SoMa, the book, shows South of Market layers built on one another over time

June 2, 8:08 AMSF South of Market Street ExaminerLori Sabatini

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"SoMa' by Kemble Scott is a compelling
look under the sheets of the South of
Market district.

I picked up the book simply because of the title.

Buying a novel entitled SoMa, in a cool South of Market independent bookstore, had a certainly symmetry to it.

Within the pages were one side of a the hologram that is SoMa, a surprising, uninhibited and, according to my friends that lived in similar circles, an all-too-true portrait of the district's gay scene. As  the book's author Kemble Scott describes it, "It's a bit stranger than fiction."

Scott has become a leading scribe in documenting SoMa's diversity. He's also a trend-setting writer whose second book will be released by the cutting edge world of technological book sales. A San Francisco-based company called Scribd is releasing Scott's second book, The Sower online for just $2. Scott said the modern technology allows him to be current -- the book has references to Susan Boyle for example -- and potentially make more money.

Scribd will give him a return of $1.60 per book. His contract on publishing SoMa via traditional means paid him only $1.13 of its $15 cover price, an article in the BayNewser stated.

Scott and SoMa and San Francisco and Scribd. Lot's of symmetry there.

SoMa captures SoMa at the start of the dot.com bust, after the get-quick-rich 20- and 30-somethings poured into the South of Market area, literally building a hip, modern and edgy lifestyle directly upon the old leather and bondage gay/industrial area prominent in the 1980s. Like an archaeological dig, the book captures how both eras famously combined for a scene -- at times shocking with its ever-escalating scenes of sexual experimentation -- unfamiliar to most of Americana.

While at times the book suffers from what seems to be a string of anecdotes, each more shocking than the last, only loosely connected by the narrative in the story, Scott's skill as a writer pulses throughout the pages like rave music at a nightclub. The ending is a surprising scene of revenge even though throughout the book Scott refuses to name the antagonist and protagonist. Instead he carefully, with commentary, allows the stories to evolve allowing the readers to decide for themselves who to care about. Each is part villain, part hero in a way that offers a truer portrait of life.

The classics of SoMa are within the pages, from a dinner at Bacar, to the voyeuristic journey on the back train of BART, to clubs and bath houses that I simply mentioned their name to friends who have lived her longer than me and they simply nod their heads. "Yep, been there, done that," they say. Bay to breakers, of course. Bondage-a-Go-Go. New to me, but I'm told very real.

Scott has captured it all. An interview he gave said his second book will build even more on the real-life stories he weaves together in SoMa. I'm sure it won't be for the faint of heart or the easily offended, but then again, neither is SoMa when you dig down a little bit. After all, that's a big reason why we all like it here so much.

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