Customer Reviews

Gaywyck

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"HE WAS SO INNOCENT...UNTIL HE FELL CAPTIVE TO THE BROODING MASTER AND SINISTER SECRETS OF GAYWYCK."

Uh huh.

I gots to get me some of that, thinks I, and I begin to read. And read. 376 pages later I close the book on the emerald-eyed Robert Whyte ("Almost too beautiful to be alive") flung into a terrifying web of danger and lust with Donough Gaylord ("the epitome of elegance and sophistication"), the brooding master of Gaywyck.

In classic gothic story dynamic, neurotic and sickly seventeen-year old Robert is hired to catalogue the enormous library at the great secluded mansion of Gaywyck in turn of the century (last century) Long Island. It's a given that Robert falls under the spell of the master of Gaywyck, "New York's most elegible bachelor," a man possessed of "perfect dark Irish beauty" and a split personality. What follows is standard gothic procedure: sinister servants, secret passages, threatening missives, nervous collapses, apparitions, family secrets, gay sex...

Itself like a gothic heroine urgently crying out for rescue, never has a book so begged for rewrite. GAYWYCK is a goldmine of historical detail, chock full of literary and philosophical allusions, as well as references to art, music and architecture. Unfortunately, unlike Argiri's THE GOD IN FLIGHT (which was clearly influenced HUGELY by this novel), here the impressive research overwhelms the convoluted plot. This is so often the problem with historical fiction. Instead of subtly weaving in period details (as one would find with novels actually written in the era), the book turns into a tutorial.

Another problem is that, with the possible exception of the cat, everyone in the book is a freak. Not very likable freaks at that. GAYWYCK is peopled by mannerisms and nervous tics as opposed to fleshed-out characters. It's hard to tell if our protagonists act in or out of character because their characters are so sketchy, but certainly they enjoy the most unsatisfying and unwholesome interaction--even for the gothic genre.

Still, the book is a classic (mostly from its position is a milestone in gay literature) and worth reading. I suspect its true long-run value lies in its serving as inspiration for writers who followed.

It is good to see Alyson returning this venerable old classic to print. It's a rare example of the gay gothic and an exceedingly overwrought book, but in this time of literary anemia, it's nice to see a novel written in ornate prose. And the novel's damned entertaining too.

This is high class trash and a hoary old scenario, the kind of thing Bulwer-Lytton or, more exactly, Hall Caine, would have produced a hundred years before. Highly sensitive Robert Whyte is hired as librarian to Donough Gaylord, the secretive young master of Gaywyck, a fabulous manor just outside NYC. An attraction between the two is immediate, but Donough is hesitant to give in to the younger man's ardor. Why? Could it have something to do with his deceased twin brother? Hmmmm.

Virga never scimps on description. His book could well serve as a primer on 19th century architecture, ornithology, music, painting, horticulture, literature, so on and so forth. The mass of detail weighs the story down at times, when the reader is anxious for things to proceed and the dark secrets to be exposed. But stick with it. It is worth the wait. And the cast of characters is the nuttiest collection of kooks since Priestley's THE OLD DARK HOUSE. It's a hoot.

I read this book in 1980 when it first came out and immediately fell in love. The overwrought purple prose, the excessive digressions into 19th century minutiae, the classic "gothick" plot reminded me of both the gothic novels published in the mid victorian era-- LeFanu's Uncle Silas, anyone? and the then current gothic romance market.

The beautiful pale Robert Whyte trips as lightly though this book as any nightgown clad governess clutching a candle, Donough is a master of brooding, more effective than most Owner of Gloomy Old Mansions, and their romance, littered with misunderstandings, has nearly every cliche belonging to the genre. If ever there was a couple who deserved to be together!

I am very happy to see it back in print so I can at last replace my tattered old Avon copy.

This is a beautiful gothic romance. It is unique, captivating and beautiful. Rading some of the other reviewers, it seems the bigger problem is that they did not like or understand the genre.

I inly wish he would right additional things.

Billed as "the first gay gothic novel" in the Advocate, this book opened to my thirteen year old mind, the possiblity that gay life existed beyond the parks & bars. The novel follows the travails of Robert, a young orphan, who is invited to the Gaywick estate to be employed as a librarian. Upon arriving he is soon caught up in the intrigues of the estate's residents. Beyond the basics of a gothic novel, the story acts as a primer for classics and art, giving the reader an insight into turn of the century New York. It is possible that this book written before the onset of AIDS, is one of the final glimpses of the optimism that was part of the early gay movement.

If you are a fan of gothic romance, as I am, "Gaywyck" is for you. Of course, it's a gothic romance with a twist, with the main romantic characters both being men. But, all the symbols of the genre are here and done well. Robert Whyte is both lovely and gentle. Donough Gaylord is kind and brooding with terrible secrets in his past. They are both shy and inclined to solitude, and from their very first meeting you can tell they are meant to be together. But, as in all gothic romances, there are secrets to be uncovered first before true love can prevail.

I do have a minor nitpick. Virga is sometimes too enamoured with the written word and quotes other works liberally. It makes sense in one way, since Robert Whyte is Gaywyck's librarian and he loves literature, but at times, it slows down the plot. That notwithstanding, "Gaywyck" is a lovely novel and truly deserving of a read. If you do decide to take a look, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

A novelty at best, this is the first (and only, to my knowledge) "gothic romance" with gay characters. Readers who enjoy books like "Rebecca" and "Jane Eyre" will not be disappointed if you revel in a character who finds romance and mystery while living in a brooding mansion filled with hidden corridors and lurking servants while the winds and storm rage outside. In this respect, the book delivers. Gaywyck, the name of the house, is wonderfully depicted on a grand scale. However, what killed the book for me is the simmering sod of a lead character who is reduced to tears at the drop of a hat. And if he is not crying, he's either cowering in fear, fainting or sick in bed. How the hulky and brooding master of the house, Donough Gaylord, falls for this [guy] is both absurb and unbelievable. So, instead of cheering for Donough to sweep Robert off his feet, the reader is hoping he will throw him over the nearest cliff!

I loved Gaywyck, it really rocked and shocked me. I read it a couple years ago when I had a curiosity and mood to read a mystery/gothic romance story that featured gay men as the main protagonists. A book reminiscent to the revamped show Dark Shadows that was done in the 90's. So I came across this title at a book store and later purchased it online because it was out of print. I read reviews that bitched about the cover being cheesy. lol I actually liked the art on the cover and don't mind cheesy.
I liked the character Robert Whyte, even though people have criticized him for being too girly with his crying and fainting. Vincent Virga is in fact a man, gay and intended for Robert to be feminine. I don't agree that it was typical. This was my first gothic romance story and expected one of the characters to be portrayed that way, because this genre was originally written with a straight coupling. This book was before it's time, granting the fact it is the first of it's kind. This book started all of today's current m/m romance novels written by women.
The story was as I had hoped, but not what I expected. The incest had me a bit uncomfortable and surprised. Even though it stunned me enough to leave me wondering if I actually did enjoy it overall. I have to admit it left a powerful impression, because it's unforgettable. The murdered victims, dark secrets, jealousy, deceit, unbridled passion; all of it was memorable and haunting. Everything I expected a good gothic novel to be.

I am very pleased to have come across Vincent Virga's "Gaywyck" for the third time again. The first time was when I was twelve (12) years old, in the seventh grade, and upon describing this well written novel to distinguished others, I myself, later, not only came across it again, but actually lived the novel in all of its splendid grandeur, perfectly within the story, and alive like breathing, and as described, in this remarkable romance. I'm so pleased to encounter this work, once again, and for the third time to begin ordering a copy of it (my first copy was confiscated), to request a Kindle edition, and to sit down to write a short, review for it. Shhhhh, the novel is secretly read by many authors with mixed and emotionally charged responses, important for the experience, as young men who stumble upon other men of greater experience and wealth, to make note the deep, emotional LOVE that manifests and condenses between them, to know the possible and the everlasting, till physical death brings them apart. All what anyone would want and need. Sorry, but there's no sex involved, here. Even straight men would appreciate the depth of the experience in the novel, which belongs with fine wine. I think I'll write the rest of the review, later.

In a world where being gay is just being gay. It was kind of long and he is VERY descriptive. It took me a week or so off and on to read it. I did ultimately enjoy the book.