Hugs and Cuddles

Late Brazilian writer Noll (Harmada) offers a breathless exploration of a Porto Allegre man’s sexuality and desire. Narrator João Imaculado has yearned for his old friend, whom he calls “the engineer,” since their erotically charged wrestling as pubescent boys. João never acted on his feelings for the engineer, and though he’s now married with a son, he regularly has sex with men, mostly strangers. He reconnects with the engineer for a phantasmagoric scene aboard a German WWII submarine, where they watch several German men have an orgy and share an old familiar feeling of mutual lust, again unrequited. Before the boat heads to sea, João returns to his home in Porto Allegre. His insistent sexual needs (“I was so tired of the eternal hell of libido”) lead to more bathroom stall hookups at the movies and wide-ranging lustful fantasies that may or may not be realized, including with a goat. When the submarine is targeted by terrorists, Imaculado fears the engineer is dead, but finds him at his side after he is drugged and beaten by a rent boy. The author creates a dizzying, hallucinatory effect as João undergoes a series of wild transformations. In the end, Noll (1946–2017) transcends erotica for a memorable story of an attempt at liberation. (Oct.)