Don't get me wrong; Julia Glass' latest novel, my first really great read of 2015, is she at her characteristically excellent. However, that does not mean that, along the way, especially since she is dealing with LGBT matters, there were some things I found annoying.
First, let me say the book coasts along placidly for the first half. You get Christoper/Kit, raised by Daphne and Jasper, on a farm, and the evocation is so pastoral it seems at times like a benign "Thousand Acres," from the male viewpoint.
But, once halfway through the book, the reader meets Lucinda Burns, and that is when things really pick up. And if you are serious about reading the book, stop here, because, in order to discuss annoyances, I have to reveal spoilers.
Lucinda turns out to be Kit's grandmother. In a series of flashback sequences, it is revealed that a girl named Daphne, and Lucinda's son, Malachy, had a sexual relationship at a posh music camp when both were gifted teen musicians. Daphne got knocked up, and Malachy wanted no part of it.
The main reason was he was a hypocritical, self-loathing gay, who, if he had sex with a woman, was not really gay to begin with. Go ahead, attack me! Fuck you! If you can do it with a woman you are NOT gay! Not only that, without the larger strokes, you can fill in what Julia leaves out--that Malachy's death by AIDS was due to his hypocrisy; he was the type of gay who would have sex with sleazy men in sordid places to satisfy his hormonal needs, but forget about a serious relationship. And his music, too; he ends up becoming a bitchy NY Times music critic, while Daphne becomes a music teacher.
I had absolutely no sympathy for Malachy, or his death, because he took the coward's out--suicide. The only one who knew him I had compassion for was Lucinda, because she was his mother, and Glass makes the reader, through her, feel the pain of losing a child. But Malachy was not someone I would want to know. I would slap him across the face!!!!!!!!!!!
His brother, Jonathan, is also gay, and a contrast to Malachy; I found him acceptable. Too bad Kit turned out straight, because he earns the distinction of being one of the dullest heterosexuals in literature.
Was Julia trying to have it both ways? I don't think so; she is much too intelligent a writer. What I think she was trying to do was portray a set of families thrown into chaos by members who themselves were trying to have it both ways. Only to learn one can't.
A great deal more happens that makes this book wrenching and moving. And some of it is quite heartbreaking. Julia Glass is not afraid to shake one up, but if you go with her, the experience of reading her book will be satisfying.
You can talk about it with The Girls, at the Colony Club!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment