Why Everyone Should Read and Enjoy Stephen McCauley, and Yet There is Still Something to be said That I Should Market it to Gay Men*

A blog post that uses as a jumping off point, our event with Stephen McCauley on Monday, June 14th...

One of the more curious side-effects of the mainstreaming of GLBT publishing is that you walk into a general bookstore and at least in most of them, you can’t find the gay fiction; it’s all mixed together. Sometimes you can’t even figure out that a book is about two men getting it on by reading the jacket copy; there’s a lot of code words that you have to unravel.

This is not necessarily a sales pitch for Outwords (though perhaps it is) or for a website (with its virtually unlimited way of categorizing, it can be all things to all people), but a real quandary of what does a person of non-mainstream sexual orientation when they want to browse, particularly fiction, though more and more stores will have their few LGBT (note, I use both acronyms alternatively) in current events, relationships, humor.) You can do your research beforehand, but then where’s the fun of the discovery.

I haven’t solved that problem, and though I want to play with fiction subcategories, I still fear the ghettoization of culturally meaningful fictions. (Translation—I don’t want Toni Morrison in the African American fiction section, unless I can cross shelve, but I can't afford to have two copies of all her novels in stock). You want to pump the sales of the more genre titles that you wouldn’t sell well unless you placed them together, but you don’t want to hurt sales of your other authors. I’d be a good test case of that. And we’ve found that our sales of books like David Ebershoff’s The Nineteenth Wife and even Sebastian Stuart’s The Hour Between have had a market as much to our core customer, which if you’ve shopped in a bookstore in the last 20 years, you know is middle-aged and older women.

Boswell, due to its location and somewhat eclectic mix of titles, probably has a stronger component of younger and male customers, but even still.

So that said, what to do about one of my favorite books this spring, Stephen McCauley’s new novel, Insignificant Others? It faces the double whammy in that it’s a comic novel, which as you know from reading my blog, does not get its share of respect , at least in the United States. I love one of the reviews that the publisher has been using, from Darcy Casper in the Los Angeles Times, writing about his last novel, Alternatives to Sex:

“A writer with a fierce, occasionally lacerating wit; a gimlet eye for human foibles; and a commendable willingness to dally in ambivalence and moral ambiguity with not entirely likeable characters—talents put to excellent use in his latest novel... How Americans were affected by Sept. 11 provides this novel’s leitmotif; fear, and how we sublimate or—much more rarely—reckon with it, is the theme. McCauley uses his twin narratives, and a bevy of subplots and appealing tertiary characters, to explore this material with impressive dexterity and a refreshing lack of portent. As always, McCauley has a light touch. The comic set pieces, clever banter and savagely efficient character descriptions for which he is known are all here. But make no mistake: McCauley is a social satirist in the tradition of Evelyn Waugh and Oscar Wilde—and like them, he's a serious writer indeed."

I've been told by the publisher that Alternatives to Sex saw an upswing in sales for McCauley. I felt the third novel, The Man of the House, was probably the toughest book to read, very dark and not particularly funny. It kind of pushed the reader away a bit, instead of drawing him or her in. Not that that can't be great writing, but it's harder to sell. True Enough was definitely back on the upswing for me. In some odd way, it reminded me of my friend Mameve Medwed, who also writes comic novels with a bit of a dark edge. I knew they were friends, and I thought, "I can sort of see Mameve in this book." I never asked them about that, though.

Then came Alternatives to Sex. There's an orgy scene that was somehow written in such a veiled way that I could have possible read it to one of my older female customers. As I was working a lot in the old Mequon location of Schwartz at the time, it turned out that the two folks I'd gotten to read Alternatives were both older women, and they thought it was just crazy funny. I call this the "Will and Grace" affect. Or maybe the E. Lynn Harris equation.

The new book is the story of an HR fellow who has a long-term relationship, and also an affair on the side, with a married man, no less. The problems are many, but are compounded when he discovers that his boyfriend also has a lover, and it’s become serious. This obsession leads him to step up his compulsive exercising, which leads him to take his mind off his job, which doesn’t help when a rather disturbed employee creates a work crisis.

The humor is sharp-edged, and yet McCauley writes with such warmth that I can’t help feeling emotionally connected with so many of the characters. The story takes some inevitable turns and some unusual ones. But I’m saving my review for elsewhere, so I’ll say no more.

So what do I do with the book? Well, all our usual bells and whistles to our customer base, some outreach to LGBT groups, an ad in the Wisconsin Gazette, which I can’t normally afford to do, but I had promised I would do something when I had the right author. I also wanted to show Simon and Schuster that I was doing whatever I could to promote the book, particularly because McCauley’s tour is pretty limited. We only got him as an add-on to the Printer’s Row Book Fair in Chicago. As I’ve been a fan since day one, it’s a true joy to host Mr. McCauley, on this, his sixth novel.

Oh, and back to Sebastian Stuart, who, it turns out, is McCauley's partner. He just was awarded the Ferro-Grumley award for LGBT fiction.

*Even though the "gay novel is dead." Is the gay novel dead? Read another take here.

I got through this whole post without mentioning The Object of My Affection. Imagine that.

What did my Sister Merrill do on Her Visit to me Last Weekend?

It's tough visiting someone running a bookstore, unless you really love hanging out in bookstores. Last weekend, my sister Merrill visited me from Arizona. You guess the rest.

On Saturday, we had Dava Sobel for one of her many Milwaukee appearances. She also did a great show at the Milwaukee Public Museum, and then there was that great show with Galileo's Daughters. We learned that Sobel is working on a play about Copernicus (there really isn't enough material for a full book) and she also has a nonfiction idea for a book that's just great, but I won't reveal here, in case someone tries to steal it.

It turns out that Sobel commissioned some illustrations for The Planets that were left out by her new editor at the last minute. After the book had disappointing sales in hardcover, they included them in the paperback.

On Sunday, Merrill helped us with our Ralph Nader event. She helped with chairs--our lift was just like the one they use for moving theater chairs. (Merrill's note: "And my old catering days. Don't forget that.") She's also quite a good schmoozer, having good conversations with both authors and numerous customers.

I assigned Merrill bathroom duty, but it turned out that we didn't have to close the store because we didn't hit our capacity and therefore she was off the hook. Sales were above expectations, however, and Mr. Nader was grateful that we ordered aggressively.

In between, she read. I was a bit jealous. She finished up Kate Christensen's Trouble ("Boy, all her characters sure are thin and beautiful.") and then jumped right into Paul Rudnick's I Shudder. We also had some nice meals at Beans and Barley, Honeypie, and our fancy meal at Crazy Water. We both admired the cookbook shelf at Honeypie. I wish I'd taken a picture.

Being a good sister, Merill also bought some things to take home with her including:

This is Where I Leave You, by Jonathan Tropper

The Hour Between, by Sebastian Stuart

Blame, by Michelle Huneven

and after watching the event:

Galileo's Daughter, by Dava Sobel.

Oh, and a snappy pair of reading glasses.

And finally, Merrill would like to say hi to Denise in Brisbane (or thereabouts) who I'm told is a regular reader of this blog. Hi also from me.

The Prep School Story, the Coming Out Story, the Iconic Gay Man/Straight Woman Friendship Story...Sebastian Stuart Covers All Three Bases

Over dinner last week while in Boston for the GABBS show, Mameve Medwed (yes, of our grand opening--author of Of Men and their Mothers and How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life is the only book I ever have and ever will likely blurb) suggested I might try a book from a friend of hers (a rather endless list).

Sebastian Stuart, having previously written a thriller (The Mentor), a ghostwritten soap opera book (Charm), a cowritten (but is there really a Judy Goldstein, except in my Hebrew School class?) New York romantic comedy (24 Karat Kids) and who knows what else, has tackled the prep school coming-of-age, closeted gay boy comes out in the sixties and has special friendship with larger-than-life female friend story.

It all takes place (at least the bulk-of-the-story flashback) at a struggling prep school, veering between free spirit (run unknowingly, by Christian Scientists) and discipline. There's also the angsty Jewish guy, the elfin nerd (who as we learn in the book's opening, is now a very successful fellow with a taste for sexual adventure), the free-spirit hippie, and the townie boy who's also seemingly up for anything. He has a name, but after his initial description, I hereby declare him Snaggletooth (which I didn't know was the name of the mascot for the heavy metal band Motorhead).

It's a lovely tale, and I gobbled it up. I wrote to Ms. Medwed with a proposal that I ask Mr. Stuart some questions, and in short order, we had an honest-to-goodness Q & A. Here it is, "A conversation with yours truly and Sebastian Stuart on his novel, The Hour Between."

Daniel: What's the jumping off point to you in the book?

Sebastian: The book is based on a real boarding school that I went to for my senior year of high school. It was housed in an old inn in the Connecticut countryside and run by a messianic Christian Scientist gentleman whose grasp on reality was somewhat tenuous. The students were mostly misfits, the school was a last resort and parental dumping ground. Like Arthur McDougal in the book, I had been “asked to leave” Collegiate, a very fancy boys school in Manhattan.

Daniel: Anything based on a real incident? You seem to have some connection to the world of New York celebrity, judging by some of your previous writings.

Sebastian: There are a number of incidents in the book that are based on real events. I did know some celebrities as a child. My mother was the Entertainment editor of Life magazine, at a time when Life held a preeminent position in American popular culture. My dad was in the film business. They had friends who were famous. The character of Katrina Felt, the troubled daughter of a movie star, is a composite of about a half dozen girls I’ve known and loved – talented, funny, kind girls who seemed to have the world on a string yet were always close to unraveling.

Daniel: I can tell you really love your characters. It almost seemed like you didn't want anything bad to happen to them. You could have been more brutal--after all, this isn't exactly a comedy--yet you chose not to be? Were you consciously thinking about this when you wrote or edited the book?

Sebastian: I wanted my book to be -- at the risk of sounding simplistic and mawkish -- an affirmation of love and friendship. Earlier drafts were much darker. My best friend and soul mate during my childhood was my cousin Christina. She was a beautiful girl, signed by the Ford modeling agency, but she was more interested in writing poetry. She developed schizophrenia and killed herself at age 36. I still miss her terribly. In earlier drafts, the Katrina character was closer to my cousin. But my pal, Mameve Medwed (see above), read the manuscript and said Katrina’s arc was predictable. And she was right – schizophrenia is an intractable, tragic disease, people can stabilize but no one is cured. Mameve’s advice was revelatory for me. Ultimately I want to entertain. Schizophrenia is many things, but it’s not entertaining.

Daniel: Several minor characters seem to have deep backstories that aren't fully touched upon. What, if anything, wound up being left on the editing room floor in order to preserve the size, structure, and narrative arc of the final book?

Sebastian: Quite a lot was left in delete-key land. The book got shorter and shorter and more and more focused on the friendship between Arthur and Katrina. I think friendships can change us forever, particularly when we’re young. That was what I wanted to write about, the sadness and beauty of those long-age friendships. That’s the heart of the book for me. Many incidents and quite a few characters were cut from the book. Once I knew where I wanted to focus, I was ruthless in cutting.

Daniel: Care to reference the title?

Sebastian: It’s from the French expression for twilight: the hour between the dog and the wolf. I thought it was a perfect metaphor for adolescence. And it’s so romantic.

Daniel: Did writing any of your previous books lead you to this one? Was the idea new, or something you've wanted to write for a while?

Sebastian: I’m embarrassed to admit how long I worked on this book, but here goes: twenty years. Way before any of my other books. All I can to other writers is: persevere! If I can do it, anyone can.

Daniel: It strikes me that you may have originally had a different structure than an extended flashback between two short present-day bookends. Was the book always set up this way or did you try other alternatives?

Sebastian: I added the prologue and epilogue later. As the years passed and I got older, my relationship to the material changed. The immediacy lessened. I wanted a way to frame the book that gave it relevance. As we age, I think we tend to look back with a sense of poignancy and yearning, and also understanding. And I was inspired by Breakfast at Tiffany’s, which is also told as a flashback. I love that book, I think it’s a near-perfect melding of style and emotion. It’s very moving, but somehow light and buoyant. I tried to capture that.

"The Hour Between" is a paperback original, available at Boswell Book Company and other places.