Recommended: "Point to Point Navigation" by Gore Vidal

Gore Vidal's second memoir (2006) gives more

insights into the man behind the mythos.

There are plenty of behind-the-scenes in Hollywood

tales, proper gossip and dirt-dishing, more than a

fair amount of name-dropping and arrogance, and

a slice of life from another time laid bare.

Particularly of interest to me were the reminiscings

of the final days of longtime partner, Howard,

which showed both a vulnerability to Vidal as

well as the very dated onus of men who grew up

in an era where self-awareness was so clearly

not acceptable. This environment impacted

even someone as robustly individualistic as Vidal.

There's a good bit of intimacy regarding aging,

building new identities, loss, and coming to

terms with life.

There are politics (including some revelations

about Vidal's personal political career I was unfamiliar

with,) and above all a sense of survivorhood that is

made clear is accessible to all who seek it.

Worldly and shrewd, "Point to Point"

is typical Vidal, yet exposed, with a map

of an unexpected life laid bare.

Love him or hate him--or, alternately,

a little of both--Vidal is never boring.

His lush command of language and

nuance captivate from start to finish.

***

"And So It Goes" - Linda Ellerbee

One of my earliest experiences with being duly

impressed by anyone in the media, let alone to the

point of considering them a role model, had to have been

Linda Ellerbee.

The stoic, even-paced, high-minded anchorwoman--

who had been the antithesis of glitzy and vapid fake

news that had already started filling the air waves in the 1980s--

was a stellar figure to me, and made a great impression.

Reading her autobiography in my teens was an equally

meaningful affair.

With evocative, deliberate, engaging words which

create a picture and tell a personal tale, Ellerbee's

written word is as formidable and hypnotic as her

speaking voice. Casual strength. Reserved potency.

Her riveting--and quite revealing--look of the behind the scenes

television market over a lengthy career made for some

shocking insights. Remarkably, Ellerbee stimulates you with

the personal nature of her victories, her tragedies, and her

attacks without becoming a victim or a martyr. It's all

just as matter-of-fact as the protagonist's signature

tagline;

"And so it goes."

Even now, a few decades later, there is much that can be learned from

the pragmatism and style of this gracious humorist and observer!

"Comfort and Joy" by Jim Grimsley

"Comfort & Joy" is a novel that continues the story of

Dan Crell--(from Grimsley's "Winter Birds")--

a southerner with a hard past who's known poverty

and all that is linked to such an origin. The holiday setting is

prominent as, in both flashbacks and the present, Dan and his

upper crust partner, Ford, are dealing with the demands

of a relationship in conjunction with career, family obligations,

and awkward uncertainty about pursuing intimacy.

Packed with nuance and character, "Comfort & Joy" is

not--contrary to the title, in the best of contradictory manners--

a happy feel-good piece. It's unpredictable, human, complicated,

and real. Things don't go smoothly, people don't act as we would like,

and not all the answers come rushing in at appropriate times.

Thank goodness.

The conflicts arise from a variety of sources, including

a class divide in the two men and varying degrees of

contentment with their own sexuality. Throw into the mix

the normal difficulties of two men being in love (aptly

outlined here in both inner monologues and fight

sequences,) as well as an HIV diagnosis, and there

is a plenitude of engaging material.

To read a free section preview

or to order a copy, go to

http://www.amazon.com/Comfort-Joy-Jim-Grimsley/dp/156512250X

***

"The Good Neighbor" by Jay Quinn

"The Good Neighbor" is, as one might suspect,

not a title given to complete accuracy.

There may be a touch of facetiousness involved!

Eternal southerner Jay Quinn dishes up a

lively and intriguing story of an established gay

male couple living well in an indistinguishable

home in an upscale Orlando community.

Barely averting midlife crises themselves,

how will they respond when their new

neighbors--a married straight couple with

children--become wrapped up in their vortex?

I loved that this story effortlessly weaves all aspects together;

two very different relationships that nonetheless

have parallels, a back story that is indulged in

stops and starts, sexual tension that is splitting

open everyone involved, and a pot-burner

style that leaves you unsure what dastardly

or unseemly thing may happen next.

The story didn't go where I expected it to,

but the ending was nonetheless satisfying

and rewarding. Jay Quinn scores again, with

another great work that reads like something

I would have written to satisfy myself!

Another aspect of Jay's writing I love is that

characters are murky and imperfect and don't

fit into neat little boxes, and their motives

remain difficult to understand, if not unclear.

They're real.

Sexy, lurid, dangerous, and filled with realistic

everyday bits that people in and out of relationships

will identify with. If you love waiting to see 'what

might happen next,' "The Good Neighbor" is for you.

Interview with Jay Quinn re: "The Beloved Son"

***