Brian in Three Seasons
Patricia Grossman
From Publishers Weekly
Brian Moss is the urban gay everyman. Nearing 40 in 1995, when Grossman’s nicely nuanced but somewhat pat fourth novel (after Unexpected Child) is set, Brian has settled for sex with strangers. His incomplete dissertation on painter Toulouse-Lautrec haunts him. He toils four night a week as a friendly bartender and one day a week as a frustrated art history instructor, career paths that disappoint his hard-driving land developer father, who is recovering from a mild stroke. His drift also disturbs his critically doting, loving twin sister, who followed their father into the real estate business. In general, it’s an unsettled autumn for Brian–plus, a man who romanced him has been seeing a psychologist about going straight. Winter is a season of real discontent: his father suffers a more debilitating stroke and then dies, though not before father and son achieve an emotional reconciliation; his college gig is in jeopardy; a co-worker’s lover is diagnosed with cocktail-resistant HIV; and his putative boyfriend disappears. All’s well come spring, however: his boyfriend has returned; his co-worker’s lover is on the mend; he’s offered the position of humanities dean at his college; and he inherits a portion of his father’s sizable estate. Grossman’s happily-ever-after plot is predictable, but the novel is redeemed by an engrossing cast of secondary characters. (Oct.)
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Details
ISBN | 1579621228 |
Genre | Fiction |
Publication Date | Oct-05 |
Publisher | Permanent Press (NY) |
Format | Hardcover |
No. of Pages | 223 |
Language | English |
Rating | NotRated |
BookID | 1514 |