Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Wonderful Joyride of a Novel, December 18, 2004
I'M YOUR MAN is the third book published by that talented foursome known as Timothy James Beck. The three novels detail the lives of several friends, most of whom live in New York City, but are originally from Eau Claire Wisconsin. IT HAD TO BE YOU concentrates on the budding relationship between Daniel, a recently retired female impersonator, and Blaine, an up and coming advertising executive. HE'S THE ONE focuses on Adam, a hunky computer wiz, and Jeremy, a struggling actor and a former lover of Daniel's. In I'M YOUR MAN, Daniel, and Blaine, are once again the primary protagonists.
The story, this time around, is told from Blaine's point of view. Blaine and Daniel have broken up and the split was anything but amicable. Each said horrible things to the other, and both are terribly bitter. Of course they still love each other madly, so moving on for both is proving extremely difficult. Daniel, currently the most hated/loved villain on daytime's popular Secret Splendor, is filming a TV movie in Hollywood, while Blaine continues on in New York. Blaine is a mass of battling emotions. He really misses his ex-boyfriend, but he remains angry over a deception he feels Daniel perpetrated on him. He wants desperately to get on with his life but his feelings for Daniel just won't go away. When a mutual lesbian friend, Gretchen, suggests Blaine have a child with her, Blaine struggles with his decision. He and Daniel wanted to raise children one day and he feels guilty about going ahead with the plan on his own.
With humor and compassion, I'M YOUR MAN, deals with many issues facing the 21st century gay community. Family relationships, gay families, child rearing, transgender acceptance, public outing, and personal honesty and forgiveness are all tackled with equal sincerity. While slightly more idealistic in nature, I found I'M YOUR MAN to be reminiscent of the best of William J Mann, a personal favorite. There is an underlying honesty here that is rare in popular gay fiction.
In each subsequent installment the characters have evolved and grown, as have the writing chops of the authors. I'M YOUR MAN maintains the romantic warm tone of its predecessors, but it's definitely a deeper and more involving read. I heartily recommend all of Timothy James Beck's novels, but especially this emotionally fulfilling joyride.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another enjoyable read, September 24, 2005
"I'm Your Man," the third book in Timothy James Beck's New York trilogy, is the story of Blaine Dunhill, a Manhattan advertising executive, and Daniel Stevenson, an up and coming TV actor. After a series of unfortunate misunderstandings, and regrettably nasty fights, they broke off their three year relationship. Blaine, still deeply in love with Daniel, is heartbroken.
Beck revisits many friends from the two previous novels, "It Had It Be You," and "He's the One." Gretchen, their lesbian financial planner friend, had decided she wanted to become a mother before her biological clock ran out. She knew that Blaine and Daniel had discussed the possibility of having children, and that Daniel had put the baby idea out of his mind because of his busy TV taping schedule. Gretchen knew that Blaine still wanted children, so she asked him to be her sperm donor. Blaine wasn't sure he was prepared for such a big step, but he and Gretchen both wanted the same thing--a father willing to be active in the child's life.
During a visit to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, his home town, Blaine sought the advice of friends, Adam and Jeremy. They reminded him that Gretchen was Daniel's friend first. How would Daniel feel about a child if there was the possibility of reconciliation? But, since he believed Daniel was no longer a part of his life, Blaine agreed. He and Gretchen decided not to tell their close knit group of friends about the baby until after the planned wedding extravaganza of their friends, supermodel Sheila, and photographer Josh.
Timothy James Beck's plot is full of twists and turns, starts and stops. The author is so adept at character development that we not only knew each character well, we even felt like we knew what they preferred to wear and eat. We knew where they lived and what their apartments looked like, though the author never wasted extra words on tedious descriptions. We readers experienced corporate board meetings, location photo shoots, and we walked the streets of Manhattan, absorbing its atmosphere.
"I'm Your Man," far more than a simple reading experience, is a visit with old friends Daniel, Blaine, Gretchen, Jeremy and Adam, and others. We experience their camaraderie as we root for Blaine and Daniel to reconcile, but will they?
Each of Timothy James Beck's novels is a complete and an enjoyable read in itself, but reading the novels in order of publication gives the reader insight into all the characters' backgrounds, and enhances the enjoyment of reading the three books. "I'm Your Man," is another grand slam of a novel-a highly recommended five star read."
For a fun experience, visit www.timothyjamesbeck.com and meet all the characters.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Timothy James Beck, I'M YOUR FAN!, January 28, 2005
I've been waiting for a year with something akin to baited breath for the release of I'M YOUR MAN, even though the preview I read in the paperback version of HE'S THE ONE made me a little nervous (more about that later). I'm happy to say that I'M YOUR MAN was definitely worth the wait.
I'M YOUR MAN is the third novel by Timothy James Beck (actually four authors: two named Timothy, one named James and one named Becky) that focuses on a group of gay men, most of whom have migrated from Eau Claire, WI to Manhattan. The central characters in this third volume are Daniel and Blaine, who were also at the heart of the first novel, IT HAD TO BE YOU, but with two major differences. Unlike the first book, which was narrated by Daniel, we see everything from the perspective of Blaine. And unlike the rollercoaster experience of budding love Daniel had in the first book, Blaine is dealing with a bad break-up with Daniel. (This is where my nervousness came in, because I loved Daniel and Blaine as a couple.)
I would liken TJB's three novels with another favorite series of mine, Armistead Maupin's TALES OF THE CITY series. While twists and turns in the plot are not as frequent as with Maupin's books, you have witty dialogue and richly drawn characters, full of both grace and flaws. And in this third volume, the characters have grown and filled out to the point that one wishes they were flesh-and-blood people that you could make part of one's circle of friends. In fact, when I have gone back and reread IT HAD TO BE YOU and HE'S THE ONE, it has felt something like revisiting old friends.
Also like Maupin did with San Francisco, TJB has made Manhattan a character rather than just a setting for the stories. As a New York City resident, I feel like I'm part of the story when Blaine bumps into Daniel at Whole Foods for the first time since their break up, or Blaine walks through Central Park, visiting his and Daniel's old haunts. Just as Daniel's subway experiences in IT HAD TO BE YOU and Adam and Jeremy's first meeting at The Big Cup in HE'S THE ONE lent a sense of realism to this frothy fiction, the attention to detail, I think, really brings this world to life. I also enjoy the pop culture references throughout the series, whether it's Daniel accidentally going into a Star Trek: The Next Generation-themed bar, Adam and Jeremy's "Evita" riff when they meet an Eva Perón look-alike (hopefully the Patti LuPone "Evita" and not the Madonna version!), or Blaine's tendency to be reminded of commercials in certain situations.
TJB's dialogue is witty and edgy at times, like Maupin's or Christian McGlaughlin's, but the sentimental and romantic passages or also well written. The dialogue rarely feels contrived; in fact, TBJ has a way of writing naturalistic conversation that still impart to the reader the exposition and plot points we need to know.
But I think what I like best about I'M YOUR MAN (as I did with the previous two novels) is seeing the arc of the narrator's development. Blaine, who has been somewhat closeted in the first two books, is only a little more open at the beginning of this story, but he grows to accept and embrace his own sexuality and the diversity of his community. Yet TJB makes this growth realistic. Blaine has to overcome his own internalized homophobia and has trouble doing so at times. His reactions when his ex, Daniel, dawns drag hark back to his hostility and discomfort with drag and the men who dawn it. Yet at least now he knows it is HIS problem, not the drag queens' and certainly not Daniel's. But Blaine is a changed man by the end this story, and his story is both engaging and authentic. (SPOILER: I was also thrilled that Blaine and Daniel reunite at the end!!)
I understand that TJB is at work on a fourth novel, but that this novel will not center on any of the characters I have come to know and love. While I welcome a "new universe" from these authors, I do hope they return to these marvelous characters again. After all, we haven't had a story from Jeremy's point of view, and I have a feeling that there could be an interesting story there (as long as it doesn't involve breaking up with Adam-I don't think I could take the heartache again!) And, hey, if it turns out that Jeremy shares my obsession with "Angel" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," that'd be another reason for me to love TJB's world. Until then, I'll have to keep satisfied by re-reading IT HAD TO BE YOU, HE'S THE ONE, and now, I'M YOUR MAN.
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