Customer Reviews

The Lord Won't Mind (Peter & Charlie Trilogy) (Peter & Charlie Series)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Several reviewers have mistakenly identified this book's setting as the 1960's. The correct setting is that of World War II - or the years in which it took place. This is an important point to note as it does have a great deal of bearing on the reader in understanding the circumstances of the characters. The world in which two men loved each other was far different in 1940 than it was in 1960, 1980, or 2000.

The sexual escapades of these boys is revealing in the secrecy in which they must take place. This isn't the modern era or anywhere near it. Homosexuality was considered a mental illness - one for which men were sent to mental hospitals and relegated there for life. It was a time where a man thought to be homosexual was a social paraiah and not allowed to associate with regular society. It was a time where men knew they could be put in prison for such acts.

I first read parts of this book that I acquired through a "five finger discount" as a youth of 14 only several years after its publication. I couldn't really read the book for fear my parents or friends would discover it. I perused it looking for the "dirty" parts which I was certain would tell me all I needed to know about sex between men - and then I promptly disposed of it.

Only recently when I purchased a copy of it and read it (as it really would be unfair to say I had re-read it), I discovered that while "The Lord Won't Mind" certainly is vivid and descriptive in its sexual depictions, it is far from pornographic as I'd imagined it as a youth. In fact, with the exception of some of its more detailed descriptions, this book is not too unlike E.M. Forster's "Maurice". The quality of the written word is quite amazing - it was a fact that had escaped me many years earlier and made me think this author nothing more than a gay Harlequin romance writer. I have not yet read any of his other books, but I do intend to do so. I can only hope that the quality that Merrick displays in this, his first work of its kind, comes through in his other works.

The book is the story of cousins, one very well to do and the other no so very much so, but certainly not poor. Brought together by their grandmother, the older, Charlie, is asked to watch over the younger, Peter, and help him along in life. Soon the twenty something boys discover that they are attracted to each other and decide to act on it. However, to give Merrick more his due, these boys are quite realistically portrayed, if not a bit too fawningly at times. The story builds as the boys discover their love for each other. Of course, no decent book can allow its two central characters true happiness without a few bumps in the road - and that's what this book is about.

While today it might seem trite and ridiculous for two men to broach that subject so quickly and devotedly - you must remember that at the time there were no gay bars that a respectable person would dare set foot in. There was no internet nor clubs for such men. In other words, one could only hope to find a soul mate or partner and then did so happily without the modern cruising and recoupling that takes place today.

In short, this is a fine book. It is far superior to most books of its type and, I'm happy that it was as groundbreaking as it was, because Merrick got to see his books reach acclaim before he died of lung cancer.

Get it, read it, and immerse yourself in another era.

I remember seeing Gordon Merrick's novels in bookstores when I was in my teens. They were softbound with provocative covers of half-naked men. I was instantly drawn. I read The Lord Won't Mind for the first time in the summer of 1991 in my mid-twenties. A man I was "bunking" with for a few days on Nantucket had purchased it (hardcover, no jacket, no images) from the library downtown for $.50. I could hardly put the book down once I started it. The material produces an arousal rather quickly. The description of its leading players, however, namely Charlie, Peter and the ever-whimsical C.B., give the reader the clear impression that there is more to the story at hand than sexual proclivities of the young and well endowed. Charlie Mills is the hero of Gordon Merrick's trilogy of male love (One For The Gods, Forth Into Light), Peter the undeniable ingenue. C.B. plays a rather due role. At the onset of the story, she is the pillar of strength to these young men; in the latter, she becomes more the object of dissention. (But do find out for yourself.) Unfortunately, I never got beyond the first few chapters of the book that summer before my "bunking" arrangement had ended and I had no further access to the book. I hunted it down in Manhattan only to discover that the heiress of its original publisher had put the material deliberately out of print. Several years passed before I read The Lord Won't Mind in its entirety, now re-published by Alyson Books. It is highly recommended reading for anyone who believes in the heart of the young, the steadfastness of true love, or just wants to read a hot novel.

This novel is a liberating manifesto of the right to love whomever we please, disguised as a romantic potboiler. Charlie and Peter, the young lovers, are well-endowed golden boys (like most gay men, to be sure) whose highly emotional relationship undergoes just about every test imaginable. Charlie, the more reluctant, more closeted of the two, and therefore the one with more power, even marries an ambitious actress in an attempt to fit in. When he can't measure up, she exacts a lurid, biting revenge. Peter wants only to celebrate his love, and while he is more naive and vulnerable, he is also more pure, more true to himself. By novel's end, it is the slightly coarse Charlie who is learning from Peter about human feelings. Merrick can certainly carry you along with his writing. There's plenty of erotic sex, along with touches that flesh out the lovers' bond, such as the mash note Peter sends Charlie, obviously from him, which he refrains from signing, coyly writing that Charlie will have to guess whom it's from. Of course true love survives in the end, because Merrick's principal (and principled) reason for writing his novels was to demonstrate that love between men is the same kind of love that men and women feel for each other. The title of this one says it all.

I was 15 when I first read this book, and I have to say living in a small college town of Fayetteville, Arkansas, this book brought to me what I needed in a time of confusion and longing to know about gay love. Although it is definitely a romance novel, it is written with taste and passion. That was in 1980. I read the book again in 1989 for the second time and loved it just as much as I had before. I even wrote Mr. Merrick a letter praising him for writing this wonderful novel. In return I received a letter from his lifetime companion "Charles" informing me of the unfotunate death of Mr. Merrick. It is now 1999 and I have to say it has been refreshing to me to pick the book up again and read it for the third time. Mr Merrick wrote with compasion & detail. For example his delivery of the summer at C.B.'s house is so real to me. I can actually hear the leaves rustle, and feel the warm wind blow across my face. That was true with all of his scenarios written about in the book. I have to say that reading this book again brings back some old feelings of my youth. I am now 35 years old and it has been 20 years since I read this book for the first time. I plan on reading it again and again in the distant future.I agree, it may not be fine literature, but I will always recomend it with glowing reviews for anyone who wants to escape into the magic & passion of an innocent time for gay men.

The Lord Wont Mind is a classic gay novel that was all the rage in the seventies. I remember reading this book as I was just starting to come out in 1979.

The book was dog-eared from being passed along from hand to hand. It was a must read amongst a sub-class in my high school. We knew we were different and we knew that we were gay. Eagerly, we read this book, searching for a blueprint, a design for living. In it, we found erotic potential and experienced the bittersweetness of love with a man.

The story seems antiquated now, with the advent of AIDS, yet it still rings true. It centers on how hard it is to be true to who you are and how to accept that. It shows how love is so sweet when found, so sad when lost and triumphant when regained.

The book centers on Charlie and Peter who fall madly in love with each other over a magical summer. Their relationship becomes fraught with difficulty when Charlie wants so to fit in and remain closeted. Peter, who is so achingly in love, wants to revel in this love, no matter what anyone thinks.

I don't want to give away too much here. So, I'll let you find out what happens next.

The story does get bogged down with Meriick's preoccupation with size (he was an old size queen, after all.) And there is a story twist in the end which seems somewhat convoluted and leaves one questioning why it was ever included. That aside, this is the perfect summer book filled with erotic passages featuring the most graphic gay love scenes ever written, tear jerking love scenes and a cast of unforgettable characters.

This was the paramount of gay fiction. Nothing that has ever been written comes as close as this.

Who doesn't love a good sex filled emotionally exhausting romance novel every once in a while? This was the first gay novel I'd ever read. It kept me reading straight through (including a doctors visit) until I was finished. This does everything you could ask of a tawdry romance novel. It gives you innocent love, betrayal, happiness and sadness, and of course lots of great sex scenes. A must read for all gay guys of the world.

In college I took an English class...We had to read books by people of all ethnic backgrounds (although, naturally, there were no white straight male authors on the syllabus). Anyway,when it came time to read fiction by gay authors, this book was mentioned in a short story by a man who described a bit of Merrick's writing style (of course, his discussion focused mainly on the no holds barred sex scenes). Being a writer myself, and always wanting to ingest new forms of the art, I bought it and was surprised at how well-written it was. The story is definitely soap opera/Harlequin romance in nature, but so what? It works in the context, and Merrick's erotic passages are some of the most excellent written no matter what your fancy is.

While growing up in high school I was assigned books to read almost every week. Catcher in the Rye, Ordinary People, To Kill A Mockingbird, Tess just to name a few. In almost every case I rarely made it to page 2 let alone to the very end.

While doing some research, I stumbled upon THE LORD WON'T MIND and began reading the first chapter. Set in a country manner everything that I dreamed of, country clubs, elegant dinners, walks along country roads to a private beach was on the page. More importantly a story book romance between two men.

Charlie and Peter two distant relatives spend a summer together and discover they have more in common than tennis and sailing. The initial romantic overtures are so well written that the beauty and erotica can overwhelm most readers.

The story moves swiftly through a wirlwind summer romance, to a predictable break up and final resolution that will appeal to all romance novel lovers to some serious readers. The novel is an escape into the "fabulous" life that most will envie and enjoy. This is a novel that is not for those who like a good plot, it is a romance, and a accounting of a relationship. It lacks teeth but that is it's appeal.

It does provide a reader who is currently discovering their sexuality a glimmer of hope that the gay lifesyle can be as rich and rewarding as those of straights. This novel could be to blame for the pretention that is abundant in the Gay community. The sexual content makes it not recommended for readers younger than 15.

If you need a little romance, give this novel a chance.

When I was a rather frightened young man, coming out at 20 in 1971, this novel and later its sequels helped give me the strength to come out, though as an English major and a writer even then I had no illusions about the book as literature. But the saga of Charlie and Peter undoubtedly helped young people of my generation believe that gay was good.
I hadn't read the novels for many years, but, my life partner of 30 years having died two years ago I have been dipping into my nostalgia shelves more and more. (I didn't know I still owned these!)
This reading I howled laughing, but I could see why my young self was impressed. The characters are bold, attractive and unafraid. The book abounds in ghastly stereotypes, hideous misogyny and at times I found myself wondering if Merrick was indeed gay. Certainly in this more enlightened time many more positive depictions of a gay bildungsroman are out there. And yet, in some ways the book holds up from its sheer exuberance. I would recommend that young gay people read it just to get a feeling for the lost time and mindsets the book depicts.

I just reread this timeless novel and am as engross as ever in the love between Charlie and Peter. Again I find myself loving Peter but not Charlie. Perhaps because I am sentimental at heart and hates it when one half of a loving relationship abandons and betrays the other just because suddenly he could not withstand the pressure. However the satisfying ending makes up for Charlie's betrayal. Once again I feel that Charlie's and Peter's story should have just ended with The Lord Won't Mind and not continue into a trilogy. Reason being The Lord Won't Mind is perfect and complete in itself and the second and third books just spoil the enthrallment of Charlie's and Peter's love for each other.