They Change the Subject

Treacherously comic and poignant, the autobiographical stories in They Change the Subject follow a young mans quest for identity through love and desire. Sustained by a single voice, the stories simultaneously offer a fractured novel and stand, powerfully, on their own. At the center of each tale is the heightened, visceral possibility of unexpected emotional encountersfrom an escorts dates in Manhattan hotels to a photo shoot that doubles as seduction. Always pushing toward a bigger shiver of passion, Martins young-man-on-the-make learns how to adapt his persona to suit his lovers needs and tries to embrace his own experienceand his selfby becoming the purest object of desire.