Gents
Subtitle: a novel
By: by Warwick Collins.
Publisher: M. Boyars
Published: 1997
Place of publication: London; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 156
Description: Gents is a touching and brilliantly funny exploration of a clash of cultures and morals set in the underground world of a men's public urinal.

Ezekiel Murphy, a black West Indian immigrant, takes up a new job as an attendant in a large London lavatory. The supervisor, Josiah Reynolds, and another West Indian, Jason, explain to him that one of the main problems they face is the amount of casual sex that takes place in the cubicles. They are under pressure from the council authorities to reduce such behaviour and expect Ez to help them in 'cleaning out the swamp'.

Each of the protagonists brings his own moral assumptions to the problem. Ez, a devout Adventist, is shocked by such revelations. Jason believes that this kind of sex occurs because 'Whitey' is inherently corrupt. Reynolds, having been warned by the council that their Gents has always had a bad reputation, takes a more pragmatic view of the problem and is concerned to prevent such sexual encounters in case the council attempts to close the establishment down.

A determined campaign by the three attendants effectively reduces the furtive activity in the cubicles, but the turnstile takings also fall by forty percent. The council argues that, in view of the reduction in revenue, the urinal is no longer worth the cost of keeping it open. Ez, Reynolds and Jason, their future employment prospects in jeopardy, must take a fresh look at their job and themselves.