I've followed the TV adaptation of Maupin's 'Tales of the
City' over the years, which seemed to get more fantastic and convoluted as they
went along, but this is the first time that I've actually read one of his
novels. It concerns Gabriel Noone, a very Maupin-like author, who is
trapped in the travails of writers' block. I have been similarly blocked
trying to write this review! However, my difficulties in writing in no
way negatively reflects this wonderful book. One day Noone is in a studio,
and just can't go on recording one of his radio shows. Noone finds that
there is something wrong with his voice - he can't recognise it. This, in
turn, afflicts his writing, and he finds it impossible to commit anything
worthwhile to paper. Deep down inside, he realises that his inability to
write reflects his current emotional turmoil.
Jess, his lover, has moved out and has provided no
explanation for his desertion. Noone misses him desperately, and is ever
hopeful that his partner will return. Since Jess features so much in
Noone's fiction (under a somewhat shallow disguise), this contributes to
Noone's pain about his writing. And then Pete Lomax's galley proof
arrives. Noone is resistant to read it at first, since he's well used to
editors pleading for his endorsement of celebrity cookbooks. However,
Pete Lomax's narrative is far weightier, because it is a tale
of unpalatable suffering. Noone's emotional anguish seems trivial in
comparison with this boy's pain. Noone is more than a little flattered
also that his radio shows are mentioned with great admiration in Pete's book,
and it's clear that the boy regards Noone as some kind of hero. So Noone
contacts Pete's editor to give his endorsement, and is sucked into Pete Lomax's
world.
It's not long before Gabriel and Pete are
exchanging involved phone calls, supervised by Donna Lomax, the psychiatrist
who adopted Pete. Pete asks if he can call Gabriel 'Dad', something which
Noone readily agrees to. Noone's somewhat detached father visits town, and
Gabriel is reminded of his mother, and the mysterious death of his grandfather,
also named Gabriel like his father. Gabriel never thought he would have
someone who he could call 'son', and yet he's now embracing this young boy
metaphorically over the phone. Pete seems even more poignant now that he
is dying. Naturally enough, Noone turns for advice to Jess, who's
thriving despite his illness due to a cocktail of drugs. Jess readily
agrees to talk to Pete about treatment. However, the more Noone becomes
attached to Pete, the more suspicious his friends become about the boy.
So doubtful are they that even Gabriel begins to asks questions, which lead to
a catastrophic turn of events in his relationship with Pete. Overcome
with guilt with what he has done, Noone sets out to prove that the disembodied
voice at the other end of the phone really does exist.
According to Pete's narrative, he is solaced by
Gabriel Noone's nightly shows. And it seems that Pete is more than
prepared to play the role of listener on the phone. It almost seems as
though it's Noone, with his broken heart, who needs comforting, rather than
this poor sick boy. The plot of this novel twists and turns excellently,
and constantly keeps you captivated over its three hundred and so pages.
I think what's most attractive is the veracity of the text, and the honesty of
Noone - he doesn't hesitate to reveal his petty betrayals. Maupin has
created a protagonist who is very human in his selfish failings, and all the
more likeable for that.
Those readers who like closure are going to be in
for a frustrating time though, and a good thing too! At times, it
seems very much as though Noone is Maupin. Jess at one point suggests
that Noone gets over his block by writing about the emotional travails of
the Pete Lomax situation, and you can't help but wonder if Maupin had a
similar conversation, and similar experience himself. What if there
really was a 'Pete Lomax' character out there? This is one of the loose
threads which Maupin dangles before us at the end. Those who have read
James Hogg's bewitching tale of multiple personality, 'Confessions of a
Justified Sinner', will have become enamoured of this type of closure
though. Besides, as Noone relates, what else would you expect of a
narrator who cannot but help jewelling the elephant in his tales? For
that lovely metaphor, and exquisite prose, Maupin's thrilling tale of detection
gets full marks.
Authortrek Rating:10/10.
Kevin Patrick Mahoney
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