Dupont Circle: A Novel [Paperback]

Paul Kafka-Gibbons (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2002

Set in the nation's capital, this delightful comedy of manners centers on the busy intersection of Dupont Circle, where old meets young, gay meets straight, rich meets poor, and past meets present. Love and family intersect in similar ways in Paul Kafka-Gibbons's witty and entertaining novel. In a plot revolving around a judicial hearing on gay marriage, Kafka-Gibbons explores the lives of three distinctly different couples, examining marriage and domesticity in all its contemporary guises. With great charm and goodwill, DUPONT CIRCLE engages the issues as well as the heart.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Three pairs of lovers compete for space at the heart of this cozy D.C. novel by Kafka-Gibbons, who won an L.A. Times book prize for his first novel, Love.Enter. Jonathan Allard and his all-but-legal-husband Peter are raising two children, the offspring of Jon's mentally unstable sister; Jon's widowed father, Bailey, a D.C. Court of Appeals judge, pines away for his housemate, Louisa, a bright young law student; and Bailey's brilliant clerk Max, a genial slob, is in love with his fellow clerk, the wealthy, pampered Eve. Not passion but domesticity and the institution of marriage are the subjects of scrutiny here. Can Bailey exorcise the ghost of his dead wife, Caroline, who talks to him in the halls of his gorgeous old D.C. brownstone? Can Eve commit to a man who tosses food and dishes in the same kitchen cupboard? Will Jon and Peter ever have a moment to themselves, in between feedings and play dates? Attending family gatherings, making trips to the supermarket and heading back and forth from work and play, Kafka-Gibbons's characters negotiate the hurdles of everyday existence albeit a comfortably affluent everyday existence. The legal underpinning of Jon and Peter's situation is spelled out in an account of a case Bailey is asked to weigh in on that of two gay men who are legally married in New Mexico and are suing to have their marriage recognized in D.C. Though Kafka-Gibbons elaborates one too many subplots, his alternative family scenarios, like those of Michael Cunningham's early novels or Stephen McCauley's light-as-air dramas, breathe sweetness and charm. 3-city author tour.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Dupont Circle, one of the most vibrant and active communities in Washington, D.C., is a place where worlds often collide. Kafka-Gibbons sets his engaging comedy of manners there, amidst a wealthy old D.C. family, whose patriarch is aging appeals court judge Bailey Allard. Bailey's son, Jon, and Jon's partner, Peter, who are, for all practical purposes, married and raising the two children of Bailey's mentally ill daughter, urge Bailey to take a young law-school student, Louisa, as a boarder in his nearly empty and cavernous old house. In the meanwhile, Bailey's court takes a gay marriage case that could change the definition of marriage in America. Then Bailey and Louisa enter into an unlikely May-December romance that surprises them as much as it does their families. Kafka-Gibbons' well-written and delightful novel illustrates, in a story that seems both extremely new and as old as love itself, how profoundly social understandings of relationships and marriage have changed in America. Michael Spinella
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (May 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618219188
• ISBN-13: 978-0618219186
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,043,146 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Polished novel without gay passion, August 21, 2001

By 

Kevin G. Barnhurst (Stoddard, NH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dupont Circle: A Novel (.) (Hardcover)

Kafka-Gibbons's second novel is a gem. What a writer! Some passages are so exquisite, written with such poignance, that I had to stop reading and let the emotions subside. There are also some virtuoso performances, such as when a character carries on a conversation with adults while managing an importunate child, a scene that conveys the controlled chaos of parenting any father would recognize. The obvious skill and passion in this novel make the gay characters all the more disappointing. They are convincing as parents but devoid of any sexuality. It's not that the author doesn't know or can't convey eroticism. The May-September romance is powerfully sexual, but the author is trapped in a heterosexual imagination -- one that does justice to the politics of gay families without reaching the depths of same-sex desire.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a great read, November 26, 2001

By 

"janevaningen" (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dupont Circle: A Novel (.) (Hardcover)

I found this book by accident when looking for something else in the library, and I'm really glad I did. For all the issues it tackles--gay parenting, gay marriage, mental illness, relationships between older men and younger women and a few complicated legal issues thrown in for good measure--it's a light, enjoyable read. The only thing I didn't get were the references to clothing designers when describing someone's appearance. I have never seen that before in a novel and thought it was quirky.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Comedy of Love, June 5, 2001

By 

David C. Lipscomb (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dupont Circle: A Novel (.) (Hardcover)

I loved this novel. It's full of the kind of lively, witty and wonderfully human characters that you'd find in a classic screwball comedy from the 30s or in one of Wilde's best plays. But the novel's characters bump into each other in the very contemporary world of Washington's Dupont Circle-- where, as the novel's opening page tells us, "poor meets rich, old meets young, gay meets straight, native meets new arrival, and the peoples, styles, and languages all squish together to form America."

What really sets this novel apart are the intertwining love stories-- especially the wacky relationship between stately judge and young law student and the relationship between Jon and Peter-- a gay couple that takes on the challenges of parenting and finds them tougher than anything a reactionary government can throw at them. The novel's author, Paul Kafka, pulls off a tough trick-- he crafts an edgy novel with political sting, but also a novel that doesn't take itself too seriously. Yup, a homophobic government is the villain here, but it's the villain in a touching and light-hearted comedy. As one of Kafka's characters says, "The state has replaced the recalcitrant fathers of Shakespeare's comedies of love." Kafka's written a great little comedy that reminds us of how silly we all are.