Wes Side Story

Wes Side Story
by Wes Funk
Published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing
Review by Alison Slowski
$19.95 ISBN 978-1-927756-15-7

A thoroughly entertaining book, author Wes Funk’s memoir Wes Side Story is light-hearted, fun-filled, and engaging. Funk glides effortlessly through several scenes in the story of his life from when he was a young boy to the present day. He writes candidly about every topic: from deep issues such as discrimination and suicide, to lighter, fresher topics such as getting married, and being wholly devoted to a man who is the love of his life. He describes his work as the host of a popular community TV show with a spotlight on writers in the Saskatchewan community, “Lit Happens”. Funk’s writing paints a picture of nn intelligent and unassuming Prairie boy at heart; there is a refreshingly honest quality to it.

Funk’s memoir begins with details of his early life in rural Saskatchewan, growing up in a small town and then moving to an acreage with his family while still in his younger years. His beautifully rendered heartfelt memories of growing up as a teenager in the 1970’s and 1980’s speak to his earlier work, Dead Rock Stars. Coupled with his expansive knowledge of a variety of music, notably rock n’ roll, and his love of superheroes and comic books, Funk makes the 1980’s on the sleepy Saskatchewan prairies come alive with his words, so that any young adult today who wished they’d grown up in the 1980’s would be envious of the experience.

Funk began life as a dreamer, and with his carefully composed passages of exploring an early obsession with rock stars and superheroes, he considers and reflects upon how hero worship affects society. Funk also details how as he gets older and graduates from high school, he began to become more disillusioned with life. As a young person, Funk faced many odds, but always dealt with adversity, young and old, in surprisingly tenacious ways. Emerging from a suicide attempt in his youth while working as an overworked and underpaid waiter, his confidence and curiosity grew as he began to learn more about being gay and “out”, as well as finding creative outlets such as writing to express himself in new ways. Later on in life, he goes on to interview authors and become the host of a local community show, “Lit Happens”, and while underqualified in broadcasting, perhaps, but not lacking in enthusiasm or charisma.

The message that Wes Funk’s memoir leaves us with is one of tenacity and hope. A writer who has worked incredibly hard to become a published author of not one or two, but many noteworthy novels is indeed one who has forged ahead in the storm, his memoir will bring a smile and a buoyant mood and serve as a reminder that anyone can conquer against all odds.

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