Gay Novel
Man In
Shadow
Gay Novel
Man In
Shadow
by
Russell Thomas
What the reviewers are saying:
Peter is a respected English professor but he lives a
double life: when he is not in suit-and-tie, teaching, he is frequently on
his knees in the woods or arcade movies, serving the hung, shadowy figures
of the night.
This book seems to me to be a good example of the maturing
genre that is gay-and-lesbian fiction. Not only does it present the differences
in personality that demarcate gays from straights, it is beginning to explore
the depths of the differences as well as the complications that gays face
every day. As in Man In Shadow, inner struggles between past
obsessions and established love require crucial decisions that are not easy.
You may see yourself in these pages.
You'll be drawn deeply into Peter's life and understand
where he's coming from.
—Bill Lee, the San Francisco Rogue
-------------------
The double-life is not a new concept for most gay men. Most of us have
straddled—some briefly, some not—
the fence that separates our sexuality from our reality, treading in worlds
that allow us to keep our sense of social responsibility by day but let us
perhaps be a bit slutty by night. The specifics vary but a foot in two worlds
is
familiar territory for gays.
Russell Thomas navigates this territory exceedingly well
in his novel, Man in Shadow. Thomas' protagonist,
Peter Davidson is just embarking on a career as a college English professor
in the early 1970s. Peter's other life
involves a lot of time on his knees servicing men in parks, backrooms, arcades
and the like. Peter isn't especially
secretive about his sexuality but he keeps his extracurricular activities
to himself. While Peter's two worlds don't
necessarily collide, they force him into choices and situations he finds
titillating, confusing and sometimes
disturbing.
But exactly what Peter gets from his anonymous and
sub-missive sexual encounters is hard to glean.
Late in the book he claims that being a submissive cocksucker is actually
a way for him to claim his power,
but by the time he explains that to one of his repeat tricks, he has sucked
literally dozens of men off and the truth
of his words rings a bit hollow. What comes through instead is that Peter
is a lonely man, looking for love and
finding instead connections that are less scary to manage. And when Peter
does get the chance to love,
he wonders how he can end the double-life that has become so a part of his
nature.
Thomas takes us all the way with Peter, from his first
steps on the path of the local sex park to the arms of
a committed lover, and all along the way he is an easy and likable character
to root for. It takes a while for his
doubts about his choices to seep into his consciousness but once they do,
readers will agonize about Peter's
choices along with him.
The writing is clear and concise and the sex scenes strike
the right balance between sexual titillation and
emotional vacancy. Peter's journey is not dripping with self-esteem but he
is no victim either. In fact, his choices
seem reasonable and appropriate given the times he lives in, his nature and
his desires. All in all, the right
balance for a man living a double life.
-- Will Louis, XFactor
Download to your computer: $8.00 per format
(Acrobat)(Text)(Rich Text)(Internet)(Word)(WordPerfect)(MsReader)(PRC)
| Paperback 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" 240 pages |
USA / PR |
Canada |
Overseas |
| $15.95 Plus Shipping and Handling |
[ To Preview the First Chapter
]
[ Print Books Table of Contents ]
[ To e-book novels Table of Contents
]