Stanley E. Ely
GAY NOVEL
In the Steps of Mister
Proust
Stanley E.
Ely
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Ely
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Reviewers' Comments:
(November - December, 2004)
In The Steps of Mister Proust is an earnest and straightforward
novel of becoming a man. Joshua Shor is a freshman beginning his first semester
at Columbia University with dreams of one day becoming a writer. When we
meet Joshua he is naive and self-centered. He sees things as primarily good
or had and recognizes problems only to the degree in which they affect him.
Joshua hasn't led a profoundly sheltered life prior to
leaving Baltimore for New York City, but he has remained oblivious and ignorant
to the lessons life was teaching him. For example, several years earlier
his beloved father left his mother for another man. As a result Joshua feels
extremely betrayed. Everyone else in his family seems to have acclimated
to the situation, but Josh is unable to move on, specifically because he
is unable to release his resentment.
Things get worse before they get better. Early in the
novel his father discloses that a false sexual harassment lawsuit has been
filed against him and as a result he is having money problems; this threatens
Josh's financial security at college. Josh is not supportive or sympathetic
to what his father is going through. The circumstances strikes a deeper nerve
for Josh too since at the same time the youth is wrestling with his own sexual
identity and burgeoning gayness.
Another opportunity for change arises when his roommate
and best friend Richard tests positive for HIV This disturbing revelation
prompts Josh to exercise compassion and be a true and reliable friend. This
entails being there as demonstrated by Joshua's willingness to be present
when Richard tells his parents that he is gay and also HIV positive. It's
a defining moment for young Joshua. The harsh reaction of Richard's parents
causes Joshua to suddenly appreciate his own family much more. As a result
Josh learns to accept his mother, brothers and especially his father for
who they are rather than rejecting them for not being the people he wants
them to be.
This stage in life, like any time of dramatic change,
can be frightening. For Joshua, a harbor in the midst of all this personal
turbulence are the writings of Marcel Proust. Reading the great literary
master and his work for a course seems at times the only reliable thing in
his life. It is palliative. He finds solace in Proust's words, wisdom and
complexity. Psychoanalyzing the narrator of Swann's Way is an avenue of
therapeutic selfrevelation [for] Josh. His response is not lost on the elderly
instructor of the course, Professor Hungerford. As a result Hungerford befriends
and counsels the boy, providing the sort of mentoring figure Josh so desperately
needs.
The importance and worth of mentoring is given emphasis
in the novel as a solid and reliable conduit for maturing into adulthood.
Not only Hungerford emerges as a mentor for Joshua; there is also David-a
young waiter, future rabbinical student and good listener. This concern,
comfort and passing on of wisdom are important aspects of male bonding and
role modeling which Joshua must rediscover following the perceived betrayal
(and thus rejection) of/by his father. Learning to trust the wisdom of older
men is necessary for the eventual forgiveness of his father. It is a hurdle
he must surmount to become an adult.
Acceptance on this level is another area where Proust's
work reflects Josh's personal revelations. He discovers that people are
combination of good or bad. There is no black or white but only varying shades
of gray...and even that is a matter of interpretation and perspective.
Ironically, as Josh opens himself to being mentored he learns to become a
mentor himself. He becomes a necessary anchor for both his roommate, Richard,
as well as for his younger brother, Ted. Josh's ability to admire and accept
spawns admiration and acceptance from others.
In the Steps of Mister Proust is probably
best suited and enjoyed by those of a similar age or circumstance to Joshua.
At times the earnestness of the novel can come across as a bit overly educational
(which may precisely be the author's intent) especially in its somewhat
heavy-handed treatment of various issues such as HIV prevention and counseling,
coming out, etc. Still, Ely's latest novel is a smooth and enjoyable read,
a suitable homage to the worth and revelations that fine literature can bestow,
and an apt depiction of the choices one character makes in the crucial course
from boy to man.
—Owen Keehnen (Lambda Book Report)
---------------------
November 28 2004
Stanley E. Ely is an author hitherto unknown to me. I am a relative newcomer
to the genre of gay fiction but of the novels I had read, I had not before
encountered work of the quality exhibited by Ely in my reading within this
genre. I could find no mention that IN THE STEPS OF MISTER
PROUST had garnered any awards, but to my mind it certainly deserves
official recognition.
Ely dedicates this work "To the many who, like me, stand
in awe and debt to Proust". A thoughtful dedication indeed. His young
protagonist, Joshua Shor, is a confused freshman at Columbia. He and his
roommate, Richard, arrive in New York to begin their college years, Joshua
studying English (hence the debt to Proust) and Richard Maths. Richard
acknowledges that he is gay: Joshua is not certain of his own orientation,
thinking himself perhaps equally attracted to women as to men. He sees his
father as having deserted his mother four years previously and Joshua resents
the difficulties he, his mother and his two brothers suffer in consequence.
His father had acknowledged that he is gay and gone to live with his lover.
Joshua has to study the work of Marcel Proust - whom
he dubs 'Mister Proust' in the convoluted belief that by substituting Mister
for Monsieur "some of his writing genius might rub off on me" - and becomes
immensely affected by it. He is also greatly impressed by the lecturer within
whose province Proust's work falls.
Richard and Joshua both set out to become acclimatised
to New York's vastly different atmosphere. They are soon regulars in various
eating places and meet contemporaries, some of whom are gay, others straight,
some of whom are students and others non-academically inclined. Joshua samples
the delights proffered by both women and men but is still disinclined to
make a decision. Meanwhile, the young men's family situations alter.
This is a remarkable 'coming of age' or 'rite of passage'
work. There are many aspects of a young man's thoughts explored. The new
scourge of the world, HIV AIDS, is examined as part of the environment of
a gay or bisexual male. The narrator remains in character, his voice never
faltering despite the protagonist wavering between adult and childish viewpoints.
There is a deeply religious background implied, and discrimination, both
racial and religious, hinted at. Aspects of love, including the love of a
family, are displayed. The notion of the impossibility of returning to what
once was is also exhibited.
The writing is excellent, short and succinct sentences
employed with never a wasted word included. If you are a straight reader
who wishes to learn a little about the thoughts and practices of gay men,
this is definitely the work for you. Likewise, if you are, perhaps, a young
gay man, confused in a difficult time of life (especially if you have literary
leanings) you could do far worse than read this book. An immensely impressive
and enjoyable novel.
--- Denise Pickles, Australia <
www.marymartin.com.au/cridec.html
>
----------------------------
On the odd chance that nobody's noticed, let me be the first to tell you:
sometimes it's hard to decide if you're gay or not. Being 18 and a freshman
at Columbia University isn't exactly a piece of cake, either. Throw in some
tough questions about finances, friendships, and parental relationships,
not to mention a hefty dose of Jewish-tinged introspection, and you've got
Stanley Ely's coming-of-age novel, In the Steps of Mister
Proust.
This novel, Ely's second, is set in the early days of
the AIDS era. It centers on the interaction between our protagonist, Josh,
his roommate, Richard, and his on-again, off-again lover, Dean. Tangential,
yet still important, are Josh's relationships with his brothers and with
his father, who had left the family four years earlier to move in with his
lover, Hugh.
Still stung by his father's abandonment, Josh finds an
unlikely solace in studying the works of Marcel Proust. Renowned for his
exacting descriptions of everyday life, Proust seems an unlikely model for
a college freshman. Yet it is this academic pursuit that helps Josh parse
his feelings to the nth degree, as well as earn praise from Professor Hungerford.
Ely does an admirable job of keeping Josh's relationship with Hungerford
a mix of professionalism and intimacy - the hints are there, but the actions
are never taken.
It's a motif that repeats throughout the book. Josh's
interactions with an attractive hustler named Al create a time-line of
self-acceptance, almost as clearly as the awkward development of his relationship
with Dean.
Dean is an incredibly patient lover, apparently smitten
with Josh at first sight, and willing to wait through Josh's orientation
difficulties. A larger issue is Dean's misshapen leg, a birth defect that
Josh has a hard time going to bed with. Dean is unnaturally complacent about
Josh's attitude, a jarring break with reality in an otherwise well-written
novel. The only scene where Dean even confronts Josh about his leg comes
across flat and devoid of any real emotion.
On the other hand, the scene where Josh accompanies his
roommate home is exceptionally done. We stand awkwardly with the young man
in the kitchen as he hears Richard tell his parents that not only is he gay,
but he's also HIV-positive. They're not sure which is the bigger tragedy
- an interaction that forces Josh to reconsider his relationship with his
own father.
Josh comes across as incredibly self-obsessed
in his dealings with his father, which is a fairly accurate picture of most
18-year-olds. Even though his father is involved in the lawsuit of his life,
Josh's concerns center on whether or not his tuition will be paid without
tapping into his trust fund. He does make some inquiries into financial aid,
only to bring down dad's wrath. Dad's resistance to financial aid is another
jarring tidbit - does any family put a child through university without incurring
some debt? - but reveals a great deal about this complex, under-developed
character. Over the course of the novel, we get a tantalizing glimpse of
a relationship in flux, the subtle dance that occurs when the child becomes
adult.
Like Proust, Ely takes his time working through the minutiae
of life. We know all about Josh's meal plans, his class work, and a thousand
other details that in themselves are wholly without significance. The artistry
lies in tying these tiny points together to create a coherent whole, one
that captures all of the subtle nuances of a life in transition. Proust was
a great observer, and Ely follows in that tradition.
The novel is aimed at a young adult audience, but would
resonate better with readers old enough to remember the times being described.
Today's teens have encountered AIDS prevention information as early as elementary
school. As a result, Josh's naiveté throughout the book would seem
affected at best, willful ignorance at worst. Viewed with knowledge of the
early 1980's, this book becomes an insightful companion on Josh's journey
into life as an adult gay man.
--- Cynthia Potts, Out In The Mountains (Vermont)
--------------------------
In his third book, In the Steps of Mr. Proust, Stanley E. Ely
honors the French master not so much by imitation as by himself calculating
to the very decimal point the minute alterations of heart and mind by which
a contemporary American adolescent begins the process of becoming mature.
Honest, well-written and without exaggeration, this is a terrific novel for
young people, straight and gay, and for those who want to re-experience that
excitingly fraught time when every single moment and every possible action
seemed likely to alter the entire universe.
--- Felice Picano
-------------------------
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