Joseph and the Old Man [Paperback]

Christopher Davis (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 195 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (August 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312010524
• ISBN-13: 978-0312010522
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,584,808 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple, Powerful, Compelling, September 27, 1999

By 

Seth J Bookey - See all my reviews

This review is from: Joseph and the Old Man (Paperback)

Christopher Davis is one of those authors who is not praised nearly loudly or often enough, and whom I discovered by accident. I first read his work in Men on Men. His short story in that collection, "The Boys in the Bars," is also the title of his own short story collection that came later.

Joseph and the Old Man is easily read in one sitting. it is reminiscent in many ways of Isherwood's A Single Man.

Joseph is the much-younger lover of a famous author whom he calls "The Old Man," and in this chapter-less story, it turns out to be the Old Man's story, but told in the third person. How they met, how they love each other, and how they become the center of a loving circle of friends on Fire Island, and what happens when tragedy (sudden, and not AIDS) strikes, is told with stunning simplicity. I read this book in two days. It was hard to put down.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful story, July 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Joseph and the Old Man (Paperback)

I read this book a few years ago but the bittersweet emotions it evoked in me still echo in my heart. Even today I can feel the warmth of the relationship between the Joseph and the Old Man as clearly as if they were my dearest friends. The ending of the novel, both ambiguous and haunting, is one of my favorite literary passages.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Davis manipulates his readers...and it works, March 9, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Joseph and the Old Man (Paperback)

This was a wonderful book. Davis writes a chapter-less story that lulls us into its beautiful world through page after page of a touching love story. Just as life can lull us, and just as life can deal us surprises, this book does too. I strongly encourage anyone to read this--gay or straight.