzled by it. It was good to read it because I can justify my opinion, but it's not an author to follow. Perhaps in the future.