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Hold Tight: A Novel Paperback – June 1, 1989

by Christopher Bram (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 107 ratings
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“Nazi intrigue in a homosexual brothel . . . a spy thriller that breaks new ground.”—Kirkus Reviews
 
Hank Fayette, Seaman Second Class, had enlisted in his Texas hometown, used his shore leave to visit a movie house on 42nd Street, and ended up in a gay brothel near Manhattan’s West piers. It was the wrong place to be at the wrong time. When this big, lanky blond with a country boy’s drawl—and a country boy’s hard muscular body—couldn’t fight his way clear of the Shore Patrol who raided the place, he figured he was on his way to the brig or a dishonorable discharge. But in 1942, a few months after Pearl Harbor, the Navy was more interested in capturing spies than in punishing “sex offenders,” and Hank was just the kind of sailor they had in mind. Their offer to Hank was simple: go back to the brothel, work undercover as a prostitute, and risk your life to entrap Nazi spies. This erotic, suspenseful novel captures the big-band feel of New York City in the forties, the intensity of a nation at war, and the passion of men for their country—and for each other.
 
“Entertaining, sexy, and touching . . .”—Stephen McCauley
 
“Strong, action-filled . . . a tightly knit plot . . . a very engaging story about murder and intrigue that is hard to put down.”—Lambda Rising Book Report
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  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Plume
  4. Publication date
    June 1, 1989
  5. Dimensions
    7.99 x 5.31 x 0.65 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0452262267
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0452262263
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Christopher Bram is the author of five previous novels, including Father of Frankenstein (Dutton/Plume), which is currently being developed into a film with Clive Barker as executive producer. A widely published book and film critic whose work appears in numerous publications across the country, he lives in New York City.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Plume; Reprint edition (June 1, 1989)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0452262267
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0452262263
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.99 x 5.31 x 0.65 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 107 ratings

About the author

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Christopher Bram

Christopher Bram

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Christopher Bram is the author of nine novels, including Father of Frankenstein, which was made into the Academy Award–winning movie Gods and Monsters, starring Ian McKellen. Bram grew up outside of Norfolk, Virginia, where he was a paperboy and an Eagle Scout. He graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1974 and moved to New York City in 1978. In addition to Father of Frankenstein, he has written numerous articles and essays. His most recent book, Eminent Outlaws: The Gay Writers Who Changed America, is a literary history. Bram was a Guggenheim Fellow in 2001, and in 2003, he received Publishing Triangle’s Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement. He lives in Greenwich Village and teaches at New York University.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
107 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the intrigue compelling and the characters compelling. They also describe the writing style as well written and believable for 1940s wartime NY.

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ContentCharacterizationWriting style
7 customers mention "Content"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the content compelling, suspenseful, and mesmerizing. They also say the character development is wonderful.

"...The rest of the intrigue is quite compelling. And the character development is wonderful. There is a love story, a friendship, a possible murder...." Read more

"...Well constructed, some suspense & a good ending with somewhat of a surprise...." Read more

"The story was ok, but a little disappointing...." Read more

"...The ending, while not really happy, is appropriate to the story." Read more

6 customers mention "Characterization"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the characters compelling and open their minds and compassion.

"...The rest of the intrigue is quite compelling. And the character development is wonderful. There is a love story, a friendship, a possible murder...." Read more

"...I liked the realism of the characters & the historical setting dealing with gay life of that time period. A good read!" Read more

"...But I never understood cross-dressing and transvestites. The characters are so compelling that they opened up my mind and compassion. Well written...." Read more

"...Clear-eyed prose and fully-fleshed, unflinchingly three-dimensional characters guide us into New York during World War II...." Read more

4 customers mention "Writing style"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing style well written and believable for 1940s wartime NY.

"...—gay men in the Navy during the great war—and turned it into a tightly written, well-plotted story...." Read more

"...Well written. Believable for 1940s wartime NY." Read more

"...This, one of his early works, is also one of his most intense. Clear-eyed prose and fully-fleshed, unflinchingly three-dimensional characters guide..." Read more

"Novelist Christopher Bram has an uncanny ability to write evocative fast paced dramatic situations that are at one moment sexy, at another..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Russell J. Sanders
5.0 out of 5 stars A look at gays in WWII, clothed in a compelling spy story
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2014
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Christopher Bram’s Hold Tight: A Novel is a curious thing. Most novels with gay themes that I’ve read have contemporary settings. They also deal with romantic relationship. Hold Tight, however, is set during WWII, and it is essentially a spy story. Yes, there is a romance, but it mostly propels the plot, rather than being the plot. Bram has taken an interesting premise—gay men in the Navy during the great war—and turned it into a tightly written, well-plotted story. Hank is a lanky enlisted man from Beaumont, Texas, who is naïve and very gay. I say “very” because in a time when being gay was a hidden thing, Hank is very open to his shipmates and to the world. Because of this, he is drawn into a government plot to snag German spies. Hank is placed undercover in a gay brothel with the hopes that some of his clients will be spies, and thus the government can apprehend them and their contacts. The rest of the intrigue is quite compelling. And the character development is wonderful. There is a love story, a friendship, a possible murder. And along the way, the US government’s dealing with the whole thing parallels Hitler’s treatment of the Jews and other “undesirables,” as Hitler termed them. Hold Tight makes us question the US government in that time. It also has a ton of sexual tension between Hank and his handler, Eric. And all is resolved in the end to satisfaction. This novel by Gods and Monsters author Bram is a good read.
7 people found this helpful
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Bill
4.0 out of 5 stars better than anticipated
Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2015
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This was a good book, much more depth than I anticipated. Well constructed, some suspense & a good ending with somewhat of a surprise. I liked the realism of the characters & the historical setting dealing with gay life of that time period. A good read!
One person found this helpful
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Garrett Hutson
3.0 out of 5 stars Not the most realistic, but with plenty of good steaminess
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2022
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The story was ok, but a little disappointing. The premise sounded fun, and right up my alley--a gay sailor working for Naval Intelligence tracks down Nazi spies in 1942 New York--but the plot was just too far-fetched and unbelievable for my taste. The author claimed to have gotten the plot idea from a rumor he heard from gay old-timers in New York in the 1980s...but we all know how wild rumors can get, even if there was a grain of truth at one time. I couldn't suspend disbelief that Naval Intelligence was running a male brothel to catch spies, so it just didn't work for me.

The story got pretty steamy in a few places, which ironically may have been the best-written sections. The author definitely knew what he was doing in those scenes, and for whom he was writing them. I enjoyed those parts a lot, even though that wasn't at all what drew me to the story in the first place. So if you like M/M historical fiction with a lot of steaminess, you might like this one. It just wasn't my cup of tea.
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One can never have enough books!
5.0 out of 5 stars Suprising and excellent book
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2023
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Got hooked by the premise of hunting Nazi spies in wartime NY. Didn't realize it was gay lit when I bought it. I have read gay lit when the premise of the story interested me (the ethnicity or interests of the protagonist, for example, but it is not usually my cup of tea). Sometimes we happen upon a book we were meant to read. I fully comprehend gayness, the heart, mind, and body loves who it wants. But I never understood cross-dressing and transvestites. The characters are so compelling that they opened up my mind and compassion. Well written. Believable for 1940s wartime NY.
One person found this helpful
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Scott Wormwood
4.0 out of 5 stars In sight of life well before stone wall
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2015
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This book was about the beginning of WW II. But it showed not only the problems of shortage the black outs and fear of espionage. It showed the prejudice of the country not only against Germans and Japanese but the use of what are now considered politically incorrect terms for other ethnic groups.
The biggest group of people was handling those who where gay. Arrest and lock up the transvestites. Send the man with strong sexual tendencies or doing act of sodomy to the mental hospital. Give them electric shock or worse a lobotomy, so they would have no personality or life. To see how the gay men would meet and live in fear or just hide them selves among others.
The other interesting part how the government would try to hide acts and other things from it citizens, rather than be exposed to discussion or evaluation of their way of solving a problem.
Many gays do not understand even the difference in gay life right after stone wall. Many changes have come and the road ahead has many problems that need to be resolved.
A good historical fiction. Recommend this book to every one, It is an eye opener.
One person found this helpful
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FlyBoy
5.0 out of 5 stars but Frankie is smart. He watches
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2015
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On first glance, the lead character in this story appears to be simple, one-dimensional. But for those who care to pay attention, he is multi-dimensional and full of surprises. His accent might make him appear to be a hick from the sticks, but Frankie is smart. He watches, he listens and he learns. Frankie is skilled at hiding his sexuality until captured by the Shore Patrol one night in a house where men go to rent rooms by the hour to have sex.

He is used through the majority of the story when he is forced to work as a prostitute by the Navy in an effort to find spies. The friendship he strikes up with his primary "handler" turns out to be rich and lasting and was also a joy to read.
One person found this helpful
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glennwilliamspdx
5.0 out of 5 stars Bram's Genius
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2014
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Bram is a genius and a gem. This, one of his early works, is also one of his most intense. Clear-eyed prose and fully-fleshed, unflinchingly three-dimensional characters guide us into New York during World War II. I highly recommend this book... though it may break your heart a little.
One person found this helpful
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Lloyd Meeker
4.0 out of 5 stars A harsh story set in harsh times
Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2015
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For me this was a novel about how a good person can be ground up by the cold forces of institutions, intrigue and privilege. The simple, goodhearted and naturally uninhibited protagonist is manipulated cruelly, and is saved only by subversive decency. The ending, while not really happy, is appropriate to the story.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Dave and Joe
5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional Storytelling
Reviewed in Canada on May 5, 2019
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This book is one of the best gay books I've ever read. Yes there is some graphic sex scenes but they are always there to support the story and none are gratuitous. The author had a story to tell but also had something important to say about being gay, being a member of an outlaw community. Wish I could read it again for the first time.
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JOSEPH OLIVER
5.0 out of 5 stars How has this book been ignored for so long?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 27, 2012
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I don't know how this book hasn't become more famous or be on more lists of `books to be read'. I only discovered it purely by accident. I've read quite a lot of novels with gay men as the main protagonist but this book was in a class of its own. The topic itself is fairly unique - a simple country hick from the southern states gets used as a pawn in the wider plan of the FBI and Naval Intelligence to locate and arrest suspected German spies seeking to use confidential information on the comings and goings of American ships in the Atlantic. That's the wider background to the novel but the story works on a micro level as well. Hank, our happy go lucky farm boy is not a troubled soul, distressed about his sexuality. He quite enjoys it - which was why he was an ideal candidate to be ensnared by Naval Intelligence to work in the male bordello.

I found it interesting that the internal dialogue we hear in the minds of the characters doesn't always connect with their behaviour. The author portrays this transition very well. Hank comes across as a very lovable man who grows up a lot quicker than he would have under normal peacetime conditions. The loss of his beloved Juke, a young black lad employed in the bordello, really shakes him up because, until the boy's murder he had no idea that he could love a `coloured' person, so strong were the prejudices of his childhood.

Erich, the European Jewish man on conscription to Naval Intelligence is a rather more complicated and ambiguous character. He witnessed the round up of Jewish men by the Nazis and is shocked to see the same tactics used by the New York police on homosexuals. He assumed the rule of law would function completely differently in the US - much to his disappointment. At least his sense of betrayal by the legal system in America prompts him, against his better judgement to help Hank survive `deportation' to a mental hospital after his undercover work was finished - the plan the authorities had for him (with a possible lobotomy thrown in for good measure). He had no intention of remaining quiet and doing nothing this time.

I would heartily recommend this book if you can get your hands on it. Very engrossing and enlightening.

Update. In Tom Driberg's biography by Wheen there are a few pages of his visit to the US before the war in which he witnesses and comments on the activities of Nazi rallies and supporter meetings in New York.In a visit to Yorkville Driberg commented on the availability of newspapers from Stuttgart and Berlin along with pamphlets of Nazi propaganda so the wider story is based on fact - little known facts perhaps but facts none the less.

Further update: In Justin Springs's "Secret Historian" pps 81-84 we get some background on Naval Intelligence during the war and what New York was like with so many sailors on the streets and how available they were. The more I read the more the background facts of the book check out. Very thoroughly researched.

You might also like to read 'Coming Out Under Fire' by Allan Berube - the definitive book on the history of Gay men and women in World War Two. Particularly chapter 6 which explores what happened when the military/naval hierarchy remove the 'sodomists' (a legal term) from the penal institutions and move them to the care of the psychiatric institutions. As most psychiatrists didn't know how to approach this phenomenon they found it useful to conduct experiments on homosexual men in attempts to bring about change in their behaviour or die trying.
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Readitall
4.0 out of 5 stars Unusual and intriguing
Reviewed in Canada on August 25, 2022
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An unusual plot suggested by unconfirmed rumours about a secret WWII operation to capture a German spy by infiltrating a gay brothel! Really!
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R H Warwick
3.0 out of 5 stars Hello Sailor can lead to unhappyness
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 23, 2016
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I don't know why, but this book just misses been really good, Maybe because it was wrote years ago, it had to have a down-beat ending.
It promised some how more to it, than it was.It had a good start with a Sailor having to be a male hooker in a brothel instead of going
to prison. He was used by the government to record what certain men said that came to the house. Up to that point it was goodish.
But went downhill not much later on after that. The good guys did not lead happy lives at the end
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