The Night Listener is a new work by the author already well known for his fiction, Tales of the City. This book can only add to his already well-established reputation.
I must admit that I am fairly adept at guessing where the main thrust of a novel is going…but was amazed to find I got blindsided…and what a pleasure that was.
The story is actually two of equal weight, not the more common plot with a sub-plot. The first, one we can all identify with, deals with an author, a middle-aged gay man, who is going through a separation from his long-term partner. The sensitivity with which the hero explores his feelings and recalls his domestic relationship is most moving. The thoughts, memories and emotions he experiences have such a ring of authenticity that I felt like I knew this guy…he seemed to be living just down the block.
The second plot begins in this depressed emotional ambiance. The hero, at the request of his publisher, makes telephone contact with another young writer. It is this series of telephone contacts which give the book its title. The young writer, a boy of thirteen, has written his autobiography, a horror story of torture, rape and savagery hard to fathom.
The clarity; actually the reality, of these passages is so powerful that I, cynic that I am, found myself all teary eyed and sniffly.
These two plots begin to interweave when…WHAM! Things are not what they seem and the seeds of mystery are laid.
The remainder of the novel is the working out of a plot which is not entirely predictable…just when I thought I had a handle on the direction a new twist is added.
This excellent novel has something for everyone. It has genuine self-exploration. It has separation and flight to “find one’s self.” It has keen perception of the gay scene in San Francisco. It has, most of all, surprise and mystery.
It the story flawed? Not really. Only after getting some distance from the story line did I find that there were a couple of points where the characters seemed to lack verisimilitude. This may well be a matter of my projecting my personality onto otherwise well conceived characters.
Should you work this into your reading schedule? Oh yeah! This is great stuff for taking on that winter escape weekend! Once begun I kept reading… I actually stayed home from work to finish it!