Uncle and nephew bond as the nephew discovers his uncle's past through his diary.
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There's a discussion on whether the long no-contact period was realistic. I think part of it is but not fully, and neither should it be. Realistically, contact would've been attempted for at least the first four years then slowly petered out, because staying in touch with a loved one you can't see can be soul crushing and would be difficult for many to maintain. I think the route the author took made the most sense narratively and thematically: it keeps up the parallelism between Gene leaving home for the first and second time and never looking back, and the theme of being brought back together thanks to a loved one (Gene encouraging Trevor to reunite with his family, nephew Gene being the catalyst for the re-encounter). As much as I argue for fiction's inextricable tie to reality, sometimes the tie must be severed for the story to be structurally sound, thus more evocative. Truly top-notch storytelling by Azuma Kaya, one of the most talented BL authors currently writing imo.
Sometimes when you read a story you can feel the love the author has poured into it. You can feel that they stayed true to their vision, that they had strong narrative control and prioritised that over what would make it more palatable to readers (a love that is untouchable despite the generational gap and the extended absence). Nothing more to say: 5/5. (2021).
Dear Gene