Modern gay history?the mores and etiquette of dating, sex, coupledom and love from the late 1970s to the present?is covered in this compelling, heartfelt first novel from Currier (Dancing on the Moon: Short Stories About AIDS). Robbie Taylor, 19 and gay, arrives in New York City in 1978. Dazzled by his new cultural and sexual opportunities, Robbie, in his explorations of Manhattan and Fire Island, nevertheless longs for a permanent relationship?"two men bonded by a passion and fidelity and trust for one another." Robbie finds much of what he is looking for in Nathan Solloway, and the two men establish a close circle of friends and a home together just as the grim death toll of the AIDS pandemic begins. Robbie is a long-winded narrator, and Currier would have done well to replace some of the novel's exposition with pithy dialogue and pointed anecdotes. In addition, the recurring rainbow motif is forced. Nevertheless, Currier tells a moving tale in which, in the face of devastating losses, Robbie and his "stitched-together" family, now in Los Angeles, are able to emerge from grief strengthened by the stories they carry. Currier has created a powerful monument honoring a generation of gay men lost to AIDS and their wounded, resilient survivors. Author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
The New York Times Book Review, Erik Burns
...[Jameson] Currier's novel feels like the fictionalized history of a generation of gay men.
See all Editorial Reviews
