Review: Very very good story in an interesting period
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 2, 2012
4.5 stars.This was a very good and surprising read and my first from this author.We are in 1948. Frank is a war veteran and he's attending Clarence Tenn Polytechnic to get his physics degree. Before the war he learned physics by himself and even if he's not a genius, he's very bright and talented. The scar left on his face by a grenade gives him some insecurity, but also a rough look that complements his very relaxed attitude.One night he is arrested in a gay bar and he ends up sharing the cell and fighting side by side with his professor, the younger genius Doctor Col Courtland. Doctor Courtland is under surveillance by the FBI since he participated in the Manhattan Project. His being allegedly homosexual could be a security risk in a time where the American government is beginning to get obsessed with Communists. Frank and Col gets closer because of their sexual preferences, but also because physics and the theories they try to prove have them spend a lot of time together.The historical period is well portrayed. Even if Frank and Col are not really shying away from their attraction, they don't act on it because of the danger and because they don't want to compromise their student/professor relationship. Very honorable! Frank is older, but he's the student, and he is more experienced of the world. While Col was locked in the Manhattan Project and spending his youth on books and experiments, Frank was fighting all over Europe. Col comes from a family with money, Frank has humbler origins. Frank was married and he's now a widower and also a ladies' man, but his act is necessary to divert the attention from his trysts with men. Col has fiancée, but they cover for each other, since she's more interested in her female friends.The whole story seems to have a shine of polite deception that is written with a touch of humor and a bit of sarcasm. Everybody goes to great lengths to keep up appearances, but the struggles of the protagonists are not told with angst. They become like a suit they have to wear to blend in. The everyday's disappointments are kept in the background, but they're there, surrounding everything with melancholy. I think this bittersweet feeling was the best feature of the book.If you want a steamy read, this is not the book for you. There's a constant sexual tension, but it's toned down with a lot of irony. The only sex scene is written in a sort of playful purple prose and is absolutely not explicit.I was a bit deceived because I was expecting a sort of espionage story, given the period chosen for it, but it really only served as a background to tell the story of two men who really seem to belong to a distant time. I don't think the author was trying to depict an idealistic time where the deception masked feelings which went maybe deeper, which were maybe more intense because a man had to risk his reputation, his wealth, his everything to love another man. Their love felt so very precious though.I enjoyed very much the academic setting and I think the author did a great job with all the secondary characters, who were all different and brought something to the story. The writing was fizzling. It read very fast and that's for me a sign that the story, the characters and the writing were gripping. It's not a perfect book, I think some part were a bit longish, but I am very satisfied.