Consider the possibilities: In the middle of a pennant race, a team's star shortstop falls in love with his second baseman. Which is exactly what happens to Randy Dreyfus, the best-hitting, best-fielding, best-looking, and most happily married young shortstop in the major leagues. The Dreyfus Affair combines romance, comedy, social satire, and some of the finest baseball writing in years. The result is a rollicking, provocative odyssey through one unforgettable World Series championship.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
This seriocomic second novel by the author of The Deal tells the offbeat story of baseball star Randy Dreyfus, whose life--on the surface, at least--seems a winning streak that will never end. His manager tells him, "You're 28 years old. You got the best swing since Ted Williams. You're the fastest white guy in the league. You've got a nice wife, a family, you're pulling down two point three a year, not to mention the TV and merchandising money." However, Dreyfus has one big problem--he has fallen in love with D. J., the team's second baseman--as well as a few smaller ones: his wife thinks he's sleeping with another woman, his shrink is driving him crazy and he wants to kill his unruly Dalmatian. When Dreyfus and D. J. are caught in the act under most bizarre circumstances, the political and professional fallout affects the World Series and the White House alike. Lefcourt employs a smoothly smart-alecky tone reminiscent of Dan Jenkins's football fiction, albeit without Jenkins's expert handling of the locker-room milieu. The tone grates after a while, but the novel is not without moments of genuine wit. Although the finale is more whimper than bang, the book's zany charm has a cumulative impact.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
In this thoroughly likable novel, shortstop Randy Dreyfus is horrified to find he is falling in love with D.J., his (black) second baseman. Randy has the perfect wife and family, plus a brilliant career, but the more he tries to fight the attraction, the more he is willing to risk everything for it. When the men are caught kissing in a Neiman-Marcus dressing room, they are banned from baseball for life. Their team, having just lost its two best players, faces formidable opposition in the World Series. Outraged by the pair's dismissal, a sportswriter rallies fans and team members behind them with his column, "I Accuse." Parallels with the original Dreyfus Affair are clear, and the novel makes a strong case for baseball's most important ideal: fair play.
- Marylaine Block, St. Ambrose Univ. Lib., Davenport, Ia.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
- Marylaine Block, St. Ambrose Univ. Lib., Davenport, Ia.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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More About the Author
Peter Lefcourt
Peter Lefcourt is a refugee from the trenches of Hollywood, where he has distinguished himself as a writer and producer of film and television. Among his credits are "Cagney and Lacey," for which he won an Emmy award; "Monte Carlo," in which he managed to keep Joan Collins in the same wardrobe for 35 pages; the relentlessly sentimental "Danielle Steel's Fine Things," and the underrated and hurried "The Women of Windsor," the most sordid, and thankfully last, miniseries about the British Royal Family.
He began writing novels after being declared "marginally unemployable" in the entertainment business by his agent. In 1991 Lefcourt published "The Deal"--an act of supreme hubris that effectively bit the hand that fed him and produced, in that wonderfully inverse and masochistic logic of Hollywood, a fresh demand for his screenwriting services. It remains a cult favorite in Hollywood and was one of the ten books that the late John Gotti reportedly ordered from jail.
Subsequently he has divided his time between screenplays and novels, publishing "The Dreyfus Affair" in 1992, his darkly comic look at homophobia in baseball as a historical analog to anti-Semitism in fin de siecle France, whose film rights The Walt Disney Company has optioned twice and let lapse twice in paroxysms of anxiety about what it says about the national pastime and, by extension, Disneyland.
In 1994, he published "Di And I," a heavily fictionalized version of his love affair with the late Princess of Wales. Princess Diana's own step-godmother, the late Barbara Cartland, herself no slouch when it came to publishing torrid books, declared the book "ghastly and unnecessary," which pushed the British edition briefly onto the bestseller lists. "Di And I" was optioned by Fine Line Pictures and was abandoned after Diana's untimely death.
"Abbreviating Ernie," his fourth novel, was inspired by his brush with notoriety after the appearance of "Di And I." At the time he was harassed by the British tabloids and spent seven excruciating minutes on "Entertainment Tonight." He was subsequently and fittingly bumped out of People Magazine by O.J. Simpson's white Bronco media event of June, 1994.
Lefcourt's research on a movie about the 1995 Bob Packwood scandal was the germ for his fifth novel, "The Woody." He saw the former senator's battle with the Senate Ethics Committee as evidence of the confusion in America regarding appropriate sexual behavior for politicians. Packwood became a sacrificial lamb by getting his dick caught in the buzzsaw of the zeitgeist.
His subsequent book, "Eleven Karens"--an erratically erotic fictional memoir of his love affairs with eleven women, all of whom happened to be named Karen, was published in 2003. He is still defending himself in a number of law suits brought by several of the apparently insufficiently fictionalized Karens.
He followed that with "The Manhattan Beach Project," a nominal sequel to The Deal, in that it follows the adventures of that book's hero, the intrepid Charlie Berns, who finds himself broke and attending meetings of the Brentwood chapter of Debtors Anonymous. Charlie manages to sell a reality TV show about the daily life of a warlord in Uzbekistan ("The Sopranos" meets "The Osbournes") to a secret division of ABC, named, appropriately, ABCD, charged with developing extreme reality TV series from a clandestine skunkworks in Manhattan Beach.
His latest book is entitled "An American Family," and it tells the story of an immigrant Jewish-American family on Long Island, beginning on the day John Kennedy was shot and ending the day before 9/11. This multi-generational saga, told from the point of view of five siblings born in the 1940's, traces the Pearl family's odyssey into the melting pot of twentieth century America.
He continues to dabble in film and television. He was the writer/creator of the Showtime TV series, "Beggars & Choosers," a darkly comic send-up of the television business. More recently, he spent a season in the writers' room of "Desperate Housewives," where he helped concoct some of the Byzantine plot lines of that infamous dark suburban soap opera.
Praise for Lefcourt's novels:
"You can count the wonderful novels about Hollywood on two hands...The Deal is one of them."
--LA Times
"...A hilarious romp through the world of national politics. [Lefcourt's] hapless hero is the perfect foil for all that's gone wrong in Washington...An irreverent, amusing read."
--USA Today
"This neon farce lights up the political spectrum to the left and the right of the primary colors...The Woody is like the best of farces, less interested in mocking historical figures and more keen to turn its light elsewhere."
--LA Times
"A good-natured romp through the dream factory of the 1990's."
--The New York Times
"Lefcourt flirts with offensiveness but never goes all the way."
----Kirkus Reviews
Peter Lefcourt is a refugee from the trenches of Hollywood, where he has distinguished himself as a writer and producer of film and television. Among his credits are "Cagney and Lacey," for which he won an Emmy award; "Monte Carlo," in which he managed to keep Joan Collins in the same wardrobe for 35 pages; the relentlessly sentimental "Danielle Steel's Fine Things," and the underrated and hurried "The Women of Windsor," the most sordid, and thankfully last, miniseries about the British Royal Family.
He began writing novels after being declared "marginally unemployable" in the entertainment business by his agent. In 1991 Lefcourt published "The Deal"--an act of supreme hubris that effectively bit the hand that fed him and produced, in that wonderfully inverse and masochistic logic of Hollywood, a fresh demand for his screenwriting services. It remains a cult favorite in Hollywood and was one of the ten books that the late John Gotti reportedly ordered from jail.
Subsequently he has divided his time between screenplays and novels, publishing "The Dreyfus Affair" in 1992, his darkly comic look at homophobia in baseball as a historical analog to anti-Semitism in fin de siecle France, whose film rights The Walt Disney Company has optioned twice and let lapse twice in paroxysms of anxiety about what it says about the national pastime and, by extension, Disneyland.
In 1994, he published "Di And I," a heavily fictionalized version of his love affair with the late Princess of Wales. Princess Diana's own step-godmother, the late Barbara Cartland, herself no slouch when it came to publishing torrid books, declared the book "ghastly and unnecessary," which pushed the British edition briefly onto the bestseller lists. "Di And I" was optioned by Fine Line Pictures and was abandoned after Diana's untimely death.
"Abbreviating Ernie," his fourth novel, was inspired by his brush with notoriety after the appearance of "Di And I." At the time he was harassed by the British tabloids and spent seven excruciating minutes on "Entertainment Tonight." He was subsequently and fittingly bumped out of People Magazine by O.J. Simpson's white Bronco media event of June, 1994.
Lefcourt's research on a movie about the 1995 Bob Packwood scandal was the germ for his fifth novel, "The Woody." He saw the former senator's battle with the Senate Ethics Committee as evidence of the confusion in America regarding appropriate sexual behavior for politicians. Packwood became a sacrificial lamb by getting his dick caught in the buzzsaw of the zeitgeist.
His subsequent book, "Eleven Karens"--an erratically erotic fictional memoir of his love affairs with eleven women, all of whom happened to be named Karen, was published in 2003. He is still defending himself in a number of law suits brought by several of the apparently insufficiently fictionalized Karens.
He followed that with "The Manhattan Beach Project," a nominal sequel to The Deal, in that it follows the adventures of that book's hero, the intrepid Charlie Berns, who finds himself broke and attending meetings of the Brentwood chapter of Debtors Anonymous. Charlie manages to sell a reality TV show about the daily life of a warlord in Uzbekistan ("The Sopranos" meets "The Osbournes") to a secret division of ABC, named, appropriately, ABCD, charged with developing extreme reality TV series from a clandestine skunkworks in Manhattan Beach.
His latest book is entitled "An American Family," and it tells the story of an immigrant Jewish-American family on Long Island, beginning on the day John Kennedy was shot and ending the day before 9/11. This multi-generational saga, told from the point of view of five siblings born in the 1940's, traces the Pearl family's odyssey into the melting pot of twentieth century America.
He continues to dabble in film and television. He was the writer/creator of the Showtime TV series, "Beggars & Choosers," a darkly comic send-up of the television business. More recently, he spent a season in the writers' room of "Desperate Housewives," where he helped concoct some of the Byzantine plot lines of that infamous dark suburban soap opera.
Praise for Lefcourt's novels:
"You can count the wonderful novels about Hollywood on two hands...The Deal is one of them."
--LA Times
"...A hilarious romp through the world of national politics. [Lefcourt's] hapless hero is the perfect foil for all that's gone wrong in Washington...An irreverent, amusing read."
--USA Today
"This neon farce lights up the political spectrum to the left and the right of the primary colors...The Woody is like the best of farces, less interested in mocking historical figures and more keen to turn its light elsewhere."
--LA Times
"A good-natured romp through the dream factory of the 1990's."
--The New York Times
"Lefcourt flirts with offensiveness but never goes all the way."
----Kirkus Reviews
Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A "Major League" love story!,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Dreyfus Affair: A Love Story (Paperback)
I never thought I would be interested in a story about baseball players! This love story uses its setting to great benefit, it helps to define who these guys are. At an age (mid-twenties) when most guys would not have much to lose professionally by coming out, these ball-players are already well into their high-paying and very public careers. The weight that this adds to what is at its core a love story is not crucial, but very valuable. I loved this book and could not put it down. I wanted so much to keep the feelings I got from the book with me that I bought what can only be described as its soundtrack album, Frank Sinatra's "Songs for Swinging Lovers". Every time I listen to the CD, I think of Randy and D.J. and it makes me happy!
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Instense male love story,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Dreyfus Affair: A Love Story (Paperback)
Wow, a love story between two ballplayers. I was intrigued by the basic plotline when I first heard this book was coming out. Years later, I still think its an incredible book, complete with humor, believable characters, and two guys who are intensely in love with one another. You do not have to be gay to love this book!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Grand slam love story,
By "mariposalily" (Tallahassee, FL USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Dreyfus Affair: A Love Story (Paperback)
"The Dreyfus Affair" follows the painful, often humerous coming out of baseball star Randy Dreyfus. A seemingly happy marriage is thrown a curve ball when Randy suddenly starts to appreciate the teams short-stop for more than his athletic acumen. Randy's struggle with his heretofore never acknowledged homosexuality, is both funny and unsettling. Avoiding his wife, visits to a psychiatrist, the reaction of the media, teammates and corporate sponsors, not to mention a lover who came to terms with his own sexuality long ago, are issues which the author has deftly brought togther. The politics of their relationship is the very heart of this always engaging love story. Lefcourt's accomplishment here is that he is able to communicate so many relevant issues without overburdening what is essentially a romantic comedy. Rarely has anyone been able to field so many serious topics so entertainingly.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
It was bad enough going 0-for-5 and committing a dumb-ass error that led to two unearned runs in the bottom of the ninth that beat you. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
two ballplayers, conduct detrimental, second baseman Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Randy Dreyfus, Milt Zola, Charlie Gonse, Fritz Esterhazy, Ken Teffner, World Series, Susie Dreyfus, New York, Pete Zabriskie, Barry Fuchsia, Axel Most, Los Angeles Valley Vikings, American League, Bernie Lazarre, Viking Stadium, Hall of Fame, Mendes Fuad, Pia Zadora, Valley View Estates, Harry Glugg, Don Amarillo, Karen Most, Rennie Pannizardi, Manuel Rodriguez, Gus Mercer New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
It was bad enough going 0-for-5 and committing a dumb-ass error that led to two unearned runs in the bottom of the ninth that beat you. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
two ballplayers, conduct detrimental, second baseman Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Randy Dreyfus, Milt Zola, Charlie Gonse, Fritz Esterhazy, Ken Teffner, World Series, Susie Dreyfus, New York, Pete Zabriskie, Barry Fuchsia, Axel Most, Los Angeles Valley Vikings, American League, Bernie Lazarre, Viking Stadium, Hall of Fame, Mendes Fuad, Pia Zadora, Valley View Estates, Harry Glugg, Don Amarillo, Karen Most, Rennie Pannizardi, Manuel Rodriguez, Gus Mercer New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 1
book:
11
books
cite this book:
See all 11 books citing this book
- New Hampshire: An Explorer's Guide (Explorer's Guides) by Christina Tree on page 255
- Making the Team: The Cultural Work of Baseball Fiction by Timothy Morris on 4 pages
- Imagining Baseball: America's Pastime and Popular Culture by David McGimpsey on page 122, page 124, and Back Matter
- The Gay Teen: Educational Practice and Theory for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Adolescents by Gerald Unks on page 151, and page 156
- The Manhattan Beach Project: A Novel by Peter Lefcourt in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- Going the Other Way: Lessons from a Life In and Out of Major League Baseball by Billy Bean in Front Matter
See all 11 books citing this book
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