Andrew and Joey [Paperback]

Jamie James (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2003

Joey, a hot-blooded Cajun choreographer, and Andrew, a perpetually unemployed upper-crust All-America Asian, seem to have little in common except a college alma mater and fourteen tranquil years of gay marriage. But all that is set to change when Joey lands a sought-after grant for a year of study and dance in Bali - with his reluctant lover in tow. As Andrew obliviously sets up housekeeping in Bali, Joey plunges into a whirlwind of dance and debauchery, convinced that Andrew will understand and overlook his indiscretions. But when a wild fling with a young Indonesian pushes Andrew over the edge, the only solution seems to be separation. From Bali to San Francisco to Greenwich Village, Andrew and Joey pour their hearts out to farflung confidantes - even occasionally, to each other. As their electronic messages criss-cross the glove, the two men edge even closer to the surprising truth about the relationship they'd both taken for granted, assuming - perhaps foolishly, perhaps not - that it would last forever.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A year's worth of melodramatic correspondence between friends, family and lovers comprises travel writer James's pedestrian first novel. It consists of e-mails to, from and about Andrew Tan and Joey Breaux, whose 14-year relationship relocates from Greenwich Village to Indonesia when Joey receives a grant to create a dance production in Bali. Asian spitfire Andrew, ever the doting boyfriend, follows with a trepidation he keeps to himself, but soon admits his reservations to flamboyant mutual friend and theater critic Phyllis. It's not long before Joey beds Wayan, a 19-year-old Balinese dancer in his troupe, and shacks up with him in spite of his time-tested romance with Andrew. Once news of the affair is leaked into cyberspace, the scornful opinions from parents, friends and several industry advisers flood the in-box. And the drama is compounded by Joey's decision to present a man/boy love-themed dance production based on the controversial life of Walter Spies, an early 20th-century German choreographer. Can Joey pull off the contentious production, garner fame and the beginnings of a reputable career, and still have time to mend his relationship with Andrew? Will readers stick around to find out? The gossipy antics and jumble of Web addresses multiply in the novel's second half, and it all wears thin long before the perky protagonists have a chance to make up or break up, while heading for the unconventionally rebellious ending. Though James's well-intentioned effort has some worthy moments usually courtesy of Phyllis it's really just a gay beach book way out of season.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Hooray for e-mail! Not only has it increased the speed and number of communiques routinely exchanged for business and pleasure but it also seems to have rejuvenated the epistolary novel. That format, lately repopularized by the film versions of Choderlos de Laclos' Les Liaisons Dangereuses, one of the best-known epistolary fictions, gets a fresh jolt of verve and zest in James' comic novel set in the cyber global village and in which Cajun choreographer Joey wins a grant to study and dance in Bali for a year. With that almost-too-good-to-be-true opportunity comes the decision, Will Joey's unemployed, Asian American partner of 14 years, Andrew, leave their Greenwich Village apartment, however reluctantly, for the trip? Of course he will, but once in Bali, he experiences breakup-level betrayal as Joey loses himself and their relationship in a torrid tango of infidelities. Throughout the breach and its aftermath, the e-mails fly fast and furious, from Joey's initially delighted announcements to his return to New York, tracing their lives and their interconnections with friends and family. Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Kensington Books (February 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758201079
• ISBN-13: 978-0758201072
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,363,924 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Modern Novel I've Read in Years, February 19, 2002

By 

J. Shaver (Hot Springs, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Andrew and Joey (Hardcover)

The first novel was Samuel Richardson's PAMELA. It told its story in letters that were exchanged among the participants. Jamie James has updated this technique by having the characters correspond via email. The difficulty with this "gimmick" is that the author must create a different syle for each of the correspondants. James does just that! (He is even able to capture the pain of a young boy's first love.) Like the other reviewer on this page, I expected a piece of "beach reading". It is not! The only thing it has in common with a "beach-read" is that it can be read quickly. Nor, is it one of the plethora of "gay-cute" books. In Joey, James has created a tragic character that corresponds to Aristotle's dictum. He is a true tragic figure because he knows that he, and he alone, is responsible for his fate. (This is where you missed out, Arthur Miller!) Now in case you get the impression that this is a dreary, gloomy work, let me assure you it isn't. There is much humor here. There is sharp satire here. You will become involved with these people; you will care about these people. You will laugh, you will cry, (and if you have a heart) you will love this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Get past the first few chapters and you will read to the end, July 28, 2004

By 

Kraig Meyer "kraigmeyer" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Andrew and Joey (Paperback)

This story has it all for the PC gay metrosexual. Biracial gay couple. Tearjerking breakup. Dysfunctional relationships. Chickenhawking. World travel. Set in New York, San Francisco, and Indonesia, it is an easy read. One warning: the entire book, cover to cover, is formatted as a series of email exchanges. The first chapter is difficult because the email format is not conducive to character development, but eventually you'll figure out who all the players are.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Going back to Bali, March 24, 2002

By 

"blissengine" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Andrew and Joey (Hardcover)

Joey is a choreographer and dancer living in New York City with his Chinese-American boyfriend Andrew. Joey wins a grant that will fund a year of study in Bali, so the two go there. Andrew makes the best of it by focusing on creating a home for the both of them, but Joey throws himself into creating his dance routine and slowly drifts from his lover of fifteen years. Andrew is shattered when Joey reveals that he's involved with a 19-year old dancer and that he wants to shack up with the kid. Andrew flies back to the States and slowly rebuilds his life. Joey takes his edgy dance and his new lover back to New York, but ultimately things fall apart and eventually Joey is left without the sense of stability he once had. What saved this book for me was the modern epistolary form, a series of email between various characters in the story. This gives it a gossipy, fast-paced feel that salvages this melodramatic story from being the tepid gay pop fiction cliche that it could've been. I was surprised that I liked it as much as I did, and that it wasn't as bad as I expected.