Babineaus delightful sense of humour his way of drawing us so fully into the worlds of his characters and perhaps most important his ability to bring queer history to life all contribute to a deeply satisfying reading experience

This book drew me in and kept my attention from first page to last I hope to read more from this author in the future

Babineau writes with a confident gay voice full of quips and sharply offkilter but richly descriptive comments that stay on the literary side of arch But Channel Surfing in the Sea of Happiness is also populated by lesbians trans folk a pair of sexually ambiguous goths and a hefty helping of heterosexuals who are not only comic relief

I read this book on a very long train journey and absolutely loved it Its funny forgiving and brutally honest Reminiscent of Christopher Isherwoods Berlin Stories and Armistead Maupins Tales of the City the characters weave in and out of each others seemingly unconnected lives until the unexpected but deeply satisfying final story A slice of gay life during the worst years of the aids epidemic the book never loses its warm heart and dry wit as the characters wrestle with the wars within and without Mr Babineau has an unerring sense of time and place He conjures up a vivid portrait filled with delightful travelling companions and deadpan humour I highly recommend this book for journeys of all kinds especially interior ones