Worth The Read, But Not What I Expected!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    How ironic this book came to me after having read "Janet, Jackie and Lee."  When  I saw the book, in the store, its cover reminded me of "The Nest;" I thought, maybe, the author was the same.  She was not; and the back jacket summary about the upper crust of late twentieth century Manhattan, appealed to me.

                                      "The Heirs" is a character study of the Falkes family--mother, father, and five sons.  And three others, who may or not be heirs--a woman named Vera, and her sons, Hugh, and Iain.  Then, there is the mysterious boy named "Anders." That section turns everything on its head.

                                          Still, the novel references everything one might expect--Vassar, Café Des Artistes, feminist literary works, fraternal bonhomie, and now out of date restaurants, like La Caravelle.

                                            It is so stately and sedate; hardly "The Little Foxes" type family bitch fest I had been expecting, and looked forward to avidly. That does not mean I did not like it, or find it enjoyable.  It just took me by surprise, Which is not always a bad thing.

                                            The one fly in the ointment is Sam Falkes.  The middle of the five boys, Sam is trapped; he is gay, but, in a family like this, he cannot help but be that most dangerous of the species--a great big closet case.  He ditches his lover, Andrew, with a callousness that made me question their relationship, and his being gay, in the first place.  He had sex with Susanna, when they were in college--proof one is not really gay, right there!!!!!!!!!--and now he wants to have a baby with her, just because her biological clock is ticking?   He even, since he has money, sets up a double apartment for them both, and, while the baby is conceived scientifically, this whole storyline made me queasy,  He has to prove to his family he can father a child?   Get over yourself, Sam!!!!!!!!

                                             And Susan Rieger, if you cannot write completely honest, and outright gay characters, then stay away from that turf.  It is clear, darling, you have deep seated issues about homosexuality, and I do not have time to deal with them, or read about them.

                                              Still, "The Heirs" was a captivating read, a fictional look into a world of vanished glamour.  The perfect counterpart to "Jackie, Janet, and Lee."

                                                Let's meet for tea, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!